News from The Mahurin Honors College

Tiara Shellman (MHC ’21), scholar from Atlanta, Georgia, majoring in Corporate and Organizational Communication, with a minor in Legal Studies, is among the 22 WKU students selected in October 2023 for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship which broadens the student population that studies or interns abroad by supporting undergraduates who might not otherwise participate due to financial constraints.  

Of the 22 students selected for this award in the Fall 2023 cycle, 100% are Pell Grant-eligible students, 68% are students of color, 55% are first-generation college students, 9% are students with disabilities, and 9% are enrolled at one of WKU’s regional campuses. The 22 WKU recipients in this application cycle earned scholarships totaling $77,500 with an average award amount of $3,500. 

Tiara’s interest in international travel beganjunior and senior year of high school while a participant in Upward Bound – a program that serves students from low-income families with the goal of increasing the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from postsecondary institutions. But, her involvement with TRIO and Student Support Services, as well as her leadership roles in Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC) and the Mahurin Honors College (MHC) at WKU, motivated her to apply for the Gilman award as a way to encourage other minority students to pursue abroad opportunities. After all, she had taken a leap of bravery as an out of state student to attend WKU, so taking that experience a step above wasn’t unreasonable.  

Tiara credits her tenacity to pursue abroad both to her mother who completed a college degree while single-parenting and to her sophomore year roommate who was an exchange student from Japan. A random roommate assignment provided her an opportunity to support another minority student in their adjustment to the US and campus life, describing how “me and my best friend, we took her [the roommate] to Walmart for the first time here in Bowling Green, she was just so amazed I helped her like set up the dorm room. And we just kind of had that, even though it was communication barriers, we had that like connection that I never like got before on Western’s campus.” 

The experience of being a friend, a mentor, and a guide to her roommate increased Tiara’s empathy for others who are navigating cultural differences, and because of these experiences, she has pursued additional coursework at WKU focused on intercultural communication, which she hopes will help her as she studies in Japan – a destination choice she credits to her roommate. While Tiara looks forward to her study abroad in Japan, she’s also cognizant of her hypervisibility as a minority woman in a country that is more ethnically homogeneous. 

But, she expressed optimism stating, “I'm pretty sure that people will still be nice” and while there may be potential for encounters or conversations that would be considered inappropriate by American standards, she explained that “studying intercultural communication, and just kind of doing like case studies and papers, I learned that sometimes what we do here in America might not be seen as normal, like some other place, but it's always good to ask for help, and to try something out. So I'm just giving it a try letting go of fear as being a minority, being a female being, like, first gen, just going out to learn.”  

On campus, Tiara is very involved as a peer mentor, as a representative of the Honors Development Board, as the President of the Scholars of Color in the MHC, a student employee of Veterans Upward Bound, and as a member of TRIO and ISEC. However, her membership in TRIO is closest to her heart because she discovered WKU during a TRIO organized tour of colleges and has received continued support and encouragement from TRIO staff while on the hill. Early in her WKU career, she was invited to speak to a group of younger students involved in TRIO while high schoolers, and her energy, storytelling, and enthusiasm caught the attention of Dr. Brian Brausch, Executive Director of WKU TRIO Programs & Interim Director of Upward Bound, who encouraged her to apply for a vacancy with Veterans Upward Bound.  

Through her various campus involvement organizations, Tiara strives to create a community where WKU students can experience the same sense of belonging and support as she has. A Thanksgiving potluck organized by the MHC Scholars of Color for multicultural students brought together several WKU faculty and staff members as part of the event and underscored the importance of nurturing multiple communities and relationships. Tiara shared that, “And then that moment, I was like, wow, I can really like accomplish like anything. Because I had support from my friends that helped me set up and clean up, to the professor, where we had a lot of food leftover, Mr. Alvarez, he went and just bought Tupperware from Dollar General so that everybody could take food home. Dr. C [Cobane] came.... so it was nice to see that I have respect not only from my peers, but also from professors.” 

As she prepares for her experience abroad (and yes, I asked if she plans to reconnect with her roommate) Tiara would like to encourage her fellow peers to pursue their big dreams. For those considering study abroad opportunities, Tiara shared the following, “So I would just tell people to go for it, go for the Gilman. You will learn something,you're learning something about yourself. You learn something about like, wow, this roommate made an impact on my life, but I really didn't know it then.” 

Congratulations to Tiara on being selected as a Gilman recipient and we’re looking forward to her soon-to-come Instagram travel blog and adventure!