Alumni , Lebanon , Saginaw Valley State University
Hello! I am Anhal Kozhaya, a senior in political science and international affairs with a minor in legal studies at the Lebanese American University – Beirut. On November 3, 2021, I received the acceptance email for Global UGRAD spring semester 2022. It stated that I would be placed at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, USA. That was the best …
Castleton University , Centenary College of Louisiana , Lebanon , Malaysia , Thailand , University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
Community service is an integral part of the Global UGRAD program. Students are required to complete at least 20 hours of community service as a way to give back and build meaningful connections in their local communities. Every student is engaged in interesting and inspirational service; keep reading to learn more about a selection of three students’ unique volunteering experiences. …
Egypt , Lebanon , Saginaw Valley State University , San Francisco State University
On April 22nd, Global UGRAD students participated in various activities around the United States to celebrate Earth Day. Students at Saginaw Valley State University joined the Rotary Club of Saginaw Sunrise for a day of cleanup. “The cleanup was targeting the Great Lakes Bay Region in Michigan and we did some landscaping in an area that needed some cleaning and …
Alumni , Lebanon , Marymount University
Everyday feels like August 4, every hour feels like 6:07:36pm in Beirut. For those who are unaware of the significance of that particular day, the capital city of Lebanon experienced the world’s third largest explosion in history at one of its most crucial port sites. It left much of the city in absolute ruins. “During the civil war of 1975 …
Academics , Lebanon , Middle East and North Africa , SUNY Plattsburgh
My name is Luna Baalbaki, I’m a Global UGRAD student at the State University of New York – Plattsburgh. My experience hasn’t been only about studying and meeting new friends, but also about exploring the town that I live in. I never thought that a small town like Plattsburgh would come to have a special place in my heart. But, after …
Cambodia , Central Asia , East Asia and the Pacific , Egypt , Experiencing America , Latin America and the Caribbean , Lebanon , Middle East and North Africa , Nicaragua , Tajikistan , Tennessee Technical University , The U.S. Perspective , University of Houston-Victoria , University of Southern Indiana , University of Utah , University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
This November, many of the Global UGRAD students had the opportunity to experience their first Thanksgiving. Below you can read some of their reflections about spending the day with friends, university staff, and their friendship families! This year instead of repeating Season 5 episode 1 from Friends “The One with All the Thanksgivings,” I had the opportunity to experience it …
Academic Exchange , Alumni , Experiencing America , Fairleigh Dickinson University , Lebanon
I remember sitting exactly where I am right now, almost two years ago, anxiously typing into a blank page why I was worth taking a chance on. Today, I am here to write about why it was all worth it. Throughout my life, I was the girl from the neighborhood with massive dreams but no realistic way to achieve them. …
Alumni , Armenia , Cambodia , Career , Central Asia , Community Service , East Asia and the Pacific , Endicott College , Eurasia , Fairleigh Dickinson University , Honduras , Jordan , Kazakhstan , Kenya , Latin America and the Caribbean , Lebanon , Mauritania , Middle East and North Africa , Minnesota State University - Mankato , Morocco , Murray State University , Nazareth College , Old Dominion University , Professional Development , Saginaw Valley State University , Sub-Saharan Africa , Tennessee Technical University , University of Connecticut , University of Tennessee Knoxville , University of Utah , Vietnam , West Liberty University , Western Kentucky University
Last month, we published Part I of our 2019 From Where I Stand series, the Global UGRAD photo project that creatively shows what our alumni have accomplished since returning home. If you did not have a chance to read last month’s installment, you can find it here. We are thrilled to share even more stories of volunteerism, academics, and growth with you this month. …
Academic Exchange , Academics , Algeria , American Host Institutions , Carroll College , Fayetteville University , Latin America and the Caribbean , Lebanon , Middle East and North Africa , Morocco , Professional Development , University of the Incarnate Word , Venezuala
As the U.S. mid-term elections are just around the corner, Global UGRAD students are also participating in democracy by running for office at their host universities and registering people to vote! Kenza Beladel from Morocco at the University of the Incarnate Word Kenza was recently elected as the Senator of International Students for the Student Government Association. As Senator, Kenza …
Alumni , Lebanon , Middle East and North Africa , Western Kentucky University
During my first week at Western Kentucky University (WKU), I received a message from a friend asking me if I was really actually at WKU because he was too. I met Charles back in 2015 in the athlete’s village of the Universiade (an international multi-sport event) in South Korea, and I saw him again in 2017 in Taiwan. And out …