This year, the Education Abroad Department debuted its new student-led Study Abroad Ambassador Program. The ambassadors hope to have a positive impact on campus with their efforts.  

Finn Shirley, a Study Abroad Ambassador Program member, looks forward to shaping the program and bringing new groups of students to education abroad.

Photo of Finn Shirley. (Contributed/Finn Shirley)

Shirley shared that the main goal of the program is, “to encourage students from backgrounds and majors to study abroad.” 

The Ambassadors work and engage with students to help them find a study abroad program that caters the best to them. They also serve as mentors to students who are planning to go abroad. Shirley describes the mentorships as means to “. . .provide individual support with scheduling, planning, just advice general, anything that could help the students feel more prepared. . . ”  

Another aspect of the program is bringing awareness to the resources offered by the Education Abroad Department. To do so, the ambassadors are tasked with tabling and social media engagement. Shirley believes this will encourage students to study abroad who may have never thought it was possible for them to have those experiences.  

Shirley looks forward to International Education Week, which takes place Nov. 13 – 17. The week will include numerous events put on by different campus organizations. The Ambassadors will be working with the International Buccaneer Buddies (IBB) program as well as cultural groups on campus. They are planning events involving food from different cultures and people sharing their study abroad experiences.  

Ambassador recruitment events will be held at the end of the semester for students who want to apply for the spring. More information is available on the Education Abroad website.  

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