Purchase College arts management major Steven Brown ’15 earned a competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Student award allowing him to study abroad in Budapest, Hungary this semester. One of the first students to participate in the new arts management exchange program, he’s studying at the International Business School of Budapest.
The allure of world travel began for him during his sophomore year as one of two students who represented Purchase College in Tokyo, Japan during the Technos International Week last June. He then spent last summer studying in Madrid, Spain.
Brown is grateful for the assistance he’s received that allows him to travel. In addition to the Gilman award, he’s also received a private College Success Foundation scholarship and in 2013 earned the ACT for Excellence and Student Initiative Scholarship awarded by the Association of Council Members and College Trustees of the State University of New York.
When on campus, Brown is an active member of the Purchase College community and beyond. He’s volunteered for the Project Focus mentoring program with students in Mount Vernon. He’s a resident assistant and this summer he will mentor incoming Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) freshman during orientation week and into the fall semester. Brown is an EOP student and sees himself as a role model.
“As a Latino American, first generation student from New York City studying at Purchase College, I have really worked toward becoming an ambassador for other young people coming from underrepresented families and backgrounds,” he says.
“I have found that some of the most intelligent students often lack in confidence to believe that they, too, can do what I have done and continue to do. As a result, I push as much as I can to advocate for both the Hispanic community as well as the LGBTQU communities. I am a strong believer that some people really just need the support to make the first move,” Brown adds.
Click here for more information about the Purchase College EOP program.
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