Junior Posse scholar wins Fund for Education Abroad scholarship

Hillary Tun ’21 has been awarded a Fund for Education Abroad scholarship to spend the spring semester studying in an intensive language program in Harbin, China.

Tun is one of just 41 FEA scholarship winners selected from a pool of more than 1,800 applicants from 470 colleges and universities across the country. The FEA provides scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented among the U.S. study abroad population.  

A Posse scholar, Tun is a history major, Chinese minor and scholar in the College’s Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts. She was born in Myanmar and currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Tun, whose goal is to pass the TOEFL test for Chinese with a score in the high intermediate range, said she is looking forward to immersing herself in the language and contextualizing her learning.

“My language journey at Conn is a highlight of my college experience,” she said. “I have made lifelong friends from around the world and meaningful connections through Chinese language study.”

Tun credits her Chinese, history, CISLA and study away advisers with helping her shape her research questions and preparing her to study abroad. She said she is proud to be part of a 2021 Chicago Posse cohort that has achieved significant academic and personal growth at Conn. 

“This semester, we will be studying away in seven different countries,” Tun said of her Posse peers. “As nervous as we are, we are more excited for what awaits. I look forward to seeing them in our senior year and sharing our adventures.”