Spain Or Costa Rica? Scholarship Winner From Burke To Choose Where To Travel Abroad

BURKE, VA — A Burke teenager was one of 11 students awarded a United Planet Merit Scholarship that will allow him to travel abroad and learn firsthand about other cultures.

Otto Hobbs, a senior at The Field School in Washington, D.C., plans to travel to either Spain or Costa Rica after learning that he won the scholarship awarded by the National Society of High School Scholars. The scholarship will allow him to spend six months abroad.

If he chooses Spain, Otto said he would be excited to learn what differentiates Spanish culture from those of Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. In Costa Rica, he would want to learn about the government and its education system and, like in Spain, immerse himself in the nation’s culture.

In either case, Otto would work hard to learn as much Spanish as possible. “I think it’s important to learn the language, since it’s the second most common language in America,” he told Patch.

Co-founded by Claes Nobel and James Lewis in 2002, the National Society of High School Scholars supports students as they prepare for college. The group assists high-achieving students by connecting them with scholarships, college fairs, internships, and career and leadership programs.

National Society of High School Scholars partner United Planet is a nonprofit organization devoted to building a global network of leaders and volunteers. The Boston-based group seeks to foster cross-cultural understanding and address shared global challenges through immersive international service and internships.

Otto, who was the only winner of the scholarship from Virginia, said he was excited when he learned that he was awarded the United Planet Merit Scholarship. He plans to take a gap year — including spending six months in either Spain or Costa Rica — before heading to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland in the fall of 2023.

“Living and serving abroad would change my life, and provide me with a new perspective and opportunity for growth before I head off to college,” Otto said. “Though I know I will learn a great deal in college from professors and my peers, it will be this immersive experience that really changes my outlook on the world and my place within it.”

Otto plans to take what he learns abroad about new cultures and apply it to his creative writing in hopes of becoming an author who creates art from his own experiences. This United Planet Merit Scholarship will give him the chance to immerse himself in a culture and understand the everyday lives of the people living there.