WMU Study Abroad Fair open to campus and community

Contact: Korey Force

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University's annual Study Abroad Fair will provide area students and the public with the information to make an overseas learning experience part of their college degree programs.

This free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Sangren Hall, both outside the building on the pedestrian mall by the main entrance and in the building's first-floor atrium. Most WMU study abroad programs are available to both current students and non-WMU participants who are at least 18 years old and eligible to enroll as a guest student.

"Ideally, all WMU students should enjoy the positive transformations that come from study abroad," says Dr. Paulo Zagalo-Melo, associate provost of the Haenicke Institute for Global Education. "International experience is often fatal to prejudice as well as is empowering. Businesses know this, which is why, according to QS Global, over 80 percent of employers seek graduates with study abroad experience."

Activities and Resources  

Fair attendees will have a chance to speak with WMU students who have studied and interned abroad, as well as with professors from the University who coordinate programs and courses around the globe.

WMU study abroad specialists also will be available to answer questions, as will representatives from non-WMU organizations providing more than 100 study and work programs conducted worldwide.

Prospective study abroad students will learn about completing internships with overseas companies and numerous academic and language-intensive programs.

Options include studying book arts in Italy, sustainable development in Costa Rica and public health in South Africa, as well as studying languages such as Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Japanese. Many of these options are taught in English.

The 2019 Study Abroad Fair will offer free pizza and giveaways to students, WMU faculty and staff members, and the community at large.

For more information, visit WMU Study Abroad online or find the event on Facebook. Direct questions to Nick Postelli, recruitment and outreach specialist for the Haenicke Institute for Global Education, at nicholas.m.postelli@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5890. Campus maps and directions to the University are available by visiting the Campus Maps webpage.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.