Shireman studies development in Costa Rica
oSha Shireman
oSha Shireman, a sophomore McConnell Scholar from Meade County, will spend the next four months studying sustainable development, eco-tourism, human rights and Spanish as part of a study abroad program to Costa Rica. She will study in San Jose's International Center for Developmental Studies which is housed in Universidad Latina.
Shireman received a variety of scholarships to fund her semester-long studies, including a prestigious $4,000 Gilman International Scholarship. She also received grants from the McConnell Center, the University of Louisville International Center and her study abroad program.
"oSha has come a long way since I first met her as a student from Payneville who had barely ever travelled and whose horizons most would have assumed to have ended close to home," said Dr. Gary Gregg, director of the McConnell Center. "She has blossomed as a college student and young leader, and I couldn't be more proud of her determination, ambition and drive to make a difference."
Shireman, who is minoring in Spanish at UofL, said staying with a non-English-speaking host family will improve her language skills. She also said studying development in a foreign country will help her gain a more international perspective and balance her political science studies.
Shireman will return to the U.S. on May 18. She is pursuing a political science and English double major with a Spanish minor at UofL.