Asbury Student Wins Prize for Outstanding Academics in Oxford Semester Abroad

May 28, 2020

Asbury University English major Kayla Beebout ’20 spent the fall term studying in the Scholars’ Semester in Oxford, an academic experience that bills itself as “not for the faint of heart” where students go one-on-one in tutorials with highly regarded Oxford University faculty.

Beebout came home from Oxford with new friends, a broadened perspective, and an enhanced ability to perform at the highest academic level. She was also recently informed that she had won the distinguished de Jager Prize for her exceptional academic performance in the British Culture course she took.

“Each year we have several students who participate in the Oxford study abroad program,” said Dr. Devin Brown, professor of English at Asbury and Beebout’s advisor for the past four years. “The fact that they always do so well tells us the preparation they receive here is doing what we hoped.”

“From the start, Kayla has always been one of Asbury’s best,” Brown added. “I am pleased that she has been recognized as being one of the best in the highly selective Scholars’ Semester program as well.”

“Studying some of the world’s greatest authors, in the country where they lived, at one of the greatest centers of scholarship in the world was an incredible experience,” Beebout explained. “Being in that environment, with so many other enthusiastic scholars around me, helped solidify the goal I had already developed at Asbury of pursuing a career in English.”

Next fall, Beebout will continue her studies as a graduate student in the English program at Western Kentucky University where she has been awarded a teaching assistantship.

Learn more about Asbury University’s English Department.