World Learning staff had a busy spring traveling all over the country visiting Global UGRADs at their host universities. Continue reading below about the fruitful visits and thank you to the universities for hosting us!
Vitalie visited Bemidji State University (BSU), a first-time host institution, located on the shores of the beautiful Lake Bemidji in Minnesota. Vitalie had the opportunity to tour the campus, meet with university staff, and have lunch with the four Global UGRAD students: Diana Litvinenko (Ukraine), Laura Rakhymbayeva (Kazakhstan), Ni Made Dwi Dharmiyanti (Indonesia), and Alexandre Junior Lundi (Haiti). He was excited to hear about the great community service experiences Global UGRAD students had with the local PBS-Lakeland News and the American Indian Resource Center. World Learning would like to thank Dr. Tony Peffer, Cherish Hagen-Swanson, and Patrick Liu for hosting Vitalie and making his trip to Bemidji a memorable one.
Rebecca had the opportunity to visit first-time host the University of Houston Victoria (UHV) located in Victoria, Texas. She was warmly welcomed to campus by Ludmi Herath and Yvonne Garcia from the university’s International Programs Office and had great meetings with university staff. She was able to hear more about the university’s International Festival, an event hosted by the international office each spring, over lunch with the Global UGRAD students Vladyslav Shapoval (Ukraine), Maureen Tejeda (Dominican Republic), and Rehab Alhawsawi (Saudi Arabia). It was heartening to observe how the Global UGRAD students have become an integral part of the UHV community and see first hand the support provided to them on campus.
This semester, Alex visited long-time host Tennessee Technological University, also know as Tennessee Tech or TTU, in Cookeville, Tennessee. While on-campus, Alex took a tour of the university and got a chance to see some of the Global UGRAD students’ favorite places to hang out. He enjoyed having lunch with Ikram Tebbary (Morocco), Heiner Lezama Ortiz (Costa Rica), Daria Ponomarenko (Russia), and Maksym Rodin (Ukraine) in the dining hall and getting to experience the university’s cutting-edge virtual reality system. In addition, Alex and a few of the students were able to venture to a local waterfall for a hike in the beautiful Upper Cumberland Valley region of Tennessee. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with an excellent university partner and experience campus life at TTU.
Himani visited The University of Central Missouri (UCM), a valuable Global UGRAD partner, located in Warrensburg, Missouri. Himani met with Global UGRAD students Laddaphone Chaleunphonh (Laos) and Jinyoung Kim (South Korea). She was excited to learn that Laddaphone recently participated in an international student talent show where she sang a Laotian song in front of a large audience for the first time! Himani also observed an English language training course which sometimes incorporates lessons about U.S. culture through fun activities and field trips. World Learning would like to thank Dr. Shellie Hewitt and Suzanne Beck at the Office of Graduate and International Student Services, as well as Valerie Heming at the English Language Institute, for their strong commitment to students’ academic and professional development.