Congratulations to Tempe Prep Senior Abigail Everding who has received the prestigious full scholarship to study abroad for an entire academic year in Seoul, South Korea through the U.S. State Department’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program.  The scholarship includes all education, transportation, and living expenses for the full academic year. Last summer, Abigail received the NSLI-Y scholarship to study for 6 weeks in Songdo, South Korea. She enjoyed the program so much that she encouraged many Tempe Prep students to apply for the program this summer, and three additional Tempe Prep students received the scholarship to study in India, Jordan, and Russia (and one as an alternate for the China program).

Abby has attended Tempe Prep since the sixth grade and has participated in Speech & Debate, the Art Club, and served as President of the National Honor Society. Describing her Tempe Prep education as “formative,” Abby says, “I really grew into my own shoes during my time at Tempe Prep.  Tempe Prep stresses student participation in its implementation of the Socratic method.  This method of teaching helped me to engage deeply with the material I learned in class and encouraged me to vocalize my thoughts.  Tempe Prep’s trademark course, Humane Letters, forced me to come out of my shell and refined my ability to articulate myself.”

After her year in South Korea, Abby will attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois with practically a full-ride scholarship. With scholarship offers also from Washington and Lee, Grinnell College, ASU, and NAU, Abby’s scholarship offers totaled well over $700,000. Abby was named a QuestBridge Scholar and was selected to give a valedictory address at Tempe Prep. At Northwestern, Abby plans to study Linguistics, International Studies and Cognitive Science.  She also hopes to continue being very involved in study abroad activities while in college.