YSU sophomore wins scholarship to study abroad in New Zealand

Leah Bayer of Brookfield, Ohio, a sophomore at Youngstown State University, has received a $2,500 scholarship to study abroad in New Zealand. The scholarship to attend the University of Canterbury is from the Education Abroad Network. Bayer, who is majoring in Applied Mathematics and Biology with a minor in Chemistry at YSU, will leave for New Zealand in February and return in late June. “New Zealand is gorgeous, and the varying landscapes really draw me in,” Bayer said. “The fact that I can go from laying on the beach to snowboarding down a mountain in a span of a few hours is incredible. In addition, the sky is a wondrous place, and I love to stay up late and get lost in it. I cannot wait to be enveloped in darkness at the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve.” At YSU, Bayer has a 4.0 grade average and is a member of the Leslie H. Cochran University Scholars program, a part of the new YSU Honors College. She has been involved with the YSU Pen Pals program for the last two years and recently joined the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Association for Women in Mathematics and the Biology Club. Bayer has served as president for the Boy Scouts of America's Venture Crew 726, a high-adventure, co-ed organization that is a branch of the Boy Scouts. The Education Abroad Network has been running study-based programs specializing in the South Pacific and Pacific Rim with their partner universities for the last 20 years.