Modern Languages Department

Sierra Richey grew up in a small Nebraska town not unlike others surrounded by farmland.

Two Nebraska Wesleyan University seniors have each been awarded a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad for the fall semester.

Two Nebraska Wesleyan University students are studying in Rwanda this summer thanks to a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

Kerry Worley, a junior social work major from Omaha, and Rachel Konvalin, a first-year global studies and modern language studies major from Boise, Idaho, have each been awarded the prestigious scholarship.

Two Nebraska Wesleyan students have been selected for the Fulbright Summer Institute to the United Kingdom. Emma Peterson, a sophomore athletic training and Spanish major, will participate in the US-UK Fulbright Summer Institute at the University of Bristol. Hunter Smith, a junior history major, will participate in the US-UK Fulbright Summer Institute at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

It all started with a class: Cultures of Spain.

“Understanding Spain’s political history and cultural dynamics really helped me understand how colonial Spain has shaped Latin America,” said NWU senior Toree Hempstead.

That one class piqued her interest and eventually led to a semester abroad in Argentina, and a return trip there in March to work on a translation project with her Spanish professor, Cathy Nelson.

Three Nebraska Wesleyan University students will spend the next year in Japan. 

Felicia Phares, Kate Richerson and Grant Jackman, all of Lincoln, have each been accepted to the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Now in its 31styear, the JET Program promotes a grassroots international exchange between Japan and other nations. Those accepted into the prestigious program teach English in Japanese schools or work in Japanese communities on international exchange activities. 

Toree Hempstead’s “Cultures of Spain” class sent her on unexpected journey.

She recalls her Spanish professor, Cathy Nelson, teaching about transitional justice and how countries confront human rights abuses when they transition to democracy.  While studying Argentine history, she learned about the Dirty War. 

Hempstead, a Columbus, Neb. native, consumed the facts of one of Latin America’s darkest periods from 1976 to 1983 when a brutal military ruled Argentina, leading to the illegal killing anddisappearance of some 30,000 people. Human rights abuses were rampant. 

A Nebraska Wesleyan University junior will spend a semester in Germany thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

Vladislav Blazhievskiy, an international business major and German minor from Lincoln, has been awarded the prestigious scholarship to study in Germany during the spring semester.

“Germany is appreciative of migration, language learning and intercultural communication, and it will allow me to learn the German language at the highest level,” said Blazhievskiy. 

When Quentin Timblin first came to Nebraska Wesleyan University, he had his heart set on studying chemistry. 

Fast forward four years and he’s studying abroad in Argentina and thinking about medical school.

The senior biochemistry and modern language studies double major said impactful courses and conversations led him down a new path.

“That has been one of the best decisions I have made,” Timblin said of declaring a double major.

Two Nebraska Wesleyan University seniors have been selected to receive a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad for the fall semester.

Megan Canfield, a math and religion and philosophy double major from Grand Island, will study at the University of Tartu in Estonia. Canfield’s previous international experience includes her participation in the Encounter World Religions Conference in Canada. She plans to attend law school following graduation.