The New College Off-Campus Study/Study Abroad office has long been interested in connecting students with the right programs and necessary support to successfully complete a semester, summer or even a full year of a program or internship anywhere in the world. The Study Abroad Fair stands as one of many ways the office conducts outreach, otherwise you’ll be able to catch Florence Zamsky—Assistant Director of Off-Campus Study/Study Abroad—every first Wednesday of the month for pop-in questions and snacks.
Representatives from multiple agencies and companies came onto campus on Feb. 8 to showcase their programs and opportunities alongside Assistant Director of Financial Aid Jenna McCall and Assistant Director of Scholarships, Fellowships and Pre-Health Advising Duane Smith.
As a way to efficiently meet as many students as possible within a day, the group of representatives and New College staff sat in the Hamilton “Ham” Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in the Jane Bancroft Cook Library from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to call attention to any passersby.
The various organizations present include Arcadia Abroad, School for International Training (SIT), American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS), Knowledge Exchange Institute (KEI), International Studies Abroad (ISA) and the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES). The coordinators and outreach officers not only manned their booths—ready to give the run-down of their offerings and scholarships—but also led information sessions/presentations during the library portion of the event.
Presentations included, but are not limited to: “New Activisms, Human Rights, and Social Justice in Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica” by Arcadia Abroad and “Focus on Critical Global Issues, including climate & environment, global health & well-being, geopolitics and power” by SIT.
“We do have a special scholarship for New College students to do SIT programs,” Courtney Bauman—University Relations Manager and Alumni Engagement at SIT—said. “We also have graduate programs for any students approaching graduation. We have a global masters degree that students can earn abroad.”
After listening to each study abroad coordinator, there is a noticeable trend in their programming and benefits. Each program boasted numerous participatory countries, diversity of opportunities available and the sheer number of scholarship and grant opportunities on the table for students to take advantage of.
The Study Abroad Fair will continue to happen every semester along with monthly informational sessions led by Zamsky. It’s best to get applications for programs and scholarships in as soon as possible so schedule an appointment soon or drop by during those first Wednesdays of the month.