April 8, 2020 CONTACT: Laura Seals, 806-651-2587, [email protected]

COPY BY: Brittany Castillo, 806-651-2682, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas—Allyson Sadegur, a junior from West Texas A&M University, has been selected by the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) to study business in Grenoble, France.

Out of 4,000 applicants, Sadegur was chosen among 123 others for a highly competitive scholarship originally scheduled for Fall 2020, but since extended by the FEA to include Summer 2021 out of concern for the COVID-19 pandemic. The scholarship will help support Sadegur in housing, tuition and course materials at one of the best business schools in France — the Grenoble École de Management — through the American Institute for Foreign Study.

Living in France has been a longtime goal of Sadegur, who studied French in high school and at WT. She will take courses in global strategy, ethical dimensions of international business, entrepreneurship and, of course, French. The rigorous application process included a phone interview with FEA and two essays that Sadegur edited in great detail for weeks with help from Laura Seals, director of the Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships at WT. Sadegur is the second recipient of an FEA scholarship at WT.

“It is difficult to win an FEA award. I was impressed with Allyson’s tenacity to find the best program for her major and future goals and to do multiple revisions to make her application as competitive as possible,” Seals said. “It is a pleasure to work with Allyson, and I can’t wait to hear about her experiences in Grenoble.”

On top of preparing an outstanding application, finding the opportunity was no easy task for Sadegur.

WT requires study abroad opportunities for class credit be through institutions with matched accreditation, and the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business is AACSB-accredited as one of only 10 percent of business programs in the world. Carolina Galloway, director of the Office of Study Abroad at WT, helped her find the opportunity that also satisfied her degree program needs as an international business major.

“I’m very excited to study in France, and I’m glad the opportunity has been extended to keep everyone safe and healthy. I’m grateful to Laura and Carolina, who were so responsive throughout the application process. I think the abroad experience is going to add a lot of value to my international studies and give me new perspective in business,” Sadegur said.

Sadegur plans to complete her senior year on WT’s campus. She aspires to one day be a translator and founder of a translation company, drawing from her experiences abroad and strengthening language skills. Sadegur will share her experiences through blogging for FEA. Stay tuned for how to follow her experiences.