First Abroad Fellows Opens the World to First-Generation Students

For many students, studying abroad is a defining milestone—one that broadens perspective, deepens understanding and reshapes what they believe is possible. For first-generation students, however, that opportunity can sometimes feel out of reach. Financial barriers, unfamiliar processes and the uncertainty of navigating international travel without family experience can make studying abroad seem like an opportunity meant for someone else.

The First Abroad Fellows program at Baylor University’s Center for Global Engagement was created to change that. Since launching in 2019, the program has helped more than 342 first-generation students pursue global learning opportunities by combining scholarship support with personalized advising, mentorship and intentional preparation.

The idea behind the program is simple: Every student deserves the opportunity to engage the world, regardless of where they started.

“If I had no help or anything like this, I don't think I ever would have thought that studying abroad was accessible,” reflected First Abroad Fellow Scarlett Foxhoven.

Her experience echoes that of many students who arrive at Baylor believing international education is beyond their reach, only to discover that with the right support, those barriers can be overcome.

More Than a Scholarship

Financial support is an essential part of making global learning accessible, but First Abroad Fellows was built around the understanding that removing financial barriers is only the beginning. Each Fellow receives a $3,000 study abroad scholarship, assistance identifying additional funding opportunities and support obtaining a U.S. passport.

Since its inception, the program has awarded 135 scholarships totaling nearly $400,000—representing Baylor’s ongoing investment in expanding access to international education. But the most meaningful investment may be the network of people surrounding each student.

Advisors walk alongside Fellows through every stage of the journey: exploring programs, preparing applications, navigating unfamiliar cultural experiences and reflecting on what they learned after returning home. The goal is not simply to help students get on a plane. It is to help them develop the confidence, curiosity and intercultural understanding to thrive once they arrive.

As Raphael Abayateye, Associate Director of Global Engagement, explains, preparing students for global learning extends far beyond travel logistics. It means helping them approach new cultures with curiosity, humility and a willingness to learn from others.

Meeting Students Where They Are

No two students arrive at global learning in exactly the same way, and First Abroad Fellows was intentionally designed with that reality in mind. Today, Fellows participate in semester-long study abroad programs, faculty-led programs, internships, research, exchange programs and service-learning experiences around the world.

Students from nearly every academic college at Baylor have participated, demonstrating that global learning is not limited to a particular major or discipline. Engineering students, nurses, business students, musicians and students in the humanities can all find ways to connect their academic interests with experiences beyond the United States.

But sometimes, the biggest barrier isn't whether a student wants to go. It is whether their life will allow them to.

Advisors recognized that some students wanted to study abroad but could not leave work or family responsibilities for an entire semester—or even several weeks. Instead of accepting those limitations as the end of the conversation, Baylor created an opportunity that met students where they were: an exclusive one-week service-learning program in the Dominican Republic designed specifically for First Abroad Fellows.

“The one-week trip works really well because students can take off one week of work, but maybe not two or three,” said Holly Joyner, Associate Director of Global Engagement and Marketing. “We wanted to create an opportunity that met students where they were.”

That flexibility reflects one of the program’s defining strengths. Rather than asking students to fit a single model of study abroad, First Abroad Fellows continues to adapt opportunities around the realities of students’ lives. Because access is not truly access if the opportunity remains impossible to use.

From First Trip to New Possibilities

The impact of First Abroad Fellows reaches far beyond participation numbers. Approximately 40 Fellows join the program each year, with 95 active students preparing for or participating in international experiences. As advising, scholarship support and preparation have expanded, student withdrawal rates have steadily declined, reflecting the effectiveness of a relationship-centered approach that supports students before, during and after their time abroad.

But the most meaningful outcomes cannot always be captured in a spreadsheet.

Students return with greater confidence. They see themselves differently. They develop a deeper understanding of cultures beyond their own and often begin imagining new academic, professional and personal possibilities.

For some, one international experience becomes the first of many. A student who once wondered whether they belonged abroad may return ready to pursue another international opportunity. Another may discover a research interest that shapes their academic path. Someone else may carry a new understanding of the world into a future career or community.

The first journey can change what a student believes is possible for the journeys that follow.

Transforming Students—and Baylor

The transformation does not stop with the students who participate. Fellows now represent nearly every academic college at Baylor, bringing their experiences and perspectives back into classrooms and communities across the University.

That matters because global learning does more than send students into the world. It brings the world back to Baylor. When students return with stories from another country, new perspectives on familiar questions and a greater understanding of cultures different from their own, those experiences become part of the broader Baylor community.

By intentionally investing in first-generation students, Baylor is expanding who participates in international education—and strengthening the diversity of perspectives that shape its global community.

At its heart, First Abroad Fellows is about more than helping students travel abroad. It is about helping students discover that they belong in spaces they may never have imagined possible.

With every passport issued, every scholarship awarded and every student who returns home with a new understanding of themselves and the world, Baylor continues to demonstrate that global learning is most transformative when opportunity is paired with intentional support.

For hundreds of first-generation students, that support has been the difference between imagining the world and experiencing it firsthand.