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UAB students gain opportunity to study in Asia

  • June 01, 2021
Students Arshnoor Grewal and Dallas Blackwell will receive Freeman Awards for Study in Asia.
Written by: Karen Templeton
Media contact: Yvonne Taunton


freeman award.2Students Arshnoor Grewal and Dallas Blackwell will receive Freeman Awards for Study in Asia.Two University of Alabama at Birmingham students have been selected for the Freeman Awards for Study in Asia, providing them with unique opportunities to develop their cultural understanding of Asia. 

The Freeman-ASIA program supports United States-based undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are planning to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia. The program’s goal is to increase the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents with firsthand exposure to and understanding of Asia and its people and cultures. From its inception in 2001, Freeman-ASIA has made study abroad in East and Southeast Asia possible for more than 5,000 U.S. undergraduates from more than 600 institutions.

Arshnoor Grewal, majoring in international studies and psychology in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Honors College, will study abroad in South Korea. Dallas Blackwell, a UAB School of Public Health student, plans to study in Japan.  

Award recipients are required to share their experiences with their home campuses or communities to encourage study abroad by others and fulfill the program’s goal of increasing understanding of Asia in the United States.

“What a tremendous opportunity for Arshnoor and Dallas,” said Michelle Cook, Ph.D., interim director of UAB’s National and International Fellowships and Scholarships. “The programs of study they have chosen include language acquisition and cultural immersion. This experience abroad will broaden their perspectives and enrich their education, and I am so excited for them.” 

Both students are delaying their programs until international travel for education abroad resumes. For more information on applying for national and international scholarships and fellowships such as Freeman-ASIA, visit uab.edu/fellowships.