Smith Participates in International Education Week 2014

Smith students, faculty and staff came together to celebrate International Education Week 2014, a week dedicated to sparking global conversations.

“International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide,” according to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs website. “This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.”

The Office of Global Initiatives at the Robert H. Smith School of Business sponsored the weeklong celebration at Smith, which took place from Nov. 17 to Nov. 21.

Each day of International Education Week, the Smith community was greeted at the doors of Van Munching Hall by study abroad ambassadors who encouraged community members to wear special stickers showing others what global experiences and affiliations they have.

“We have so much global diversity here, said Claudia Donnelly, manager of undergraduate global programs, “and we often don’t take advantage of all the opportunities to learn from one another.”

International Education Week at Smith included events such as an international business panel, a workshop on leading study abroad trips and a workshop on leveraging study abroad experiences. The week culminated with an International Coffee Hour, an event hosted by OGI and the International Student & Scholar Services Office at the university.

The University of Maryland is home to approximately 3,600 international students, and the International Coffee Hour was a way for Smith to open its doors and a dialogue about global diversity to the entire campus community.

“We have a globally diverse student body and we have each a global story to tell,” Donnelly said, adding that she hoped the week inspired people to learn from each other. Events like this “give people an excuse to go up to someone that they may never have had the opportunity to speak with before.”

Members of the University of Maryland community can learn and have rich global experiences here on campus, just by speaking to one another about cultural differences, she continued. “We are hearing from employers that they are looking for students with global mindsets, which are attributes that we can learn from one another without having to study abroad.”

Erica Bonelli, intern, Office of Marketing Communications