Magherafelt students off to The States to '˜Study USA' style!

Lauren Kearns, Niamh Fullen, and Shane Patton leave this month to study business in America as participants in the British Council’s renowned Study USA programme, having undergone a competitive selection process.

Lauren (20), a Communication student at Ulster University, will be heading to La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Niamh (20), a Biomedical Engineer at Ulster University is off to Queens University of Charlotte; while Shane (21), who currently studies Politics and Criminology at Ulster, will spend the next academic year at Albright College, in Pennsylvania.

Shane, who departed for the US on August 22, said: “Study USA adds an extra element to my degree and it’s always an advantage to study away from home and it will look good on my CV.

“I’ve been away to the States before for various political peace conferences, but never for such a long period of time. As a politics student, I’m especially interested in the upcoming US Presidential elections and I’m excited to be right where the action is!”

This year, the scholarship programme will give 53 Northern Ireland students the opportunity to study business and management for a year in American colleges, across 34 States, where they gain valuable international experience and business knowledge, helping to develop their career prospects when they return to Northern Ireland.

Since its formation in 1994, the initiative has sent over 1800 Northern Ireland students to all four corners of the USA where they have completed a year studying business at one of 140 institutions.