Faces from distant lands: UMW goes international

When Lauren Harford and Daisy Jennings arrived at Mary Washington University last summer, a small gesture made a big difference. The director of the Center for International Education (CIE) Jose Sainz personally accompanied his roommates to buy some English amenities a kettle, tea and biscuits after a surprise visit of doctors to Harford.

Roommates Lauren Harford (left) and Daisy Jennings, seen here at Eagle Gathering, are among more than 50 international students currently attending Mary Washington University.

I am very grateful for the care I received thousands of miles away from home, said Harford, a student at the University of Reading, who came from the UK in August to spend a year at UMW. I knew by then I would be in good hands at Mary Washington.

More than 50 students from all over the world twice as many as last year are studying at UMW this semester. tall International Education Week, November 15-19, we celebrate faces from distant lands Fiji and France, Egypt and Ethiopia, Nepal and Nigeria, Scotland and Saudi Arabia. After quarantines, blockages and COVID protocols due to the global pandemic, they are here to experience life in an American college. It is a comprehensive cultural victory.

You can bring a part of the world to your campus, Sainz said, especially at a time when local students are unable or reluctant to travel.

CIE recruits through EducationUSA, a U.S. State Department network that promotes U.S. universities overseas. Like Americans, most international students are here to pursue a degree; about a quarter plan to stay for a single semester or academic year, often provide scholarships to cover the cost of college in the US, but the CIE also focuses on educating them on what to expect in Mary Washington. If the school is not suitable, they will be transferred, Sainz said. The key is to find students looking for a small liberal arts university where they can connect with faculty and colleagues.

UMWs Mens Rugby has also increased its overseas reach, with 22 student-athletes from the UK, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand. This is why Adam Thomson, a graduate student from Scotland came to UMW as the first student. Homecoming games quickly became his favorite events. To see my friends, the guys I played with, who have graduated since then, the professors and other people in the stands cheering us on is something I will never forget.

Elena De Fazio, who came from Italy to spend a semester at Mary Washington, takes a picture with Sammy D. Eagle at a large gathering at the beginning of the school year. She found many activities to attend UMW, including serving as a visiting language coordinator by planning Italian cultural events on campus.

Recruited to play rugby, postgraduate student Adam Thomson of Scotland chose UMW over other schools because of the small size of the classrooms and the ability to interact regularly with professors.

Masuda Omarova, a computer science graduate from ADA University in Azerbaijan, decided to spend a semester at UMW after learning about the school from her sister, who previously studied abroad.

If students think they want to pursue an overseas experience, the Coordinator of Modern Languages ​​and Literatures, Leire Flor Olabarria, tells them to do so. Don’t even think about it. Just do it, said Olabarria, who is also a student at a partner institution of Mary Washington, University of Deusto in Spain.

First student Nutthaya Noikate, who came from Thailand to earn a degree in business administration, said she considers UMW courses as rigorous and the professors accessible and helpful. My English is improving every day, and I’m having a big blast making friends, especially after two years in quarantine.

Masuda Omarova discovered Mary Washington through her sister, who studied here last year. A computer science graduate of ADA University in Azerbaijan, Omarova is learning languages ​​like Arabic, something she may not have been able to do at home.

For Elena De Fazio, who studies international affairs at the Italian University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore de Milano, the appeal was to spend a semester at a school one hour south of DC. Teaching other UMW students about her Italian culture was an added bonus, she said.

I have to leave soon, said De Fazio, but I will always keep in my heart my time in Mary Wash.

The Center for International Education is working to increase diversity and access to study opportunities abroad at UMW by promoting Beyond classroom donation. The fund was created to encourage high-impact learning beyond the traditional classroom experience and to support such initiatives throughout the University. A quarter of the fundraisers are planned to be used to meet Mary Washingtontons ’overseas study goals by helping to minimize financial barriers and create the flexibility to provide financial aid to students in need.

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