Two Study Abroad Scholarships Awarded

April 28, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cedar Falls Community Foundation Announces Scholarship Recipients The Cedar Falls Community Foundation has announced that two scholarships have been awarded from the Robert Eller Study Abroad Endowment for Fall 2016 study abroad.

The Robert Eller Study Abroad Endowment was established by emeritus UNI Education Media Specialist Robert Eller to foster the educational, professional, and personal growth of an undergraduate student at the University of Northern Iowa by providing funds to support a semester or a year of study outside the United States for a student whose previous travel and study experiences abroad have been limited. Applications are accepted by the Study Abroad Center and reviewed by the University of Northern Iowa Emeritus Association scholarship committee.

April 2016 scholarships have been awarded to Gabriella Svoboda Ruggiero and Wesley Quinn Ennis, each in the amount of $1,800.

Gabriella Ruggiero came to the University of Northern Iowa from Independence, Iowa. An outstanding scholar with a 3.98 cumulative GPA, she is a Presidential Scholar majoring in Political Science and Philosophy at UNI. She has been active on campus in student government, the Presidential Scholars Think Tank, and in Students Advocating for Voices and Equality. She was recently honored by the Dean of Students with the Servant Leader Award for her work. Ruggiero will spend her Fall semester studying at Palazzi: Florence University of the Arts. Ruggiero said, “Studying abroad will allow me to engage my sense of adventure, develop self-reliance, and look beyond an American perspective….I plan to take classes in Florence that can be applied toward both my Political Science and Philosophy degrees. I will be abroad during an historic time in Europe, as millions of refugees enter the continent. I will be able to gain a personal and European perspective on the topic.”

Wesley Ennis of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a Finance Major interested in entrepreneurship and international business. While attending UNI he has served as program coordinator for Students Today Alumni Tomorrow and worked with CATS: Connecting Alumni to Students while working and maintain his grade point average. Ennis plans to attend ESC Rennes School of Business in Rennes, France, where he will further hone his French language skills while taking business classes not available to him elsewhere. Ennis said, “By studying abroad I’ll be able to really enrich my French and International Business degrees. I’ll become much more fluent in French, and in such a different way than trying to learn it in a classroom from a textbook. I’ll be able to take the business classes I need, but also take classes like Business in France, which will help me expand my understanding of the culture.” Applications for the Robert Eller Study Abroad Scholarship are available by contacting the Study Abroad office at the University of Northern Iowa. The next round of applications will be accepted in October 2016, for Spring 2017 study abroad.

The Cedar Falls Community Foundation accepts and manages estate gifts and donations to fulfill donor wishes, assisting donors to achieve their charitable legacy. The Cedar Falls Community Foundation’s mission to use the resources entrusted to its stewardship to support projects that enhance the community’s quality of life through cultural, scholarly, recreational, literary and artistic endeavors

For more information about the Cedar Falls Community Foundation, please visit www.cf-communityfoundation.org or contact 319.243.9170 or cfcf@cfu.net.