Thanks to essays written by Arcadia students, the University is sending three high school educators to China this summer.

The essays were in response to the annual Pay It Forward Scholarship Contest, which asks Arcadia students to reflect on the impact of an influential educator from high school. For their winning essays, Clifford Long ’17, Natalie Marshall ’16, and Kayla Wilhelm ’18 received scholarships of $1,000 each to be used for international travel through Arcadia. Those they honored are guaranteed spots in the annual Educators’ Preview, which parallels Arcadia’s Preview for first-year and new transfer students.

The winners were announced on Dec. 5, after a day of workshops for high school educators and guidance counselors with topics such as study abroad, the 2016 SAT redesign, and financial aid and guest speakers from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and the College Board.

“[Lara Webb] encouraged me to find myself and my strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, to highlight those, and to think about those going forward,” Long wrote of his former teacher. He noted that when he returns to visit his high school, Webb’s hug is one of the warmest he receives.

“I am overjoyed and humbled and so excited,” said Webb. “Cliff made … me love my job. I had always hoped he would be able to travel—that was something that he wanted to do. And now he’s giving it back to me.”

Marshall, a junior pursuing a degree in international studies, has been to England, South Africa, Ghana, and Trinidad and Tobago through Arcadia. Next semester, she plans to study in Paris with the help of the scholarship.

“Since I started working in the field of education, it’s a passion of mine not only to teach the subject but also to make sure that students understand that what they’re doing now has a profound impact on their futures,” said Katie Seufert, who taught Marshall at York Suburban High School.

Marshall wrote that Seufert “not only instilled in [her] a love of global studies, but also encouraged [her] and continues to encourage [her] to step outside of her comfort zone and seek new experiences.”

The contest also awarded $750 scholarships to three runners-up and $500 scholarships to four honorable mentions.

The winners of the 2014 Pay It Forward Scholarship are: