For summer 2001, the IPED Program awarded two Language Immersion Study Awards (LISA) to Ms. Geraldine Alexandra Arias and Mr. Greg Bastian. Fordham gave funding to both students so they could travel overseas and attend an intensive language immersion program.
Mr. Greg Bastian (second from the left) spent many hours studying Spanish in very small intensive language classes conducted at the Maryknoll Language Institute in Cochabamba, Bolivia. An important part of his language studies included living with his host family in Bolivia. 
Ms. Geraldine Alexandra Arias (first from the right) recieved intensive instruction in French from the Alliance Francaise de Toulouse, France. She also found it very valuable to live with a host family in Toulouse.
Each year up to two IPED students are awarded LISA Scholarships on a competitive basis. Scholarship recipients are able to spend the summer after the completion of their first year of study in an intensive overseas language immersion program that must include a home stay. Foreign language proficiency is frequently required for various career paths.