Mentor, Ohio – Rustic Pathways, a student travel company founded in 1983, announces the winner of its 2025 Global Perspectives Scholarship. The scholarship winner receives a $1,000 award, which must be used toward tuition and/or books at an accredited high school or college. Since 2013, Rustic Pathways has committed $3.6 million in scholarships and financial aid to students around the world.
The Global Perspectives Scholarship is open to high school and college students attending an accredited institution. To apply, students submit a 500-word essay responding to the prompt: “Teen summer opportunities vary widely. Some teens work during the summer. Some teens head off to summer camp. Some teens enjoy summer travel. What is the most meaningful summer experience you have had, and why?”
Ethan Poon – Global Perspectives Scholarship Winner 2025
Rustic Pathways is proud to announce Ethan Poon as the 2025 Global Perspectives Scholarship winner.
As a Computer Engineering student, my head is usually buried in programming problems. I often think about how to make systems faster and more efficient, but winning this scholarship has truly shifted my “perspective.” It’s a powerful reminder that the most important systems are the cultural and human connections that we share. I’m incredibly grateful to Rustic Pathways for this support. It fuels my commitment to build technology that acts as a bridge for global inclusivity and service, ensuring that as our world gets faster, it also gets more connected and equal.
About Ethan
Ethan Poon is a freshman at the Rutgers Honors College studying Computer Engineering. He is driven by the belief that technology is only as powerful as the communities it serves. His experience spans multiple prestigious institutions: developing geospatial ML workflows at NASA, conducting AI research to detect respiratory conditions at Stanford, and researching multilingual NLP datasets at Johns Hopkins.
Beyond his technical work, Ethan is the founder of Revvifi, an international nonprofit that has empowered hundreds of small businesses and nonprofits through digital consulting. Whether benchmarking embedded systems or contributing to the Rutgers Poetry Circle, Ethan is committed to building a future where technical innovation and global empathy go hand in hand.
About Rustic Pathways
Founded in 1983, Rustic Pathways is a student travel company offering student travel, school group travel, and study abroad programs. Through purposeful design, Rustic Pathways creates culturally immersive programs for students ages 12 to 22. The company develops globally minded, self-aware students who can identify their interests and passions, gain confidence, grow as individuals, and create positive impact at a local and global level.
More Information
For more information about the Global Perspectives Scholarship, visit:
https://rusticpathways.com/students/scholarships/global-perspectives-scholarship
To learn more about Rustic Pathways programs, visit:
https://rusticpathways.com/