"Amongst the People" by Walker Guerra

• First Place: "Amongst the People" by Walker Guerra; Study Abroad Location: Italy: Milan - Business Studies/IES -  Fall Semester 2023
• Second Place: "Inside a Glacier" by Katie Ott; Study Abroad Location: England: East London - Queen Mary University of London/SCU - Fall Semester 2023
• Honorable Mention: "A moment of tranquility amidst the power of the ocean." by Sri Sai Saketh Chillapalli; Home Country: India
• Honorable Mention: "Depleting Glacier Lagoon" by Katie Ott; Study Abroad Location: England: East London - Queen Mary University of London/SCU - Fall Semester 2023

There are 488 confirmed participants for Study Abroad and Global Programs for Summer 2024 through Spring 2025, and the application process has concluded.

Applications for 2024-25 Study Abroad and Global Programs were due December 14, 2023, and as study abroad continues to rebound after the pandemic, applications for fall, winter, and spring programs increased by 16% from last year.  

In addition to the positive trend in SCU’s fall, winter, and spring study abroad, Summer 2024 includes an increase in participation in a diversity of programs including internships, study abroad, and SCU’s Global Explorations faculty-led programs. 

We are thankful for the large-scale engagement from the 69 faculty and staff who served as reviewers throughout the application process. 

Now, the Orientation and Pre-Departure phase for 2024-25 students abroad has begun. In addition to launching Orientation and Pre-Departure for 2024-25 students abroad, we continue with the Re-Entry and Program Abroad engagement and programming for 2023-24 students abroad.

International students are encouraged to participate in an upcoming employment workshop to learn more about academic internships (CPT: Curricular Practical Training) and post-graduation employment (OPT: Optional Practical Training). International students can learn more about OPT and CPT on our website, and sign up for a workshop now: 

• March 5: OPT Workshop
  
• April 16: CPT Workshop
  
• April 18: OPT Workshop

SCU’s international student population has grown from 375 students to almost 1,700 students in the last decade. To support our large international student population, we are implementing a new system: Sunapsis.

The Sunapsis implementation project kicked-off this fall with leadership from Melissa Heid in Global Engagement and Rafael Espinoza and Nancy Cutler in Information Technology. We project that Sunapsis will go live in October 2024, and until then we are grateful for the significant engagement and talents being employed from many people across campus, including:  

• Michael Cox, Manager, Enterprise Systems 
• Jake Day, Senior Programmer Analyst, Enterprise Applications, IT
• Kristen Dietiker, Chief Information Security Officer, Information Security
• Aleksandra Gacevic, Manager, Student Admin Technical Group, Enterprise Applications
• Wilfredo Hernandez, Network Engineer Supervisor/Senior, Cyberinfrastructure Technologies
• Carol Jordan, Director of Cyberinfrastructure Technologies
• Kaz Joseph, Director, Enterprise Applications
• Ed Mullikin, Manager, Administrative Infrastructure Group
• Munish Sharma, Senior Systems Administrator, Cyberinfrastructure Technologies
• Kam Srimoungchanh, Network Engineer, Cyberinfrastructure Technologies

Global Explorations programs are SCU’s faculty-led programs abroad that are specifically designed to increase access to education abroad for first and second year undergraduates and provide faculty with an opportunity to lead a program and gain experience teaching abroad. 

The deadline to apply for 2024-25 programs abroad just passed, but this is a great time to start planning for proposing a program for 2025-26. Start now by learning more on our website. This program is open to tenured and tenure-track faculty.

Have questions? Contact Sara Branley at sbranley@scu.edu. 

The Rotary Global Grant provides recent graduates with a $30,000 scholarship. Apply by March 1, 2024. This grant provides funding for students to study outside the United States for graduate-level coursework or an advanced degree. Learn more and apply through the Rotary Foundation website. 

International Mother Language Day- Survey Results

February 21 was International Mother Language Day, and we were delighted that 180 students, faculty, and staff shared the languages that they speak with our campus community. View the survey results to see the many languages spoken by our SCU community. Highlights from the survey: 

• 180 responders speak a combined total of 52 different languages
• Multiple responders speak 6 different languages
• The most spoken languages were English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin
• Other reported languages included: American Sign Language, Khmer, Ukrainian, Hausa, and Marathi

Are you a faculty or staff member traveling abroad individually for research or work? Register Your Faculty/Staff Travel through the 1-Minute Travel Registry. This ensures faculty and staff are covered by SCU’s insurance.

Want to know more about university-sponsored travel? See SCU’s University International Travel Policy.

Not traveling individually, but planning a program abroad instead? See more about International Travel Proposals on the Global Engagement website. 

Questions? Reach out to associateprovostglobal@scu.edu.