It’s Different When It’s Your Own

Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development
By Jane Kalionzes For over 30 years I worked in an international student office at a major university and each fall semester I welcomed new international students. As their arrival approached I pictured them getting ready: applying for the U.S. visa (and hopefully receiving it), buying what was necessary for the time away (with the perception that it couldn’t be found in the U.S. or was cheaper...

Exchange Across Countries and Within: The Power of a Diverse Cohort

Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development
By Lydia Funk My passion for cross cultural communication and engagement led me to search for work in international education as a debut to my professional career. As it happened, my supervisor at my campus job knew an alumna who was studying and working in international education and put us in touch. She shared a hiring flyer with me; World Learning was looking for seasonal staff for dozens of...

How to survive the ACPA National Convention as an international attendee!

Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development
Greetings from Maynooth University, Ireland. I attended the ACPA National Convention in Boston from March 6 th through 9 th this year, and I would like to share my experiences and thoughts on attending a large-scale US conference as an international delegate. I am sharing my top tips for ‘surviving’ the ACPA National Convention as an international attendee – you’re going to need them because...

Networking = learning, connecting, discovering, and giving back.

Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development
By Yuezhong Zheng Networking in higher education and student affairs is important. It helps you make key connections, and it often gives you an advantage when it comes to hiring. However, when I first came to the U.S. as an international student and even when I was just starting off in higher education, networking was a very foreign and scary concept to me, and being an introvert doesn’t make any...

Transporting “Race” Abroad: Supporting Study Abroad Students & International Students through Racial Identity Exploration & Development

Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development
By Lauren Chow Study abroad can play a valuable role in a student’s development throughout their college career. According to IIE’s Open Doors Report , over 330,000 US undergraduates participate in some type of education abroad every year, and study abroad students have been shown to have higher graduation rates, retention rates, and GPAs . Internationalization has emerged as a hot buzzword on...