New scholarship supports study abroad opportunities in Africa

A new scholarship established by an OU alumna will support students who study abroad in Africa. 1美元,年度奖金, named the 帕特里克 Missodey Memorial Study Abroad Scholarship, was created by Dana Parke in memory of her late host father, whom she says made an indelible impact when she studied abroad in Dakar, 2012年塞内加尔奥运会.

帕特里克 and Yollande in their home in Dakar, Senegal

“帕特里克不仅仅是我的寄宿父亲, he and (his wife) Yollande had become part of my family,帕克说. “I always knew I wanted to give back so that other students who do not have the financial means would be able to benefit from similar study abroad experiences. I realized there was no better way to honor 帕特里克 than to establish a scholarship in his memory to support 韦德体育app官网 students to study abroad in Africa.”

在她一个学期的国外学习期间, 帕克和米苏代一家住在一起, 珠宝大师, 和他的妻子约兰德, 联合国儿童基金会的管理员. She recalls many fond memories: “帕特里克 greeting me every morning from his jewelry workshop inside our home – he even handmade me a custom silver necklace pendant in the form of a baobab tree, which is my most cherished piece of jewelry – sharing many meals together including eating a Togolese peanut dessert that 帕特里克 prepared and drinking bisaap (hibiscus juice), 在非洲杯期间为赞比亚加油, going to Mass every Sunday and visiting Keur Moussa Monastery, laughing with their many friends and family, 还有更多.”

帕特里克, Dana and Yollande at their home in Montreal in 2015

除了在塞内加尔上课, Parke also interned with the Association of African Women for 研究 and Development and completed independent research conducting interviews on attitudes towards economic and political liberalization in Senegal, 最终发表了一篇文章. Studying abroad also allowed her to complete the French and African Studies coursework to become a triple major.

帕克于2013年毕业, 作为开放大学荣誉学院的一员, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations, 非洲和非裔美国人研究, 法语语言文学. She now works as a global public health professional with over eight years’ experience at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) in Detroit. She led the organization’s global health program in Haiti and later transitioned to her current role as Program Manager for Clinical and Social Health Integration. 在这个位置, she focuses on addressing patient social determinants of health, 尤其是住房. In 2017, she received a 10 within 10 Award from OU’s Young 校友会 for leadership in her career and community. Her study abroad experience was integral in shaping her career path.

“最终, it was my international experience and my fluency in French that were the main factors that resulted in me obtaining the job at HFHS right before I graduated in 2013 to lead our Global Health Initiative’s program in Haiti,她分享道。. “I continue to credit my study abroad experience for many soft skills that I use on a daily basis: my ability to form deep relationships with partners, 我适应新环境的灵活性, 我的文化能力, and my values of prioritizing diversity and equity.”

The 帕特里克 Missodey Memorial Study Abroad Scholarship will be administered through OU’s Office of 韦德体育app官网.

=

Dana’s parents meeting her host parents in Toronto in September 2019 (Top: Dana, 帕特里克, Keith Parke (Dana的父亲), Yollande; Bottom: Sabrina (帕特里克 and Yollande’s niece), Christine Lahey Parke (Dana的母亲)

“Many students who study abroad would be unable to do so without financial support,Alex Zimmerman说, 公开大学韦德体育app官网主任. “This scholarship helps make international education accessible to everybody at OU.”

齐默尔曼指出，加纳, 在西非, is one of the few countries where OU students have studied abroad throughout the pandemic and that “as we begin to venture out into the world again in a bigger way, two of our first group study abroad programs will be going to Africa.”

“我觉得对于那些有能力的人, studying abroad is the best thing one can do during college to both advance one’s career, 以及个人的成长,帕克补充道. “I hope that the recipients will dive in and immerse themselves wholeheartedly in the culture and establish genuine and long-lasting relationships with those that they meet.”

韦德体育app官网 offers over 300 programs in more than 45 countries, 横跨六大洲, 几乎每个专业. To learn more about study abroad, as well as financial aid and scholarship opportunities, visit 韦德体育app官网.