Scholarships help four CWU students realize travel dreams

Four Central Washington University students will be traveling abroad this year with the help of two CWU scholarship programs and one provided by the federal government.

Mahmood Alkhazraji and Carlos Santos were both awarded the highly competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship through the U.S. Department of State, while Alkhazraji also received a WorldCat Airfare Scholarship and a WorldCat First Passport Scholarship from CWU.

Santos will be spending the 2025-26 academic year in South Korea, studying at the Ewha Womans University, and Alkhazraji will travel to Costa Rica for three months this fall, with help from third-party sponsor CIS Abroad.

Two other Wildcats, Judah Tadema and Melanie Rodriguez-Balbuena, will be traveling abroad this summer with help from the WorldCat Airfare Scholarship.

Tadema is looking forward to studying at Philipps-Universität Marburg in Marburg, Germany, with help from third-party sponsor ISEP Study Abroad. Rodriguez-Balbuena will spend nearly three months at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

Steve Cook from the Office of International Studies and Programs (OISP) explained how the WorldCat scholarships work:

“Subject to available funds, the WorldCat Airfare Scholarship offers up to $500 to subsidize airfare,” he said. “Any CWU student participating in an approved education abroad program is eligible to apply. Also subject to available funds, the WorldCat First Passport Scholarship offers the cost of a new U.S. passport — currently $165 — to any CWU student who has never had one before.

“Both scholarships are set up to allow for distribution well ahead of participation, as they are intended to reduce financial barriers to education abroad,” Cook added.

Similarly, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is designed to enable students of limited financial means to study or pursue an internship abroad.

Alkhazraji, who is completing his second year at CWU this spring, said he is honored to have received such a rare opportunity.

“It was a pretty big surprise, and I didn’t think I was going to get it,” he said. “To hear that I got accepted was a great feeling. It makes me very proud.”

All four CWU scholarship recipients talked about how they have always wanted to travel abroad but lacked the resources to make it happen. They each approached OISP about potential scholarship opportunities, and credited Cook and his colleagues for helping make it happen.

Santos thanked the OISP team for guiding him every step of the way.

“I didn’t know anything about study abroad programs, but Steve and the OISP team made everything really easy to understand,” he said. “They made me feel really supported.”

Mahmood Alkhazraji

Alkhazraji has lived in four different countries, but until now, he has never had an opportunity to travel for pleasure. After receiving three study abroad scholarships this spring, he will finally have his chance this fall when he visits San José, Costa Rica.

The Iraqi refugee moved to the United States in 2016, by way of Egypt and Turkey, and graduated from Curtis High School in Tacoma before coming to CWU in 2023.

At just 20 years old, Alkhazraji has life experiences that are well beyond his years. Thanks to the Gilman Scholarship and the WorldCat Airfare and First-Year Passport scholarships, he’s looking forward to a potentially life-changing adventure in Costa Rica.

“In a way, it feels like a new beginning for me,” he said. “This trip is going to open up a lot of new opportunities, and I look forward to coming home and sharing my experiences with other first-generation students.”

Ever since high school, Alkhazraji has been passionate about political science, and he hopes to one day become a foreign service diplomat for the U.S. State Department.

One of his primary objectives during his visit to Costa Rica is to compare and contrast the political dynamics of the government in his host country and the Washington State Legislature.

“My goal is to set up a meeting with a local politician in Costa Rica and talk to them about the work they do and what they seek to provide for their constituents,” Alkhazraji said. “I’m really interested in comparing how they do things there with how we do things here.”

Alkhazraji already has some formal government experience under his belt, having served as a page for a state representative during the 2023 legislative session in Olympia. He also attended a leadership conference at the Washington State Capitol during high school.

More recently, he returned to Olympia to participate in rallies with fellow CWU students seeking to bring attention to the need for financial aid programs like the Washington College Grant.

“Those issues affect me heavily because all of my college expenses are paid by those programs,” Alkhazraji said. “I feel like we made a difference, and I want to continue to stay involved so we can help create change in our political system.”

As he prepares to leave for Costa Rica in September, Alkhazraji looks back on a decision he made last year as being pivotal in his growth as a student. He considered transferring to another school, but if he had moved on, he may not have discovered everything OISP has to offer.

“I’m really glad I stayed,” Alkhazraji said. “CWU is a pretty chill spot because you can balance your life well between academics and social activities. You feel like you’re part of a community, and that’s what I have enjoyed the most.”

Carlos Santos

Santos has always been interested in traveling abroad, but he never knew what it would take to land a study abroad opportunity like the one afforded to him by the Gilman Scholarship.

The first-generation transfer student from Tieton — a small agricultural town about 13 miles west of Yakima — will begin his first-ever overseas adventure when he travels to South Korea in August, and he is brimming with anticipation.

“I have met a lot of international students here at CWU and they told me what a great experience it is to study abroad,” said Santos, who will spend the entire 2025-26 academic year living in Seoul. “I started looking at a bunch of different programs, and Steve (Cook) told me about Ewha Womans University. I wrote an essay and completed my application, not really knowing what to expect. When I heard that I got it, I was surprised but also very proud.”

Santos, who transferred to CWU from Yakima Valley College last fall, said he hopes to one day work for a global company and interact with clients all over the world. As an accounting and finance major, he hopes to learn a few things about international business while he’s there.

He’s also hoping to learn a new language that will propel him toward his dream career.

“The classes are taught in English, but I will need to speak Korean when I’m not at school,” Santos said. “I feel like it’s respectful for me to learn their language, but I’m sure it will also help me later on.”

Once he finishes his two semesters at Ewha, Santos looks forward to returning home and sharing his experiences with students from his hometown, many of whom haven’t been exposed to study abroad opportunities.

One of the requirements of the Gilman Scholarship is to complete a follow-up project, and Santos believes he could help open new doors for people like him by sharing his experiences.

“I never heard about opportunities like this at my high school or YVC, and it always felt so far away,” he said. “If those students hear from someone like me, hopefully they will realize what is possible.”

Melanie Rodriguez-Balbuena

Like Santos, Rodriguez-Balbuena has always wanted to experience what life is like in another country. This summer, the senior from Quincy will have the opportunity of a lifetime when she attends a summer program at Yonsei University in Seoul from June 25 to August 6.

“This is the first time in my life that I have traveled, and I’m so excited to be going to a place like South Korea,” she said. “I am really intrigued by the culture and cuisine there, but I’m also looking forward to learning the language and their approach to marketing.”

Rodriguez-Balbuena is a senior marketing major who transferred to CWU from Big Bend Community College. She is especially interested in digital marketing, and she looks forward to comparing the South Korean business model to what she has learned in college.

Her two classes at Yonsei University this summer will be Korean 101 and Luxurious Brand Marketing.

“Social media will be a big part of the luxurious brands class,” she said. “On the syllabus, they talk about what brands there do to market their clothing, and it’s mostly done through digital marketing. I’m really looking forward to learning more about how they do things in Korea versus here.”

Rodriguez-Balbuena has completed most of her credits and will be working on her capstone project next year as she prepares to graduate in spring 2026. She also plans to continue working at the Early Childhood Learning Center on campus and at a restaurant in her hometown.

She’s busy all the time, but she knows it will pay off in the end.

“There’s so much I have to pay for, so I just work as much as I can,” she said. “I’m trying to set myself up for a good future, but it will also be nice to take a break from my busy schedule this summer.”

Judah Tadema

Tadema is a third-year transfer student from Moses Lake who came to Central from Big Bend CC this winter to pursue a degree in history. He’s also interested in German and political science, which led him to start pursuing study abroad opportunities in Germany.

“I started looking at scholarships that I could qualify for that centered around German and history,” said Tadema, who will be attending classes at Philipps-Universität Marburg from late July through September. “Philipps was in my price range and fit my time frame, and so I started looking into some scholarships through CWU.”

Once he returns to the States, Tadema will complete his Army basic combat training in October before returning to Central for winter quarter 2026.

Along with the WorldCat Airfare Scholarship he received from CWU this spring, Tadema also was awarded the Morgan M. Bresett Brown German Scholarship. He eventually looks forward to taking advantage of the financial assistance being offered by the Army.

“Having financial security is something I really value, and to have that while also serving my country was a big deal to me,” he said.

Once he completes his military service, Tadema plans to pursue a master’s degree and become a college professor. He said he has appreciated the support he received from Cook and the OISP staff throughout the process.

“They really helped me get my foot in the door,” he said. “Steve and his colleagues pointed me in the right direction, and I’m really thankful for all of their help.”