For four Carlow students, this summer will bring a series of firsts: first passports stamped, first flights overseas, first time living in another country.
Lyric Knepshield, Maggie Lindway, Sydney Rummings, and Samantha DeGore have been awarded the Vira Heinz Scholarship, a merit-based grant that funds international study for sophomore and junior women who have never traveled abroad. The scholarship provides $5,000–$6,000 to support a minimum 28-day immersive experience focused on academic growth, leadership, and global engagement.
Here, close faculty mentorship, individualized support, and mission-driven innovation prepare students to step confidently into opportunities like this. While most participating institutions receive three awards, Carlow was granted four this year in recognition of the strength of its applicants. This summer, our Vira Heinz scholars will travel to multiple continents, pursuing clinical, linguistic, and service-based experiences that expand their education far beyond the classroom, living out Carlow’s devotion to service and preparing to contribute to a more just and merciful world through globally engaged learning.
Lyric Knepshield
Sophomore Nursing Major | Hometown: Beaver, PA | Destination: San José, Costa Rica
Lyric Knepshield, a sophomore nursing major with a minor in child development, will spend her summer in San José, Costa Rica, participating in a service-learning based program. She first learned about the Vira Heinz Scholarship through Carlow’s Center for Global Engagement. “I actually found out about it my freshman year,” she said. “I was handed a little postcard with the application details. But it’s specifically for sophomores and juniors, so I held on to it.”
For Lyric, the appeal of the program was both practical and personal. “The scholarship varies depending on where you go,” she explained. “If you chose a European country, it was $5,000. Outside of Europe, it was $6,000. That influenced me to choose Costa Rica because the cost of living is much cheaper, and I got more money, so it took me further. All of my program is covered, which is amazing.”
Lyric’s connection to Carlow began well before college. As a high school sophomore, she attended a healthcare summer camp on campus. “That’s when I fell in love with it,” she said. “I knew the rest of high school, this is where I’m going.”
She credits faculty mentorship with encouraging her to pursue opportunities like Vira Heinz. Speaking about her advisor, Dr. Janice Nash, Lyric said, “She just finds endless opportunities for me. I’ll mention one thing casually that I’m interested in, and she’ll be like, ‘I know someone you can connect with.’”
“If you’re involved in the community, it gives back to you,” she said. “Carlow doesn’t just say it’s a community. They really mean it.”
Maggie Lindway
Junior Neuroscience Major | Hometown: Allison Park, PA | Destination: Salamanca, Spain
Maggie Lindway will travel to Salamanca, Spain, this summer, where the junior neuroscience major will spend 33 days studying Spanish through a full-immersion program. “I’ll be there for 33 days taking Spanish,” she said. “I’m choosing to stay with a host family because I feel like that full immersion factor is important.”
Maggie transferred to Carlow after beginning her college career at a much larger university. Reflecting on the difference, she said, “Before I transferred in, I had never left an advising meeting not crying and being upset. My first advising meeting here, I found out I needed to take some courses over the summer, and I was very happy. I got answers. Even though I had to take classes over the summer, I didn’t care. I had answers.”
Despite significant family responsibilities, including supporting her father through multiple cancer treatments, Maggie is preparing for a service-centered career. Under the mentorship of Carlow Biology professor Amy Romesberg, she is pursuing both neuropsychology and intraoperative neurological monitoring tracks. “She really knows quite a lot,” Maggie said of Dr. Romesberg. “You can tell she has a passion for it.”
Balancing academics with Maggie describes the scholarship as an opportunity to step outside her comfort zone. “For me, this is like a big step out of my box,” she said. “Being able to actually do something for myself that’s not within the bounds of this state — that’s huge.”
Sydney Rummings
Junior Nursing Major | Hometown: North East, PA | Destination: Palermo, Italy
“For the first two weeks, I’m going with Carlow,” explained Sydney Rummings, a junior BSN nursing student. “We’re doing shadowing clinical experience at the ISMET hospital over there. It’s a transplant hospital. I’m hoping to see some things that I haven’t seen before.”
Sydney will be traveling to Palermo, Italy, where she will complete clinical shadowing at a UPMC-affiliated facility. After Carlow’s faculty-led portion concludes, Sydney will remain in Italy to fulfill the scholarship’s four-week requirement.
She first learned about the Vira Heinz Scholarship through the women’s soccer team. “My freshman year, [a soccer teammate] was a recipient,” she said. “Then last year, [another teammate] was the recipient, and we were roommates. So, I got to witness all of it.”
Now, she will experience it herself, including her first flight. “I’ve never even been on a plane,” Sydney said. “So it’s going to be my first time — 12 hours across the Atlantic.”
With multiple clinical rotations already completed in Pittsburgh-area hospitals, Sydney is eager to compare healthcare systems. “The U.S. healthcare system is different than the universal healthcare system they have over in Italy,” she said. “I’m interested to see how that works and work with teams from everywhere.” Her long-term goal is emergency medicine, possibly as a life flight nurse. “Ever since freshman year, I thought being a life flight nurse would be the coolest thing ever.”
Samantha DeGore
Junior Nursing Major | Hometown: Bethel Park, PA | San José, Costa Rica
Samantha DeGore will spend her summer in Costa Rica participating in a community engagement program that blends cultural immersion with hands-on service; an experience that she feels closely aligned with both her nursing path and Carlow’s commitment to serving others.
“I knew I wanted to do something community engagement or healthcare related,” she said.
Her interest in healthcare was shaped early by watching her mother, a nurse, and later solidified during high school when her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. “My grandma got really sick, and my mom and I would always go over to help,” she said. “After she passed, I knew I wanted to care for people when they’re sick and in need.”
Now a junior nursing major working at UPMC Children’s Hospital, Samantha plans to pursue pediatrics after graduation, with pediatric oncology currently at the top of her list.
For Samantha, the Vira Heinz Scholarship is an opportunity to practice the kind of compassionate, service-centered care that first drew her to nursing. In Costa Rica, she hopes to live with a host family, stepping outside her comfort zone in order to better understand another community’s daily life and culture. “I’ve never applied for anything like this before or put myself out there like this. I’ve always wanted to study abroad, and it felt like the perfect opportunity.” she said. “I’m really excited.”