Josh Brofford, a junior civil engineering major, received the Wolfe Study Abroad Scholarship for the Engineering the Castles and Cathedrals of England and Wales program during summer 2022. 

The Wolfe Study Abroad Scholarship, established on September 1, 1999, enhances the educational experience of Ohio State students by providing financial support to participants in Ohio State approved global education programs. Around 40 scholarships are awarded each year at around $3,000 per scholarship to students with limited or no international travel experience

“I wouldn’t have been able to go on the trip without it,” Brofford said. “As I was about to drop out of the program, I received the scholarship opportunity and was able to go.”

The Engineering the Castles and Cathedrals of England and Wales program took Brofford and fellow Buckeyes Abroad to view the various castles, cathedrals and abbeys. Brofford learned to utilize the public transportation systems of these countries and tried many of the popular cuisines such as meat pies and Cornish pasties.

“As an aspiring civil engineer, I’ve always been interested in construction and architecture throughout the ages,” reflected Brofford. “This was an opportunity to see works of engineering that have withstood the test of times and the ones that have been left to ruins.”

“The biggest thing for me on this trip was realizing how many other people there are living their own individual lives,” said Brofford on his experience. “There’s a word I learned called sonder, it’s the realization that every human is simultaneously living or has lived a life just as intricate, confusing and complicated as your own.”

While abroad, Brofford realized his new goal of working internationally after graduation thanks to the Wolfe Study Abroad Scholarship.

 “I have decided that I'd love to work abroad in the future, if possible, and I'm looking for opportunities to work outside of the United States,” Brofford said. “At the end of the day, I couldn't have done any of it without the Wolfe Study Abroad Scholarship, and for that, I'm extremely grateful.”