Mónica Pérez-Bedmar of Syracuse University Madrid has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Peter A. Wollitzer Advocacy Award, recognizing Pérez-Bedmar’s exemplary contributions in the study abroad space.
Pérez-Bedmar received the award on March 24 at The Forum’s 19th Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington.
Recipients of this award challenge and inspire others to learn about and advocate for education abroad. Through field work, collaboration, and education in and out of the classroom, recipients of this award promote the positive impact of study abroad and uphold The Forum’s mission and vision, advancing its key principles of diversity, innovation and advancement of education abroad.
Perez-Bedmar has been a part of the Syracuse Madrid team since 2016 and is an educator of everything pertaining to the Earth. She is a biology professor at Syracuse Madrid and conducts field research and facilitates field trips with students.
Mónica Pérez-Bedmar (third from the left) poses with students in the Syracuse University Madrid program.
As the lead professor on the Marine Ecology Signature Seminar, Pérez-Bedmar is a certified diver and sailing instructor and is an avid nature explorer. While leading this seminar, she guides students as they explore marine ecosystems and coastal organisms along the coast of Europe and North Africa.
“Since the fall of 2016, Professor Mónica Pérez-Bedmar has been leading the Marine Ecology pre-semester seminar at Syracuse Madrid. Practically from the very start, the seminar has become one of the program’s trademarks. Through her knowledge and unfailing enthusiasm, Professor Pérez-Bedmar not only makes sure that the students are fully introduced to the ecology of Mediterranean Spain, but also gives her students a true experiential learning opportunity that only study abroad permits and that they will never forget,” says Dieter Kuehl, Syracuse Madrid Center Director.
“International education bridges cultures, customs, and traditions. As international educators, we are responsible for making better citizens committed to Diversity, inclusion, Equity, and Justice. We have the chance, and the responsibility in my opinion, to make our students better citizens, citizens committed to making this world, our working terrain, a better place,” Pérez-Bedmar said upon receiving the award.
This is a commitment she embodies in both her professional and personal life. Pérez-Bedmar holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in oceanography and coastal zone management and is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in ecology. While living in the United States for more than 10 years, she worked and collaborated with several environmental agencies dedicated to the protection of coastal areas. She is also an active member of several non-governmental organizations dedicated to environmental education and awareness in Madrid, her hometown.
“Mónica’s work has directly contributed to agreements between and among different universities, both Spanish and U.S. American, thus increasing the number of active study abroad programs, and, as a result, the number of U.S. university students who have the opportunity to study in Spain. Her efforts have resulted in an active and productive network of education abroad peers that includes, but is certainly not limited to, resource-sharing in the areas of health, safety, diversity, and inclusion abroad,” says Ignactio Messana, president of the Asociación de Programas Universitarios Norteamericanos En España.
