The opportunity to study abroad can be one of the most important and enriching experiences during a student's university years. Studying abroad prepares students to succeed in a global, multicultural society, to expand their worldview and to gain new skills and independence.
Nancy Bedford and her late husband Charlie were inspired by their own love of travel and cultural exchanges when they created a study abroad scholars program for East Carolina University students.
The program will support students and faculty participating in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures' three-week summer trip to Strasbourg, France. The program was canceled for summers 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19 but is planned to return in summer 2022. The Bedfords' gift will cover scholarships for 10 students and a stipend for the faculty advisor.
Their generosity will send Pirates to stay and study in the Château de Pourtalès, a 250-year-old castle just minutes from the historical center of Strasbourg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They will earn six credit hours in history and political science and have the opportunity for excursions to neighboring Germany.
"This is a transformative gift for ECU," Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Dean Allison Danell said. "Since 2014, the Bedfords have supported scholarships in the College of Arts and Sciences, then created their own scholarship endowment in 2018. In 2020, they broadened and strengthened their study abroad support at ECU to create a program that sends groups of students abroad."
A grant allowed Nancy Bedford to spend a year abroad in France as a Government Fellow while she was a student at the College of William and Mary. It was her first time out of the country.
She later became a French teacher in Arlington, Virginia, where she met Charlie. With her love of France and languages and Charlie's passion for meeting and getting to know people from all backgrounds, they traveled extensively for many years, including visits to France, England, Portugal, China, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and India.
The late Charlie Bedford grew up on a tobacco farm in Wayne County and didn't leave the country until after graduating from ECU in 1955 with a degree in history. He received his master's from ECU in education administration in 1957. Bedford began his career as a teacher before entering the higher education sphere as a college counselor and then dean of admissions at Hanover College in Indiana. He later worked for the College Board in Atlanta helping increase the number of high schools offering Advanced Placement classes in the Southeast. He took early retirement in 1997 so that he and Nancy could pursue their interest in international travel and their many volunteer endeavors in Atlanta.
"It is our hope that ECU students who study and travel abroad will learn about other cultures, experience friendships with internationals, and bring back to their communities a desire to help others know more about our global world," he said in a February 2020 interview. Charlie Bedford died in January 2021 from the coronavirus.
In addition to supporting the Strasbourg trip, the Charlie and Nancy Bedford Study Abroad Scholars Program has the flexibility to adapt to the needs of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, and could be used for an exchange program, internship or research-oriented travel in the future. It could also be used to establish a new ECU site in another country, similar to the Italy Intensives program.
"It is our greatest joy to be able to establish this study abroad program for the benefit of ECU students pursuing degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences," Nancy Bedford said. "We look forward to increasing the number of ECU students who will profit from being immersed in another culture, learning a new language, or becoming fluent in one that they have chosen to master. May they be challenged to forge ahead in unknown territories, always remembering that you can smile in any language!"
