The DC Chapter is back with its first event of 2023!
Join us in reconnecting with fellow ISEP Alums where you can hear about the resources the Alumni Association offers you, but more importantly, you can discover what alums in the DC area are up to.
DC Alums are engaged in a broad range of careers and fields, but they all share the ISEP experience that unites them on a deep level. So come have drinks and appetizers as we bring back your ISEP experience!
Event details can be found here: https://isepalumni.org/event-5210189
Thursday March 23, 2023
3:00 p.m. to 4:00p.m. (Eastern Time)
ISEP community,
Join us for an informative workshop on building and expanding one's networks. Global engagement specialist and ISEP board member, Dr. Gretchen Dobson, will host a presentation on how ISEP alumni can leverage their existing networks, as well as give tips on how to expand their networks in order to unlock new personal and professional connections and opportunities. As part of the presentation, she will share examples of success from her own personal story. Gretchen welcomes attendee participation to make the presentation an interactive experience.
This presentation would be especially beneficial for students who have recently completed their study abroad experiences and are preparing to start their careers, as well as alumni with professional experience looking to advance further.
A Zoom link will be sent to those who R.S.V.P. yes a few days before the event.
For questions, please contact Tavon Cooke at [email protected]
Thea Li is a senior majoring in computer science with a minor in music at Rhodes Colleges in Memphis, Tennessee. She participated in the ISEP exchange program at Korea University in 2020. Although her experience was virtual due to the pandemic, Thea made the most of the opportunity to explore her passions for art while fostering new connections both during class and in her free time.
At Rhodes College, Thea plays the harp, is involved in various photography projects, and conducts theater performances. However, in looking at study abroad programs, Thea wanted the opportunity to explore communications classes related to her interests. Thea saw Korea University’s robust media curriculum as a golden opportunity to learn in the country which plays a major role in the global entertainment industry. While she is already studying internationally in the United States, Thea says the two countries are different from one another, and that she wants to continue studying abroad to explore these cultural nuances.
From her base in Beijing, Thea enrolled in a variety of online classes, from international relations, architecture, media, to film studies. Thea was very excited about Korea University’s media and film classes, as it provided her a unique lens through which to view art. The year 2020 was also when the Korean industry gained immense popularity, with the film Parasite winning the Oscars. “It was a great time to study media in Korea when the industry was at its peak,” Thea says. Moreover, the Korean film industry is inclusive of different cultural, societal, and personal backgrounds. Thea found the experience very rich and valuable, especially when the Chinese media industry became increasingly more restricted and censored.
The architecture class was also a highlight of Thea’s ISEP experience. She enjoyed constructing models and shifting them in different angles for her class to see over Zoom. Here are some examples of the wonderful designs she created, including a straw model that amazed the entire class.
Despite her exchange experience being virtual, Thea created a fully immersive experience for herself. She connected with her classmates and the network for exchange students at Korea University. Thea also helped the university’s Chinese student association with communications related tasks. Moreover, Thea found opportunities to further her interests at home, taking up several jobs as a media planner and a coordinator for a top fashion company’s exhibition in Beijing. She also joined an improv group and started writing sketches, in which she applied new perspectives from the film class.
Looking back, Thea says her habit of continuously pursuing her passions made her virtual exchange memorable. While chatting with us, she pointed to a collection of fashion magazine posters on the wall behind her and said, “I started collecting them in my freshman year. I had no idea I was going to be working in the fashion industry, but my previous exposure to the field made it possible.” She added, “Don’t pull out of something because you don’t have an opportunity or enough time at the moment. Don’t rush. Keep doing it, and one day it will become useful.”
Thea highlights the importance of keeping an open mind when studying abroad. “You may be surprised at the cultural differences at first. But take them all in, and they will take you all in too.” Having explored new disciplines abroad herself, Thea encourages others to explore different fields. “This may be the only chance in your life. Step out of your comfort zone, and you’ll find that it is not that scary.”
*Story written by Mai Kasemsawade, ISEP Princetern
360 S. 11th St., San Jose, CA
March 5, 2023
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
ISEP community members in the Bay Area (alumni, students currently on an ISEP exchange program, prospective students, and supporters) are invited to San Jose Jose State University's annual international pancake breakfast, hosted at the International House.
In addition to meeting other members of the ISEP family in the area, attendees will spend the morning enjoying international entertainment, food, traditional dress, and pancakes! The event will also feature musical and dance performances while showcasing traditional dress from all around the world.
Tickets are available at the door $10 for students and $20 for adults. See you there!
The National Clearinghouse Disability and Exchange (NCDE) is seeking applicants for its Access to Exchange Externship, a paid remote internship in which alumni and current participants of international exchange programs conduct an outreach project to people with disabilities to educate them on how to study or volunteer abroad. Applicants with and without disabilities are welcome to apply.
This is open to all ISEP alumni, regardless of nationality.
Eligibility Requirements:
You may review previous outreach projects here.
Please consider applying or sharing these links with your networks.
Application deadline is March 5, 2023.
Are you interested in working for the United Nations and similar international organizations? If so, the U.S. Department of State encourages qualified U.S. citizens to apply to the UN Junior professional Officer Program.
A career with the UN means being at the forefront of international efforts to combat climate change, provide relief in humanitarian crises, alleviate poverty, end conflicts, and more.
The UN JPO Program is a two-year developmental program for young professionals that provides a pathway to a career at the United Nations. During the two years, JPOs gain experience in the field of multilateral cooperation through on-the-job learning under the supervision of experienced UN staff.
For more information, and how to apply, click here.
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Calling all ISEP alumni who also received a Gilman scholarship to study abroad. If you received a Gilman scholarship, or any other U.S. Department of State scholarship, you are eligible to apply for the a small grant through the 2023 Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF).
The CDAF awards up to $10,000 to carry out a public service project related to any of the following themes:
Some of the benefits of participating in the CDAF include applying what you learned during your study abroad time, the opportunity to meet other study abroad alumni, and the chance to show your creative and leadership skills.
For more information, click here: 2023 Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund
Deadline is Wednesday, March 15, 2023.
February 2023 Updates!
Greetings ISEP community. The Alumni Association has been busy relaunching in-person meetups and organizing events designed to reconnect with you and your interests based on your responses to our survey last fall. Please see below for some highlights, as well as things to come. You may click links under each header for more information. We are always interested in hearing what’s going with you, and are happy to arrange 1x1 or group advising sessions on academic and career questions.
In-person events are in full swing!
Thank you to everyone who ventured out to our in-person meetups in New York City in December, and in Bangkok, Thailand in January. You can see highlights on the Alumni Association’s website. Our next two meetups will happen in the Bay Area and Washington, DC. Planning is also underway for events in London and Seoul, so stay tuned for more info on those! If you are interested in helping to arrange an alumni event in your city, reply to this newsletter and we can discuss it with you.
Upcoming webinar on Careers in International Education
In case you missed it: Please join us on Wednesday, February 8th for a panel discussion with ISEP alumni currently working in the field of international education. You may send questions for the panel in advance by replying to this newsletter. Reminder for those who RSVP’d yes through email to also register through the included Zoom link to get the actual meeting invite.
Work & Study Options in France
Are you interested in working or pursuing further study in France? If so, check out our blog post, where we provide information on the popular Teaching Assistant Program (in English and other languages), as well as information on fully-funded master’s programs and other options!
Volunteer Opportunity Available with Mary’s Meals
ISEP alumni looking for a volunteer opportunity can learn more about available opportunities at Mary’s Meals (kudos to ISEP alumna Daniela Locreille for the introduction). Mary’s Meals is a global movement with a simple solution to world hunger: feed children where they learn to help break the cycle of poverty. Click here to read the full feature about the organization.
Alumni Features
ISEP alumnus and board member Hernán Fratto was recently honored with three Emmy wins at the 64th Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards Gala.
Read more here about this outstanding accomplishment.
¡Felicidades, Hernán!
Thank you, Said Ghneim, for sharing great pics of your travel throughout the states with us. Check out more here.
Said participated in an ISEP exchange from Universität Bielefeld to Washington State University.
ISEP alum Petr Vrba, who studied on exchange from Masaryk University to the University of Kansas, recently completed an internship at the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations in New York City.
We wish you the best of luck as you embark on your next career path back home.
Take care for now, and be back in touch soon!
Feeding program at a school in Zambia. Photos courtesy of Mary’s Meals.
ISEP Study Abroad and Mary’s Meals both believe education is the key to a better future. So, alumna Daniela Locreille suggested ISEP reach out to Mary’s Meals to contribute a piece about the work of this global charity that focuses on education by providing school meals to the world’s poorest children.
Mary’s Meals is a global movement with a simple solution to world hunger: feed children where they learn to help break the cycle of poverty. The inspiration for Mary’s Meals came in 2002 when Founder and CEO, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow met a little boy who only wanted to have enough to eat and to be able to go to school.
Now, 21 years later, Mary’s Meals establishes and coordinates school-feeding programs in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, where conflict, poverty and hunger often prevent children from gaining an education. By partnering with local communities to source, cook and serve food to school children, this locally-managed model is sustainable and invites everyone to be part of the solution to address hunger and missed education.
Today, Mary’s Meals provides nutritious meals to 2,429,182 children every school day at 5,084 schools in 18 countries. Food brings children to the classroom, helps them to focus and learn and gain an education that can be their ladder out of poverty. Just $25.20 feeds a child for a year.
We invite you to learn about Mary’s Meals, including available volunteer opportunities, at marysmealsusa.org and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Article credit: Written and submitted by Mary's Meals, January 2023.
ISEP Alumni Association
Address: 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 400, Arlington, Virginia, U.S. 22209
+1 (703) 504-9995, Michael Alijewicz, [email protected]
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