By JENNA GIBSON
J Alumni News staff
David Wilson joined the Peace Corps straight out of college. He had never been outside of the United States before and had never even heard of Afghanistan, where he was headed.
Now, decades later, photos of his time in Afghanistan grace the walls of his office at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he is associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. Wilson proposed UNL’s new Global Gateway Program this year to give more students the chance to go abroad and have life-changing experiences like his own.
“I believe that international experiences can change people,” Wilson said.
The program, funded by the University of Nebraska Foundation, actually supports three different causes. First, it provides support for three study abroad experiences planned for this summer. The project also gives scholarships to students for those trips. Finally, Global Gateway chose eight faculty associates across campus to tag along on the trips and learn how to lead their own international experience.
Struthers chosen to join trip to China
Amy Struthers
One of those eight is advertising faculty member Amy Struthers. She joined a trip to China in May that focused on textiles, clothing and the fashion industry.
Struthers, who led a study abroad trip to France in 2006, applied for the program because she wanted to learn more about such projects from an experienced faculty member.
“I knew there were things I could have done better,” she said. “For me it’s about being a better faculty leader for study abroad.”
Struthers applied to join the China trip because she knew she would learn how to plan trips more effectively from the faculty leaders. She also wants to learn how to get more students interested in study abroad trips. The China trip had 30 to 35 students and filled up within a few weeks, she said, bigger and faster than most J school study abroad classes.
Struthers will learn along with faculty and students
“It’s like we’re all learners together,” Struthers said. “This is going to be a huge opportunity for me to learn, and I think it will be a big benefit for our students.”
She hopes to bring this knowledge back to UNL and develop her own study abroad trip to China or create a new course focused on the area. With Asia’s growing market, she said, it’s increasingly important for students to learn about advertising and mass media there.
“If we can give them (students) some knowledge of China, I think we can give our students more job opportunities, and ultimately that’s what we’re all about,” Struthers said.
The Global Gateway program is just one option to increase international exposure at UNL. The university will monitor the program this year and see if it is an effective way to get students abroad or to bring knowledge of international issues to campus, Wilson said. If the program goes well, UNL will continue to offer support for students and faculty.
“We think students are well-served by developing global literacy,” he said. “We will continue to find ways to support international programming and study abroad one way or another.”
loading...
