Thirteen students from high schools in Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, received the IIE Passport Award for Study Abroad. IIE established these planning scholarships in 2014 to create pathways to study abroad for high school juniors, so that they can acquire global skills and expand personal and professional opportunities as part of their college education.

Recipients of the IIE Passport Awards for Study Abroad will be provided with resources on study abroad from IIE and will be paired with a study abroad alumni mentor. In addition, each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship to be used towards the costs of studying abroad once they are enrolled successfully in college and have an approved study abroad plan.

With lead gifts from IIE Chairman Thomas S. Johnson and IIE Treasurer Mark A. Angelson, IIE created the IIE Passport Awards in the belief that we need to build a pipeline of students who plan to study abroad when they get to college in order to make "international" be part of every student’s experience. Research shows that students who study abroad have better grades and more confidence, and are more likely to graduate from college at higher rates than students who do not study abroad.