Philip Barasa, ’18

Crossing continents is commonplace for Philip Barasa. As a high school student in Kenya, he sought an opportunity to study in the United States and found the Drexel Global Scholarship. After a year and a half attending LeBow as a double major in economics and math, he felt the pull of yet another cultural leap: “I craved a new perspective altogether,” he says.

He found an ideal opportunity to visit yet another continent through an international co-op with Australian Stock Report – a company with offices in Melbourne and Sydney. To fund his next academic adventure, Barasa became a student of every scholarship and grant that might help him achieve his goal.

“I applied through the Steinbright International Co-op Program, which come with a scholarship to cover some of the costs. But I still needed to find extra funding,” says Barasa. Advice from the director of the economics program, Vibhas Madan, and Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs Brian Ellis led him to pitch his idea directly to Dean Linnehan.

The meeting with the dean was ultimately a success and with guidance from LeBow mentors, Barasa applied for and won the R. John Chapel Award. He paired his winnings with an Office of International Programs scholarship that covered airfare and what he earned as a student technician at Creese Student Center to cover final expenses.

Barasa’s time in Australia provided the cultural experience he sought and helped guide his thoughts about future co-ops and eventually career. He has remained highly involved in campus life as the president of Drexel FC, which he describes as “Drexel’s premier soccer culture club.” He is currently on co-op with SIG in New York City.