New American Scholarship

To create a supportive educational environment and prepare all of our students to be engaged global citizens, we must seek and create opportunities for each of us to better understand our own beliefs, values and cultures. In return, this environment allows us to fully experience new ideas, perspectives and traditions. The New American Scholarship not only makes it possible for refugee and asylum students in Vermont to pursue an education in a safe and supportive context, it also enriches the classrooms and campus for all of us.

Champlain College strives to be an institution that harnesses the productive power of difference. By creating a strong climate of mutual respect, Champlain fosters an open and inclusive community with an emphasis on embracing cultural differences. We also have a desire to respect and reflect the changes to our community that result from refugee resettlement and increasing global interdependence.


The New American Scholarship has given me an opportunity to have an education and realize something that I thought was impossible. Champlain has been my home and family, and in the fall I will move on to the next chapter of my life...my Master's degree.

Sybelle Bayonne, Accounting | Democratic Republic of Congo