April 16, 2019

SVSU student receives scholarship to student teach in Argentina this summer

A Saginaw Valley State University student's passion for international educational experiences will lead her to return to an Argentinian city this summer.

Madison Savard recently received a $2,500 scholarship from The National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi to student teach in Buenos Aires, Argentina June 15 to August 15.

The elementary education major from Saginaw said that this experience will help her stand apart from other teacher applicants in her future career.

“Student teaching abroad is not something many have the opportunity to do, and my situation is even more unique because I played a role in making this happen,” she said.

Last summer, Savard was inspired to participate in a two-week, faculty-led study abroad trip to Buenos Aires, where SVSU students went to elementary schools and childcare centers in the city to learn about their education system and practices.

She said, as soon as she decided she wanted to return to Argentina, she put all of her effort into applying for as many scholarships as she could.

“Luckily, all the time and effort put into scholarship applications paid off,” she said.

There is more than just the educational aspect of the trip that is similar to the study abroad trip she went on a year prior. She will be living with the same host family.

“I am very excited to be living with them again,” she said. “We have stayed in contact, and I cannot imagine living anywhere else when I return.”

Savard is graduating in December 2019, and she said that receiving this scholarship has reminded her how wonderful the Spanish faculty in SVSU's Department of Modern Foreign Languages are.

“Some of my best experiences have been because of my experiences in the department, and the experiences they allowed me to be a part of led me to be qualified to receive this scholarship,” she said.