April Social Media Challenge: #EarthDayChallenge

April Social Media Challenge: #EarthDayChallenge

Did you know that about one billion people take part in Earth Day activities around the world every year? No matter where we live, the Earth is something we all have in common. During the month of April, we launched a social media challenge asking Global UGRADs to share what the environment means to them and what they are doing …

April Online Engagement: Country Presentations and Public Speaking

April Online Engagement: Country Presentations and Public Speaking

In our fourth month of online engagement, Global UGRAD finalists saw the return of some of our popular series activities: our student-facilitated Country Presentations and our Speaker Series. This round of Country Presentations closed out with student presenters from three additional regions, and this edition of the Speaker Series, focused on public speaking, featured guest speaker Zoe Matthews. Country Presentations …

Virtual ELT Responses: Indigenous Peoples Around the World

Virtual ELT Responses: Indigenous Peoples Around the World

November is Native American Heritage Month, in which we honor the diverse cultures, histories, and traditions of indigenous peoples in the United States. After reading about Native American history in their course, our Virtual English Language Training (ELT) students told us about indigenous peoples in their home countries. We’ve featured some of their responses below. Gilbert Kandaya, Malawi One of …

Alumni Reunion: From Central Asia to Central America

Alumni Reunion: From Central Asia to Central America

My name is Nursuluu, and I am a Global UGRAD alumna from Kyrgyzstan. This year I graduated university in Kyrgyzstan, and I am currently working for a youth NGO called Novi Ritm as a Project Coordinator. I have also been volunteering with the MediAct project, which has youth workshops in three different countries, and one of those countries is El Salvador. …

An Alumni Reunion Three Years in the Making

An Alumni Reunion Three Years in the Making

Abdessadeq, Sofiia, and Michelle met at Marymount University on August 23rd, 2016. We instantly clicked since that first day and our friendship has been flourishing ever since. Together, we got to experience what I’d call an authentic U.S. exchange experience as we shared memories not only on campus, but also while traveling along the East Coast and through the Midwest. …

American Model United Nations 2018 Conference (AMUN)

American Model United Nations 2018 Conference (AMUN)

As an exchange student of International Relations (IR) at University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire (UWEC), I decided to get involved with any possible organizations both on and off campus that could enrich my educational background and shape my professional path in IR. For that, I decided to join the Model United Nations Club, having taken a related course about International Organizations at …

International Education Day by Leandro Emanuel Garcia Vallecillos

International Education Day by Leandro Emanuel Garcia Vallecillos

It was April 4th, 2018 when study abroad, international connections, future bonds between countries, and friendships from around the world were celebrated at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. It was January 7th, 2018 when I started my journey as an international student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. After three months of new experiences, new ways to think, and hundreds of …

Winter Olympics Special: Athletics and Global UGRAD

Winter Olympics Special: Athletics and Global UGRAD

As the world’s attention turns toward the 23rd Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, we asked current and former Global UGRAD participants to reflect on the importance of sports in their lives. The following are short paragraphs written by students who excel not only in the classroom, but in stadiums and gymnasiums around the world. In shining a spotlight …

El Salvador Alumni Update: Enner Morales

It’s been four years since I finished the Global UGRAD Program, one of the most amazing adventures I could ever dream of. Through this journey, I had not only an academic exchange, but also a life-changing experience that shaped me into the person I am today. During the program I got involved in the Illinois State University (ISU) Leads Leadership …