Kris Cortez, a 2011 and 2013 Grand Valley State University graduate, has been accepted as an Erasmus Mundus Scholar in the Transcultural European Outdoor Studies program. The program begins at the University of Cumbria in Ambleside, UK this September. From there Cortez will continue his studies at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and then the University of Marburg through August of 2015. The program is designed to provide a well-rounded education in three central philosophies of teaching about the outdoors from each of the separate nations. The program also allows students to learn about cultural transitions between them. Cortez will receive full funding for his studies, and was one of only two Americans to receive the award.