For Cindy Vigil, studying abroad made sense as the perfect complement to her undergraduate education at Virginia Commonwealth University.
As a senior political science major with a concentration in international relations, Vigil was eager to gain experiences outside of the country. She wanted to immerse herself in a completely different culture, engage in meaningful conversations with local citizens, try new cuisines, and gain invaluable insights that she could take with her as she began her career.
There was just one barrier in Vigil’s quest for an education abroad: cost.
Affordability is a major hurdle that prevents students of all majors from studying abroad each year. Depending on the country and city, study abroad experiences can cost upwards of $15,000 a semester.
In her junior year, Vigil shied away from studying abroad because she did not want to financially burden herself or her family. Yet during her senior year in 2023, an opportunity for a scholarship arose through a newly established scholarship fund with the VCU Global Education Office (GEO).
The L & L Friendship Fund was founded from a game-changing gift of approximately $2.5 million dollars, donated anonymously. The donation was given as a gift, allowing students to benefit immediately, starting with the L & L scholarships for $2,000 each. In the 2023-24 academic year, GEO awarded nine L & L study abroad scholarships in the fall cycle (for students going abroad in spring 2024) and 13 scholarships in the spring cycle (for students going abroad in the summer or fall 2024).
In an award recognition letter written by the donor and given to each L & L recipient, the donor says that studying abroad changed them and expanded their worldviews in ways they could never have imagined.
“I learned a new language and was exposed to a new culture,” reads the letter. “I traveled to many countries I had never been to before. I gained confidence in myself, both in my knowledge around my area of study, and more importantly as my world view expanded and I became a citizen of the world. I connected with people from many different countries and formed lifelong friendships with people I still talk to on a weekly basis.”
The donation — the largest gift for study abroad that the university has ever received — will ultimately enable more students to study abroad and enhance GEO’s department programs and services for global education on a variety of levels, for a variety of students.
“This gift will increase not only the number of students who study abroad, but it will also increase the diversity of the students who study abroad,” says Jill Blondin, Ph.D., associate vice provost for global initiatives and GEO leader. “This benefits the Global Education Office and VCU as a whole, but also allows these students to develop valuable skills that are critical for their professional success, like intercultural communication, flexibility, adaptability, and resilience.”
“We serve the entire university,” says Stephanie Tignor, director of global learning at VCU. “Whereas a lot of development efforts are going on in silos, funding given to GEO can impact almost any student across VCU. Any academic discipline, any background.”
Cindy Vigil was a recipient of an L & L scholarship, choosing to travel in spring 2024 to the Dominican Republic as part of a TRIO Service Learning Trip. During her time abroad, Vigil built bottle houses and took part in a medical brigade to help underserved communities. She learned about issues involving human security and how to help address them.
“Receiving this scholarship and being able to study abroad helped to reaffirm my future education and career goals,” says Vigil. “It showed me the number of things that I can do within international relations. It made me want to apply what I learned about human security in the Dominican Republic to our community in Richmond.”
Study Abroad and Beyond
When thinking of international opportunities at any university, people often think first about studying abroad. Yet GEO oversees and supports so much more.
“The Global Education Office offers the world to VCU students, faculty, and staff,” says Blondin, who was named Institute of International Education’s 2023 Senior International Officer of the Year. Whether someone wants to engage in global opportunities locally or internationally, GEO provides support through its four departments: the English Language Program, Immigration Services, Global Learning, and Global Partnerships and Outreach. GEO also provides thought leadership across the university to help guide VCU’s international initiatives, of which there are many.
Tignor oversees Global Learning within GEO, which encompasses traditional study abroad as well as all global student engagement. This is intended both for domestic VCU students who wish to study abroad, as well as international students who wish to come to VCU to study.
“I cannot overstate the importance of engaging globally,” says Blondin. “In this interconnected world, it is incumbent upon higher education institutions to provide accessible and equitable global learning experiences to their students—for the benefit of everyone. We are doing exactly that at VCU, and the L & L Friendship Fund reflects this dedication to global learning for all.”
For international students at VCU, GEO offers academic and student life engagement opportunities. They host global cafes, which welcome both international and domestic students to come together and learn about each other's culture, food, and traditions. They coordinate global buddies and friendship families so that international students can connect on a deeper level with people at VCU and in Richmond. They even offer service experiences in collaboration with Richmond-area high schools and community partners like the Peter Paul Development Center and Sacred Heart Center.
“Our domestic students can gain global competence and develop intercultural agility by engaging with our international students, and our international students can be even more successful by feeling more bonded to the university and our community here,” says Tignor.
All VCU student travel abroad is tracked and managed through GEO, including potential travel crises, health concerns, or natural disasters that might impact a student’s trip. Being prepared for and responding to these types of emergencies have required more resources in recent years —something GEO is working harder than ever to be ready for.
GEO’s impact certainly doesn’t stop there. The office offers a Peace Corps Preparation certificate program, identity-based programming for individuals from groups historically underrepresented in education abroad, faculty engagement for collaboration abroad, and events such as foreign ambassador visits. They even offer free passport photos for students. GEO’s reach is enormous, allowing all of VCU to consider international studies and global engagement on a broad scale that is more accessible.
“We are dedicated to supporting the university in increasing the global impact of research, teaching and service,” says Tignor. “We want to expand the role of VCU on the world stage and support the university’s internationalization goals.”
Largest Gift for Study Abroad at VCU
The $2.5 million dollar donation to GEO in 2023 was inspired by the donor’s own transformative study abroad experience.
“My husband and I would like to remain anonymous and have the focus stay primarily on you, rather than us,” reads the donor letter. “This scholarship is named the L & L Friendship Fund in order to pay homage to one of the lifelong friendships I forged while I was on my own study abroad experience. Both my study abroad experience and the friendships I developed are among the greatest gifts of my life.”
In working with Laura Kottkamp and the VCU Foundation to establish the gift, the donor made it known that they were open to the parameters for use, which gives GEO the authority to make specific decisions about how to use the funding.
“Right now, as we wait for the endowment to mature, we’re applying funds that the donor specified for immediate impact to a current account for direct student scholarships and will do so for two more semesters,” says Tignor. After the next two semesters, GEO hopes to use the funds to subsidize strategic programming that focuses on students from specific populations that GEO aims to increase global education participation from, such as first generation students and Pell grant recipients.
For Cindy Vigil, studying abroad was a transformative experience, thanks to the financial relief she was given through the L & L Friendship Fund.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity this scholarship has provided me,” says Vigil. “Studying abroad altered the way I perceive the world and my role within it. It has exposed me to new perspectives, cultures, and experiences that have enriched my life in countless ways. I am deeply thankful to the donors whose generosity made it possible for me to partake in this life-changing journey. Their support has had a profound and everlasting impact on my life.”
For more information about GEO, visit the office website.