Through volunteer opportunities, campus organizations and various mission trips, Waynesburg University offers unique scholarship opportunities that enhance its programing. One opportunity that grabs the attention of many females is the Vira Heinz Scholarship, which is awarded each year to at least three women and gives them the opportunity to travel to a foreign country in the upcoming summer. Sophomore or junior students who have never left the country and want to study abroad throughout the summer months can apply for the scholarship. This past summer, five students had that opportunity, each traveling to a different country and getting a different experience. 

The five students discussed their experiences with presentations in Alumni Hall on Tuesday Nov. 6. Rebekah Rhodes, Samantha Bruffy, Sara Byler, Megan Leiter and Tessa Masula shared their events and experiences as a common myth that is prevalent in the country that they visited. 

Throughout the summer, Rhodes, a junior nursing major, studied in India. During her stay, Rhodes decided to debunk the myth that there are no quality educational opportunities in India. 

“95 percent of children attend primary school due to the Right to Education Act that was passed in 2009. This makes school mandatory up to the age of fourteen,” Rhodes said. 

The next 40 percent of children attend secondary schooling and in 2012 an estimated 33 percent of high school students graduated in India. 

“Many India parents believe education leads to success, though there are not enough universities.” 

Rhodes was also thankful for her experience tutoring at a transient school of students aged three to 15. 

“I realize how grateful I am for how much we all have in schools,” said Rhodes. 

For Bruffy, a junior public health major,who visited Botswana. Her myth circulated around media making sweeping generalizations of Africa. 

“Our perception is based on different media reports, though its made up of fifty-four different countries,” Bruffy said. 

Bruffy said that every country in Africa is different and that it us is not all war and sickness. 

“Africa is a rich continent but many of the nations within it are very poor,” Bruffy said. “The countries throughout Africa are different from one another both socially and economically” 

Bruffy is determined to end the common stereotype that surround Africa. 

“I am challenging you to change perceptions. Become educated on sources from articles before you read them and visit different cultures and countries of Africa to learn more about them,” Bruffy said. 

For Byler who lived in another African country, Morocco, for the summer. During the last four weeks of her stay she worked at a women’s development center daycare.Byler’s myth buster was that Morocco does not have a human’s right system. 

“I learned what the government wants human rights to look like and what it actually looks like,” Byler said. 

Compared to the United States, Byler said, Morocco doesn’t have the greatest human rights system, but the country is slowly evolving the system, to give more rights to the women and children. One of Byler’s main goals for Morocco is for people to understand that domestic violence and mental health is still prevalent in Morocco today. 

“It is not that men and women are not equal, it is just in the house, men are the head,” Byler said. “While you know what mental illness is, the education towards it is still a struggle.” 

Masula, who traveled to England, also studied an area of politics. During the presentation, she decided to debunk the idea that first world countries don’t need work. Throughout Masula’s studies she learned that the crown of royalty is only one-third of the country’s power and the parliament/government is two-thirds of the power. 

“Surprisingly the social unrest mirrors much of the unrest in the United States. England is fighting for racial, gender and even religious equality,” Masula said. 

The final speaker was Leiter, a junior nursing major, Leiter, who visited Amsterdam. The point that Leiter wanted to stress was that the Netherlands were not all about sex and drugs. Leiter presented that not all drugs are legal in the Holland, and that the provinces decide for themselves. She also said the drug related death rate is higher in the US than in the Netherlands and continued by presenting information about the beauty of the Netherlands that she loved. 

“A tough choice between the Anne Frank house and Van Gogh’s museum,” Leiter said. 

Upon returning from their study abroad, the five students brought back knowledge they learned and were thrilled to have the opportunity to teach the students of Waynesb