TPP Scholarship Recipients 2022
This year, The Passport Portal awarded $4,000 in scholarships to students who are currently enrolled in college and plan to continue their education through an undergraduate degree program or certification from an accredited college, university, or technology school.
A group of trained community volunteers reviewed applications, and winners were selected based upon their academic achievement, financial need, and other eligibility requirements. After reviewing all of this year’s applications, The Passport Portal Scholarship Committee selected twenty scholarship awards winners:
Adriana Tenorio-Zelada
Columbus State University
Future study abroad destination: Guatemala
"As a Latina in America I believe it is very important to interact with many different cultures. This country is a melting pot of different people with different cultures and I believe that learning about these differences is very important to help with strengthen empathy for others. With my passport, I would eventually love to become a traveling physical therapist and travel to other countries and help them in any way I can."
Alli Stamatellos
University of West Georgia
Future study abroad destination: Madrid, Spain
“Having a passport afterwards would also be incredibly beneficial for me if I wanted to immerse myself in other cultures I am unfamiliar with. It would give me plenty of freedom to travel where I feel led to inside or outside of study abroad programs. In the future, I would like to travel to France, Japan, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Norway, South Korea and several other countries to give me more opportunities to learn, grow as a person, and enjoy aspects of other cultures I couldn't experience in-country. The best part about having a passport is that it does not expire until ten years, so it gives me plenty of time to explore the world around me."
Amber Youngblood
Georgia College & State University
Future study abroad destination: Santiago, Chile
“The first thing I will be doing with my passport will be studying abroad in Chile. After that, my dream job would have some element of international travel and working with people from all over the world. I plan to do a lot of work in furthering immigration reform progress with Hispanic and Latino families entering the United States. If I have any chance of making any progress in this field, I will need the knowledge and experience with these countries. My top three cities that I want to visit are Tokyo, Japan; London, England; and Buenos Aires, Argentina."
Arianna Zapata
Columbus State University
Future study abroad destination: Andros Islands, Bahamas
“If awarded this scholarship, I would be able to go on my study abroad to the Andros Islands of the Bahamas. With my passport, I will be able to not just join this study abroad, but hopefully other opportunities like it. Going overseas will benefit me academically and personally as I will be able to get my experience in research but also the chance to go to a different country and learn about a whole new country and culture. Obtaining a passport will open up a great variety of opportunities for myself. Having a passport is the starting foundation I need in order to start my career.”
Azaria Perry
Middle Georgia State University
Future study abroad destination: Ireland
“There is a surplus of beautiful landscapes, people, homes, cultures, traditions, to be seen. Some that warm the heart, some that make the heart race. I just want to experience them. Immersing myself in other cultures would first widen my mindset, my ideals, and my perspective of how the world works. Being the best version means traveling and getting new experiences. I want to travel in a way where you're learning about the place you're going to. Where you are interacting with the citizens there, you are exploring its history. [With my passport] I'm going to go, go learn, go help, go live.” -Azaria
Brieanna McMichael
Gordon State College
Future study abroad destination: London, UK
“If I were awarded this scholarship, I would use my new passport, and my school's Study abroad program to travel and go to school. With this passport, I want to create a travel notebook, where I document all of the amazing places I want to travel to around the world. The first being my study-abroad trip to London. I’ve had a lot of time to think about where I want to go, so hopefully, the next trip would be to Seoul South Korea, then Tokyo Japan.
Destiney Johnson
Grambling State University
Future study abroad destination: France
“I enjoy volunteering and serving within my communities. As a first-generation student, I strive every day to achieve my goal of completing my Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems. When I decided to go to college, I knew I wanted to help people like my family.
I am interested in becoming a Scholar and being an advocate for the scholarship. This could help me work less hours and be more involved in community service at my HBCU. I would use this scholarship to explore my study abroad options for the first time!” - Destiney
Ian Dooley
Columbus State University
Future study abroad destination: Oxford, England
“As someone who has never left the United States before, I am eager to have firsthand experience with a culture that is different than my own. I find it fascinating how things that may be taboo or strange in one part of the world may be completely normal in another. It is easy to become set in one’s ways, believing that they have all the answers to life’s moral questions. This results in an isolated perspective that can become dangerous when given enough time. This can be seen in the way that opinions about politics and society are treated, where it has become natural instinct to remain stubborn and defensive, no matter how much one's beliefs may hurt someone else.”
I'Maya Gibbs
Case Western Reserve University
Future study abroad destination: London at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
“With my passport, I would travel to every country, study and perform theatre internationally, and volunteer in foreign countries. I aspire to travel the world and experience different cultures, climates, and ways of life. While traveling, I would love to use my passport to learn and perform theatre internationally. Furthermore, with my passion for volunteering, I would help further establish communities in developing nations. The Passport Scholarship would be paramount in achieving my life goals. My ambition is to immerse myself in many cultural societies. The world is an amazing place to explore, and I strive to discover every inch of it.”
Isabelle Prenatt
Wright State University
Future study abroad destination: Santiago, Chile
“If awarded this scholarship, my passport would be first used this summer to travel to Italy as a part of my university's study abroad program. This trip is twofold, encompassing both an art history class and a photography class. The art history course will cover not only paintings and statues but architecture. During the trip, the group will be staying primarily in Florence and Rome. There will also be day trips to the Tuscany countryside and Vatican City as well as opportunities for participants to travel on their own.
After this summer, I would like to travel again. I have an interest in exploring more of Europe, especially Spain or Germany, but Costa Rica is an intriguing possibility as well. Altogether, there are countless incredible places in this world that would be incredible to experience and I hope to have the opportunity to do so."
Jaida Anderson
Wright State University
Future study abroad destination: France
“I have been looking forward to traveling to France for years now. I am excited to carry out this goal that I have had for a long time now. As I mentioned, I have a passion for traveling. As I have grown into a young adult I have realized that traveling is actually my hobby. I have planned and carried out various vacations or trips to events on a whim. Not only will I use it for leisurely purposes, but most likely for business affairs too. My minor is in entrepreneurship essentials, and I plan to start a small business but also want to be involved in real estate through Airbnb. I have several countries that I have always wanted to visit and planned to get a passport soon nevertheless. A couple of other places I will be visiting are Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and so many more.”
Jorge Ochoa
The University of Texas in El Paso
Future study abroad destination: Germany
“If I were awarded this scholarship, I would use my passport to travel as much as possible to see the wonders of the world and use this opportunity to accomplish my dream of becoming a polyglot. I would love to visit Brazil and perfect my Portuguese while celebrating the carnival in Rio or enjoy the kasbah architecture while speaking French and Arabic in Morocco. I would love to have the opportunity and the pleasure of continuing my education and pursuing graduate school in Germany, it would be an excellent opportunity to learn German and visit and explore all the European continent. There are many things to see and people to meet that I only hope to be able to see a small portion of what the world and life have to offer.”
Kaiden Caudle
Georgia Southern University
Future study abroad destination: Paris, France
“If I am awarded this scholarship, I will use my passport to learn about why I am here. I want to explore what the world has to offer and immerse myself in other cultures. I want to grow myself as a person and learn about who I am. Traveling allows you to develop parts of yourself that may not be developed otherwise. I want to grow my level of creativity and decrease my levels of stress and anxiety. I will use my passport for the next ten years to travel beyond the study abroad opportunity. The study abroad opportunity is just the first step I plan to take towards seeing the world and immersing myself in other cultures.”
Kaylene Rae’ Pilkinton
Columbus State University
Future study abroad destination: Oxford, England & Kyoto, Japan
“The chance to study abroad in multiple countries would provide me with an authentic experience that I would carry with me forever. Studying in another country would provide me with a new perspective on global issues, politics, and my world view. I have never left the United States before so I can only picture the world through America’s lens. Viewing the world would also assist me in my creative ventures.’
Lauren Avant
Georgia College & State University
Future study abroad destination: Santiago, Chile
“My greatest goal in life is to be someone who is always helping others and to do that I have to understand others better. Therefore, I will be able to put myself in their shoes so that I can come up with a solution that works. Without fully immersing myself in varying cultures I will lack the ability to help other situations that I do not face personally. Overall, I think it is so significant for us to experience life and traditions other than our own. The reason why is that we can learn a lot from others if we open ourselves up to differing opinions and by doing this, we grow into being better people so that we can help lead others to growth by teaching them the valuable lessons that we have learned. Since I have not been in the position to immerse myself in many unfamiliar cultures, I can only imagine the profound effect that it will have, and I am looking forward to growing in ways that I have never imagined.“
Laura Benavente
The University of Texas at El Paso
Future study abroad destination: Seville, Spain
“Since I was a child, I have always wanted to learn about various cultures and travel to different places; I also enjoy meeting new people, especially when they have different lifestyles and cultures than mine. As I previously stated, with a passport in hand, I would like to travel to other countries to learn new things and gain new perspectives. I would also like to represent Latinxs in other countries and show them that we are more than what the media portrays. Representing my university in other parts of the world is also important for me to make new connections that will help me expand my professional network in the future and give a good impression of the students from my university. I want to travel and leave a piece of myself in other places and people, but I also want to learn from different cultures and people; I want to explore and evaluate each country I visit and take the best of it with me.”
Linette Delgado
George Washington University
Future study abroad destination: Madrid, Spain
“One of the reasons why college excited me was because of studying abroad. The thought of taking courses in another country, being under a different educational system, interacting with new people, living with a host family, and appreciating other traditions has always been fascinating to me. Yet, once I got to college, I realized that not many people could afford to study abroad because of financial constraints, like myself. However, this scholarship would alleviate one financial burden when deciding to study abroad next fall. My dream of going to Madrid would be one step closer to happening. Aside from this, it will allow me to visit my parents’ hometown in Mexico. Growing up, I heard endless stories about their life in Mexico and the beautiful sunsets. I eventually want to visit Mexico and experience and cherish firsthand my Mexican heritage.”
Mary Mitchell
Georgia College & State University
Future study abroad destination: Italy
“Immersing myself in other cultures will be a new and exciting experience for me to be an outsider living in a small Italian town. I am sure the local population is accustomed to having Georgians in residence. However, we come from different environments and speak a different language. The challenges of being different will help me appreciate the struggles of immigrants and visitors from abroad in my own community. There will be times in Italy when I will be very grateful for a helping hand from local residents. I am sure my own feelings of vulnerability will make me more anxious to reach out to persons in a similar situation in the United States. Despite big differences of language and experience, there is much in the human experience that unites us across borders and oceans. I hope to discover some of these fundamental areas of unity, and to celebrate the qualities of global citizenship.”
Nakaha Burke
Augusta University
Future study abroad destination: England
“There are several ways to begin learning about other cultures, from asking your friends to researching various cultural conventions online, but one of the most effective ways to genuinely comprehend what another culture is like is to immerse yourself in it— through travel, and what better way to do that than studying abroad? Through travel, you may experience what it is like to be a member of a community other than your own. Additionally, it fosters cultural understanding and acceptance, which may aid in the dismantling of cultural barriers when engaging with individuals from other backgrounds. Absorbing new information, see the world from different points of view, and practicing active listening skills are humbling—and even joyful—acts that make you a more empathetic person. Understanding many cultures is critical for personal and social growth. When planning a trip to another country, get travel accessories and gear from businesses whose message resonates with you.”
Nakyla Stallings
Georgia Southern University: Statesboro
Future study abroad destination: Paris, France
“With my passport, I will be participating in the USG Goes Global program to Paris, France to take a French twist on the courses Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Popular Culture Studies. Receiving my passport will be the final step in confirming my commitment status. My passport will be valid until I am 29, and I would like to use those 10 years to continue the momentum of traveling and exposing myself to different cultures. I would like to continue taking study abroad opportunities, and I have even considered the possibility of getting my graduate degree internationally or taking graduate courses abroad. Beyond education, obtaining my passport will give me a chance to continue traveling beyond study abroad programs, allowing me to take personal trips to satisfy that curious drive that leads me to different countries. I am obsessed with the idea of traveling like a resident of these countries. Experiencing different cultures as a local gives me the chance to really immerse myself. It allows the true colors of different cultures to shine through the gilded gold of tourism.”