The CHBS Student Travel and Research Support (STARS) Fund
The College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences has an ongoing commitment to helping students access experiential learning initiatives like collaborative research and co-curricular activities such as Model United Nations and competitive Mock Trial. Participation in these kinds of experiences can shape a student's intellectual and professional trajectory for a lifetime.
As an example, many of our highly motivated students engage in research projects with their faculty collaborators producing results that are competitive with students at other universities. To get these students to regional or even national academic conferences where they can shine takes funding. A trip to a regional conference can run well over a thousand dollars, well beyond the reach of many deserving students who may be financially constrained meeting traditional college expenses such as tuition, room, and board.
The STARS fund provides financial support for student travel to short-term experiential learning opportunities beyond the Radford campus. Through the generous support of our alumni and friends, STARS assists students with funding for expenses such as travel, registration, and lodging so they can explore the world and opportunities beyond southwestern Virginia.
Our students Kyle Cardenas and Tayler Hover (pictured above) had this to say about their travel experience:
"This trip has impacted me as a person and a student substantially. I think it is very important, if not critical, that more students travel to experience conferences and the various cultures that are around us. It gives new perspective, insight, understanding, and allows application from our education. Being a part of the Western Society Conference in Hawai’i would not have happened if it was not for the STARS grant. I would not have had the opportunity to push myself to improve my public speaking skills, learn about a different culture, meet all the people I met with, and have a better understanding of Hawai’i that is deeper than we see in the movies. I am eternally grateful as this conference pushed me as a student and expanded my education." - Tayler Hover
"Traveling as a graduate student to a new part of the country has given me a chance to gain new perspectives on topics that I have only learned from my professors at Radford University. By having conversations with other professors and students at this conference, I made new relationships that I can always contact if I need advice. When opportunities such as this one arises, I believe it is very important for students to attend these trips because it could create new career paths and give them a greater understanding of what life is like in a different community. Going into this trip, I did not have much confidence in myself because I was going to be doing something that I had never done before. Looking back at this experience, I’m happy to say that I was able to overcome those obstacles, which would not have been possible without help from the STARS Grant and Radford University." - Kyle Cardenas
Please consider a gift today to help increase access to these types of opportunities for our students.
