Getting to know your host university or college and truly integrating into the community are some of the biggest goals of the Global UGRAD Program. Becoming involved in the campus culture, organizations, events, and sports programs – all are ways to achieve this. Ideally, we want our participants to develop pride in their adopted institutions and to truly feel that they belong. With this reasoning, we …
Taking full advantage of their winter breaks, Global UGRAD participants traveled far and wide across the United States. They visited new places, made new friends, experienced new aspects of U.S. culture, and pushed beyond their comfort zones. Below are just three stories out of many. Click on the photo to read the student’s reflections!
Jorge “Koky” Miranda, St. Cloud State University, 2009-2010 After finishing his Global UGRAD Program at St. Cloud, Koky went on to finish his degree at home in El Salvador. Due to the high grades he received while on the Global UGRAD Program, he was invited back to complete his masters degree. While studying at his original host institution for the second time, Koky connected university …
On January 2, 2016 nine students landed in the U.S., touching down as the first Global UGRAD arrivals of the 2015-2016 spring cohort. Every day since, the team at World Learning has welcomed participants from all around the world to their new homes. This marks the start of a new and exciting season in our program cycle – welcome to the …
Dear friends， Greetings and hugs! Time flies! Since the fall 2013 Global UGRAD Program, it has been over two years. I miss every member of the 51-person UGRAD family and my host college, Presbyterian College! I appreciate this great opportunity given by the U.S. Department of State and World Learning and treasure the inspiring exchange experience. Although time is slipping away quietly, …
From 19-23 Nov 2015, Malaysian Global UGRAD alum Choon Sian Choo (cohort 2010-2011) was invited to participate in The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Summit which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The YSEALI Summit was a 3.5-day event that brought together 500 young leaders (ages 18-35) from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. …
2015-16 Global UGRAD Didor Marodaseynov, East Tennessee State University, Tajikistan Language is a unique way of communicating to people because it carries our ideas and emotions. In order to understand a culture it is important to know the language so we can recognize the uniqueness of that culture. As we look back in history, an enormous number of nations …
Global UGRAD staff attended the 2015 NAFSA Region I Conference from October 20-23 in Boise, Idaho and the Region VIII Conference from November 10-13 in Alexandria, Virginia. We thoroughly enjoyed exchanging ideas with our colleagues and peers from universities and development organizations alike! We also love any opportunity to introduce Global UGRAD to universities and colleges that have not yet heard …
Roberto Barrios – North Dakota State University (2009-2010) Last year I got a scholarship to study for my Master’s in Project Management in a joint program taught in three European countries! So far I have lived in the UK, Italy and am currently in Sweden. The experience has been amazing with lots of learning not only in class but from my …
Four Thanksgivings, four short stories. Click on one of the images below to see what some of our Global UGRAD students experienced during the quintessentially American holiday, Thanksgiving.