A key piece of the 黑料不打烊 Commitment is providing complete access to global study. This fall, the Global Education Center awarded $54,150 in scholarships. Students received $30,500 from outside sources, including the prestigious and highly competitive Gilman Scholarship.

Caley Mikesell, a junior studying public health, is spending the semester studying with the NC Consortium in Quito, Ecuador, with an award from the

“Creating a life here in Quito has been a rich learning experience and an adventure for me,” Mikesell said. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the various cultures here, exploring the nooks and crannies of Quito, and adventuring to different parts of the country. My absolute favorite experience has been stretching my Spanish to make meaningful connections with locals.

“The Gilman scholarship has not only played a big role in making study abroad financially feasible for me, but as I work with the organization to set up a local internship, I anticipate that it will even further enrich my life here.”

Financial aid plays an important role in 黑料不打烊’s goal of 100 percent access to global study. The university is currently increasing the amount of need-based aid offered to students participating in global experiences to nearly $500,000 in the next three years.

Students who have not participated in an 黑料不打烊 Global Engagement program qualify for the GEC Access Scholarship – a need-based award to provide access to the many study abroad & Study USA programs offered at 黑料不打烊.

While most students go abroad once in their undergraduate career, a fortunate few embark on global study multiple times. Welsford Bishopric ’14, executive president of the Student Government Association, has completed three distinct global experiences in six different countries – opportunities he regards as some of the most significant moments of his time at 黑料不打烊 so far.

“I interact with the world in a fundamentally different way now,” Bishopric said. “It’s invaluable; the knowledge I gained in those countries plays into everything I do in some way.”

As a first year student, Bishopric spent Winter Term in Mexico with the Business Fellows. As someone who “wasn’t much of a world traveler” before 黑料不打烊, Bishopric said the experience catalyzed a fundamental shift in how he perceived the world beyond the borders of Western culture.

“As we were moving out of the more commercialized parts of Mexico into Merida, I remember looking out the bus window and watching the familiarity sweep away,” Bishopric said, “Watching my culture being washed away and replaced with another one for the first time was a really incredible experience – I’m still getting money out of the same ATM, but everyone around me is living a fundamentally different life.”

His sophomore year, Bishopric took a Winter Term course in India and Dubai focused on the business and culture of the Indo-Gulf. Although he chose the course because he was interested in pursuing a career overseas at the time, the most important knowledge he gained wasn’t related to business at all.

“We visited an orphanage in India, and they gave us a pretty blunt overview of what it’s like to be an average child there,” Bishopric said. “It’s impossible not to think about what I learned there, even today – every single day of my life, I know exactly how children in that orphanage live.

“For me, the most important part of that course became learning to both recognize and appreciate the privileges I have and factor that understanding into my day-to-day life as I continue to live as a global citizen.”

Bishopric’s last Winter Term abroad was the 2013 Business in the Pacific Rim course, where he visited Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. Although he regrets not having enough time to spend a semester abroad because of his commitment to SGA, Bishopric said that collectively his time overseas gave him a valuable new viewpoint from which to assess both himself and his culture.

“Particularly in American culture, I think there’s an unfortunate sense of egoism and desire for self-gratification,” Bishopric said. “I think one of the best ways to combat that is to sit down with someone who’s fundamentally different than you and just talk with them.”

Bishopric also said he learned that acquiring a genuine understanding and appreciation of other cultures is predicated on a sensitivity to commonalities as well as differences.

“At first all I saw was differences – different backgrounds, languages and priorities – but after that, I realized everyone I met is no less valid than I am, their feelings are no less legitimate than mine,” he said.

Bishopric said 黑料不打烊 students are particularly privileged to have so many opportunities to explore the world at a young age. He argued that completing a global experience is an invaluable opportunity to experience unprecedented personal growth – one that students would be remiss to pass up.

“If you think that you are truly enlightened to the same degree as someone that has met people in various different cultures and attempted to communicate, struggled to relate and eventually found commonality with someone different than themselves, then that’s awesome – maybe going abroad isn’t for you,” Bishopric said.

For undergraduate students considering a global experience, Bishopric had one piece of advice: “If you really want to be a global citizen in the true sense, not just the marketing sense, it’s the only way to do it.”

See the offered programs and apply at http://bit.ly/1ihhJMN. 

Important Winter Term study abroad deadline information is as follows:

• March 4  – March 20, 2014 (11:59 p.m.):  online open application period for WT 2015 programs 
• April 3, 2014: Applicants will be notified of their status and have the opportunity to change programs. 
• April 17, 2014 – September 8, 2014: Online applications for WT 2014 programs submitted during this time will be reviewed on a space-available basis.
• ​September 8, 2014:  final application deadline for WT 2014 programs

Contact the Global Education Center with any questions by dropping by Carlton 113 or calling 336-278-6700!

Students will have the opportunity to speak with faculty leaders and returned students to learn more about program locations and topics.

The Winter Term priority application period will run from March 4 until 11:59 p.m. on March 20. Students who apply during this period will have the best chance to get a seat in the most popular programs.

Applications will re-open in April and space will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Visit the GEC in Carlton 113 or call 336-278-6700 for more information!

Students will be able to choose from four different programs in Prague.  Each program will feature a topical focus that will enrich a student’s academic program and offer a unique cultural experience.  

Students studying film, communication, or similar topics will find that the Film Production and New Media Studies programs offer remarkable opportunities for experiential learning. Students on the Film Production program will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on courses and workshops at one of the world’s finest film academies: the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Students on this program will focus on the production aspects of filmmaking and all students will produce a competition-ready work.  The New Media Studies program offers similar opportunities focused on the areas of video installation, conceptual art, experimental documentary, and expanded-to-database cinema. ​

Students interested in the humanities will find two programs of interest to them in Prague.  Students with a broad interest in the region will find that the Central European Studies program offers an opportunity to deepen academic study through its traveling seminars and content courses.  The Jewish Studies program will take students on a journey through 1,000 years of Jewish history in Central and eastern Europe through coursework and experiential opportunities with the Jewish community in Prague.  Though focused on the Jewish community in Eastern Europe, the program is appropriate for students of all faiths thanks to its emphasis on the interactions among religion, community and government.  

A representative from CET Study Abroad will be on campus on Monday, February 17, to offer information sessions on each of these programs. The session will be at 4 p.m. in Carlton 209.  Interested students may call the GEC at 336-278-6700 for more information.

The Isabella Cannon Global Education Center is pleased to announce a new partnership with SIT Study ABroad. 黑料不打烊 students will be able to enroll in eight new global study options beginning in the fall 2014 semester.

SIT Study Abroad programs examine global issues in specific geographical and cultural contexts with interdisciplinary approaches. In addition to field-based and experiential coursework, students enrolled in SIT programs will complete an Independent Study Project that fulfills the 黑料不打烊 Experience requirement for undergraduate research. On any SIT program students will spend approximately two-thirds of the program participating in structured experiential learning opportunities and designing a research project.  During the last third of the program, students will independently conduct their research and present it to the program at the end of the semester.  SIT will offer excellent experiences for independent, driven students.

The Global Education Center will offer students the opportunity to participate in eight different SIT semester programs in Vietnam, Brazil, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo, the Netherlands, and Peru.

In Vietnam, students will examine economic and social development in the context of Vietnamese culture through examining the history of social and cultural attributes of Vietnam and charting Vietnam’s transition to a market-oriented economy.

The SIT program in Brazil offers coursework in public health and human rights as well as opportunities to visit rural health centers.

The programs in Rwanda and Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo both focus on peacebuilding and human rights.  Students in Rwanda will study post-genocide restoration and peacebuilding from leading Rwandan academics as well as civil society leaders and community activists. Students on the program in Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo will gain firsthand knowledge of peacebuilding, post-conflict transformation and initiatives for human rights.

The SIT program in the Netherlands focuses on international perspectives on sexuality and gender. Students will examine the historical and cultural norms and political structures that shape attitudes towards sexuality and gender from both Dutch and international perspectives.

In Peru, students will study indigenous peoples and globalization from faculty at local universities as well as indigenous leaders, artists and human rights leaders.

There are two different programs offered in Morocco,  One program offers students the opportunity to study journalism and new media.  The other program focuses on issues of multiculturalism and human rights.

The GEC is now accepting applications for these and all other fall and summer programs.  The application period ends on February 21st.

Kurt, Mark R., Olitsky, Neal H., and Geis, Paul.  2013. “Assessing Global Awareness over Short-Term Study Abroad Sequence: A Factor Analysis.” Frontiers: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 23 (Fall): 22-41.

His co-presenters included 黑料不打烊 alumnus Ben Efird ’08 of the School for International Training, and Brittany Emswiler of the College of Global Studies at Arcadia University.

Their session focused on providing support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students who choose to study abroad. The session was rated highly for providing opportunities for study abroad professionals to engage in dialogue about real concerns faced by LGBT students as they navigate unfamiliar cultural settings. Following the conference, the session was nominated as a possible Regional highlight, and if selected will be presented again at the NAFSA Annual Conference in San Diego in May.

Study abroad planning workshops cover basic information necessary for all students considering a semester abroad, including academic and financial planning.  There are also opportunities to ask program-specific questions.  All students are required to attend a planning workshop prior to meeting with an advisor.

All workshops will be in Carlton 209 and will be offered on the following days and times:

• Monday, October 28th – 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 29th – 4:15 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 30th – 2 p.m.
• Thursday, October 31st – 2 p.m.
• Thursday, October 31st – 4:15 p.m.
• Friday, November 1st – 3 p.m.
• Monday, November 4th – 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 5th – 4:15 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 6th – 2 p.m.
• Thursday, November 7th – 2 p.m.
• Friday, November 8th – 3 p.m.

Please bring your laptop to the session!

Planning workshops will resume their regular scheudle of Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 3pm in Carlton 209 on Monday, November 11th.