Nicole McKellar had already said yes to something else.
Back in September, she accepted a summer internship with an Arkansas-founded engineering firm that recruits heavily from the U of A. She completed the background check. She started building relationships with the team. By February, she stopped expecting anything different.
Then the email arrived. Congratulations, you're invited to study in Germany this summer.
"I was like, guys, I think I have a problem," she told her friends, minutes before walking into her German class.
The problem was a good one. McKellar, a junior in the Honors College studying biological engineering and German at the U of A, had been selected for a research internship in science and engineering through the German Academic Exchange Service, known as DAAD RISE. The program places undergraduate students from North America and Great Britain in research positions at top German universities. It's highly selective. The acceptance rate for North American students is around 9%.
She called the firm that day. They asked if she could recommend someone to fill the position. McKellar suggested a friend who had applied to DAAD RISE and not been matched.
Then she booked her summer in Stuttgart, Germany.
Source : uark.edu