Vanessa Lange, a junior fine arts major, was awarded a Freeman-Asia Scholarship in the amount of $7,000 for study abroad expenses at Obirin University in Tokyo, Japan. The Freeman-Asia Scholarship, launched in 2000, allows undergraduates to learn about East Asia and is designed to spread a greater understanding of its people and culture.

Lange, daughter of Josephine and Mark Lange of Arden, is a 2005 graduate of Bellport High School in Brookhaven, N.Y., and will be studying the Japanese language and culture. Lange is the first WCU student to study at Obrin and is WCU’s first Freeman-Asia Scholarship finalist.

Sarah Ryckman, a junior English major, was awarded an Affiliate Student Award from AustraLearn, an exchange program partnered with WCU, in the amount of $1,000 for study abroad expenses at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

Ryckman, daughter of Vickie and the late Rick Ryckman of New Bern, is a 2004 graduate of New Bern High School and will be studying English and marketing.

Students accepted into the study abroad program must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or higher; submit an application, two academic references and a letter of intent by specific deadlines; and attend a study abroad orientation.

For more information about study abroad programs, call John Schweikart, study abroad adviser, at (828) 227-2567 or visit http://www.wcu.edu/ips.