Old Dominion University International Scholarship Winner to Pursue Flooding Solutions

Old Dominion University has announced that Joshua Pasion of San Juan City in the Philippines is the latest winner of ODUOnline's International Student Scholarship.

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After witnessing several huge and disastrous weather events which heavily impacted his home, Pasion has had a lifelong interest in engineering. He is seeking a civil engineering master's degree focusing on Coastal Engineering through ODUOnline. 

Pasion is determined to use his education to benefit his county: "As a Civil Engineer in the near future, I intend to innovate or invent a system of dredging creeks, rivers, lakes and bays in the fastest and cheapest way possible," said Pasion in his scholarship application. 

"Joshua's passion to help his home country of the Philippines touched our hearts," said Mitsue Shiokawa, director of ODUOnline International. "We're overjoyed to offer him this scholarship, and proud that Old Dominion University's online master's program in Coastal Engineering can play a part in his goals." 

Pasion went on to describe inventions he hopes to have a hand in creating, including environmentally responsive buildings and public infrastructure, which could help cities impacted by coastal flooding around the world. This was another natural connection between Pasion and ODU, which is located on the east coast of Virginia. 

"Here in Norfolk, we understand the threat of flooding and coastal weather events. Our lived experiences and subsequent knowledge and research are what makes Old Dominion a leader in coastal engineering," Shiokawa said. "Joshua's experience and inspiration behind pursuing his degree told us right away that he'd be a tremendous part of the ODU community."

Old Dominion University, located in the coastal city of Norfolk, is Virginia's entrepreneurial-minded doctoral research university and has been delivering distance learning programs for 35 years. We offer more than 120 programs through ODUOnline in a variety of formats, allowing students to complete degree programs across the world. ODU serves more than 24,000 students annually by providing the same rigorous academics online and on-campus. Learn more about ODUOnline's programs by visiting online.odu.edu.  To learn more about international study options, visit online.odu.edu/international.