BGSU students receive funds to study, research abroad

BOWLING GREEN, O.—A second group of Bowling Green State University students will be able to study and conduct research abroad next semester thanks to the generosity of an alumnus with a strong belief in the value of international experiences.

Michael Hoskins, of Austin, Texas, a 1977 graduate, pledged funds to establish the Hoskins Global Scholar Program, which will support as many as five students annually. Last year he committed an additional $100,000 to expand international opportunities for students at the University beyond the College of Business Administration.

Student recipients are granted $5,000 to support their study abroad and allow them to explore a global academic opportunity to enhance their experience. BGSU is one of the few universities in the U.S. with this type of academic program available to undergraduate students.

William-Lee Bosch, a junior from Bowling Green majoring in film studies, will join the BGSU program in Salzburg, Austria. He will research and document differences between the German/Austrian and American film industries’ production processes and how each one represents different world perspectives to society. Bosch also plans to make a documentary of his own about how common movie themes like sex and drugs are portrayed in both cultures. He plans to visit as many film museums and festivals as possible and research what documentary themes are popular and which are emerging. His product will be a short documentary film showing the opinions of European and American students. His mentor is Dr. Edgar Landgraf, an associate professor of German.

Daniel Gerken, a senior and Honors College student from Napoleon, Ohio, will participate in BGSU’s exchange program at Aberyswyth University in Wales next spring. To complement his major in film production, for his Hoskins project Gerken will create a short documentary on the music scene in Cardiff, Wales. More than 20 local music venues and individual bands have agreed to participate. The project will allow him to hone his technical, creative and organizational abilities. His mentor is Lucas Ostrowski, an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Film.

Emily Matthews is a junior from Beachwood, N.J., majoring in international studies and health promotion. She will study abroad next spring through the School for International Training program “Public Health, Policy Advocacy, and Community” in New Delhi, India. In Ohio she is a yoga instructor who is interested in yoga therapy. Matthews will spend time learning about healing trauma through yoga and stress management, as well as yoga for the digestive and respiratory systems. One of her goals is trying to find ways to make the technical aspects of yoga therapy understandable and accessible to people who do not know much about it. Her BGSU mentor is Amanda McGuire Rzicznek, a general studies writing lecturer and local yoga instructor.

Jennifer Wohlgamuth, a junior from Zanesville, Ohio, majoring in international studies, will also study abroad in the spring in Salzburg. Her project will include both an internship and research. She plans to intern in a German travel agency to learn about how Europeans view travel and how they use travel resources. Then she will visit both Croatia and Slovakia, two emerging tourist destinations. Wohlgamuth is interested in discovering ways to present travel information to students who are looking for an authentic experience abroad, so she will also be researching technical aspects of delivering travel information through a variety of media such as websites and blogs. She plans to work in the travel industry as her career. Landgraf is also her mentor.

When the students return to BGSU, they will present the results of their efforts in a symposium designed to share their new understandings across campus. Upon completion of their presentations, they will qualify for an additional $1,000 in support.

Hoskins has stayed connected to his alma mater as he rose to become an entrepreneur and an early expert in the big data industry. His background is in computer programming and systems development. He has served as president of Data Junction Corp., and after leading the sale of the software company to Pervasive Software, he served as its Chief Technology Officer. The company has been sold again, and he continues to serve as Chief Technology Officer for the consolidated company, Actian Corporation.

He has been inducted into BGSU’s Dallas-Hamilton Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame, and is recognized as one of the University’s 100 Most Prominent Alumni.

Hoskins graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance in 1977 from BGSU, where his father, marketing professor Bill Hoskins, developed the first international programs in business. Hoskins speaks three languages, has lived and worked outside of the United States for more than 15 years, and has traveled to more than 100 other nations.