Our campaign success has enabled us to make significant investments in the people of Lewis & Clark. This translates into expanded scholarship opportunities as well as endowed faculty positions in areas such as entrepreneurship —plus, much more!
Central to Lewis &Clark’s mission is being a welcoming space for students from around the world. The Greg Caldwell Scholarship for International Students is one such resource that helps bring an L&C education within reach for those outside the United States.
The scholarship’s endowment—now topping $750,000—funds the tuition of one undergraduate student for the duration of their undergraduate degree (assuming they qualify for renewal each year). Students are selected based on their academic record, financial need, and leadership ability. Recent recipients have ties to countries around the globe, from South Korea and Ethiopia to Germany and Austria.
Working at Lewis & Clark—and learning about students from all over the world— was a life-changing experience. International students are vital to the spirit of Lewis & Clark.”
—Greg Caldwell, Former Associate Dean of Students and Director of International Students and Scholars
“The goal is to help support international students while, at the same time, enriching the Lewis &Clark community with their diverse cultural perspectives,” says Greg Caldwell of the eponymous award. Caldwell retired in 2011 after 35 years of service at L&C. He led the college’s intensive English program before taking the helm as the associate dean of students and director of International Students and Scholars.
Caldwell said international students are “near and dear” to him, as he started the college’s Third Culture Kid (TCK) program back in the 1980s. TCKs spend a significant part of their lifetimes living outside their parents’ cultures, often growing up in more than one country. “Working at Lewis &Clark was a life-changing experience, learning about students from all over the world,” Caldwell says. “This scholarship is a continuation of that.”
Initial funding for the scholarship came in 2001 with a generous donation from a Japanese parent. In 2008, the Lewis &Clark Alumni Association in Seoul, Korea, added another sizable contribution in Caldwell’s name.
Caldwell served in the Peace Corps in Korea and now works to foster relationships between Korea and Oregon as the honorary consul for the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
One of our top campaign priorities has been to significantly expand scholarships at Lewis & Clark— and our donors have stepped up to the challenge. We want to make an L&C education possible for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds.”
—Pat Mahaffy BA ’85, Campaign Cochair and Trustee
He’s passionate about continuing to build ties with international students and help them adjust to life at L&C, whether this means having lunch with the students at Fields Dining Hall or bringing them cakes on their birthdays.
“You see them grow up in four years,” Caldwell says.
OTHER INVESTMENTS IN L&C PEOPLE INCLUDE…
Davis Scholars, students who receive tuition support as graduates from United World Colleges around the globe
Posse Scholars, a diverse group of students from other U.S. states and territories who receive tuition support to develop into tomorrow’s leaders
Scholarships for graduate students in mental health counseling and art therapy
Scholarships for Beckham Scholars, who are history majors studying the American West, the American Indian, and/or the Pacific Northwest
This May, he attended the graduation ceremony of scholarship recipient Flavio de Pina Soares de Carvalho BA ’23, a TCK whose mom is from Austria and whose dad is from Cape Verde. He earned his bachelor’s degree with honors in international affairs.
This left an opening for a new scholar: Myryl Caccam BA ’27. A fresh arrival on campus this fall, Caccam says she plans to major in psychology, take acting classes, and contribute to the college’s sustainability program.
She says she was surprised when she first received the award.
“To be honest, my first reaction when I got the email about the award was ‘Are they sure it’s me?’” she recalls.
But Caldwell says Caccam is the perfect candidate. In addition to her strong academic record, she’s from the Philippines and most recently lived in Beijing, where her dad teaches at an international school. Like previous Caldwell scholarship recipients, she’s a TCK.
“As an international student, this prestigious scholarship will open great connections for me to meet fellow TCKs,” Caccam says.
