2014 International Education Week

This week, the UGA Alumni Association joined the campus community in celebrating International Education Week.

“International Education Week gives us the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the role of international education in providing a well-rounded education and equipping students with the competencies for living and working in an intercultural environment,” said Kavita Pandit, associate provost for international education.

Not only does UGA encourage students to travel and study abroad, the university also welcomes international students to call UGA home. Interacting with students from other countries – working on class projects, living in the same dorm, sharing a meal in the dining hall – creates a greater cultural and global awareness and helps prepare students for whatever life holds.

The UGA Alumni Association believes in the transformative power of international educational opportunities and is proud to support various study abroad scholarships across campus. Since 2006, it has have provided more than $50,000 in study abroad scholarships. Such funding has allowed students to study abroad in a varity of places, including Cortona, Costa Rica and Oxford.

Joey Sharp ’15 was recently profiled as a UGA Amazing Student, where he shared the lasting impact of his study abroad experience.

The summer after my sophomore year I received funding from the Honors International Scholarship Program and spent 12 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa, volunteering in a township clinic and conducting research on antiretroviral HIV treatment adherence. The work culminated in an article published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and, more importantly, the implementation of a more effective and efficient treatment program in the community. The experience confirmed my goal of pursuing an MD/MPH and a career in global health. – Joey Sharp ’15, UGA Amazing Student

Each year, nearly 6 percent of the UGA student population participates in a study abroad program, with an additional 150-200 students from other universities transient enrolling. These statistics testify to UGA’s reputation for providing high quality international academic experiences.

Click here to read more participation statistics from the Office of International Education.

Interested in supporting UGA study abroad programs and helping students like Joey Sharp? Click here.

Do you have a favorite memory from a UGA study abroad experience? We’d love to hear it! Email your story to Assistant Director of Communications Jamie Lewis (AB ’12, AB ’12) at jelewis@uga.edu.