September 10, 2015

SEC Announces First Recipients of Dr Pepper Education Abroad Awards

SECU, the academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference, strives to increase the amount and type of education abroad opportunities for SEC students

By: Bryant Welbourne
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Twenty-eight students from each Southeastern Conference university will study abroad during the 2015-16 academic year, the result of a contribution to the league by Dr Pepper. The longtime SEC corporate sponsor allocated $100,000 to the conference to provide study abroad opportunities for high achieving SEC students with demonstrated financial need who represent non-traditional study abroad participants.

“We are enthused to expand upon the SEC’s commitment to education by giving deserving students a chance to study abroad through the SECU academic initiative,” Jaxie Alt, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Dr Pepper said when the program was established. “Dr Pepper has continued to fund one-of-a-kind dreams since 2008 through our tuition giveaway program, and now we are able to support the great work the SEC is doing.”

Each SEC university identified two students to participate in a faculty-led program occurring during either the summer, fall or spring terms. Funds will also be provided to selected students for the 2016-17 academic year.

“Increasing the amount and type of education abroad opportunities available to SEC students has been an SECU goal for more than a decade,” said Torie Johnson, Executive Director of the SECU Academic Initiative. “It’s exciting to know that thanks to Dr Pepper’s generosity, more SEC students than ever will have a life-changing experience in another part of the world.”

SECU was established in 2005 as the SEC Academic Consortium, and one of its original focal points was education abroad. In response, the consortium secured an Institute for Study Abroad Foundation grant to provide scholarships for SEC students to study at Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland. In addition, by utilizing a cooperative agreement, students from SEC universities now have access to programs offered at other SEC universities. Finally, the SEC also has a partnership with the Politecnico di Torino which gives SEC engineering students the opportunity to study in Torino, Italy, each spring.

Below is the list of SEC students, their universities, majors and destinations abroad.