The Study Abroad Fair happening on Feb. 21 in the Reeve Memorial Union Ballroom will bring new learning opportunities for UWO students sponsored by the Office of International Education.

The fair will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. where students can explore different programs the OIE offers. There are open house information sessions for financial aid, which begins at 3:30 p.m. and for the application process, which begins at 4 p.m.

Vicki Anderson, front line adviser for the Office of International Education, said there will be a number of different resources for the students to take advantage of.

“The different faculty and program leaders are there as well as students who have gone on the programs in the past,” Anderson said. “It’s really all about going and making those connections.”

Anderson said the fair will host different tables that students can stop at based on what will interest them.

“Most of the programs are represented,” Anderson said. “They have a table and you can stop by and get more information from them.”

Once a student finds a program that interests them, Anderson said they can then get further information through their student email.

“You can sign up for an email list to get more information sent to you,” Anderson said.

UWO junior Amanda Beistle is part of the student group who is taking advantage of abroad opportunities.
Beistle said she attended the fair during last year’s fall semester and found her opportunity there.

“I attended the fair in the fall of 2017,” Beistle said. “I went to look for interning abroad opportunities and when I went it showed me all the options that were there.”

Beistle said she was interested in becoming an intern in another country, and connected with the right people at the fair.

“I talked with the intern group because that is what I was interested in,” Beistle said.

Beistle said making the connection with the OIE faculty was very helpful and easy to do and offered insightful information for her.

“I found out a lot more information than I did when I was just browsing through the website only,” Beistle said. “It was easy to talk to somebody and actually figure out if it was something that was right for me and that I wanted to do in the future.”

Beistle said she will be heading overseas this summer to take part in an internship opportunity.

“I will be interning abroad through the intern group in London this summer for Fubar Radio,” Beistle said.

Anderson said in addition to the tables of information for students, there are other events they try to incorporate with the fair.

“There are some giveaways, we usually have music and candy there,” Anderson said.

After attending the fair, Anderson said the next step for students to take is to choose their program and apply.

“They would want to go to our website and begin the application process,” Anderson said. “We have our website listed in all the brochures, which will be at the fair. The application is started online.”

Anderson said there are many different programs to choose from, which students can browse through on their page.

“There’s a really long list, you can see the list on our website,” Anderson said.

Anderson said as for future abroad programs go, they are still in the beginning stages of planning those out.

“We’re just now getting the program leaders applications in, so we don’t have a list yet for 2019,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the majority of their abroad programs occur every year and students can get a sense of what is offered by visiting the OIE’s website.

Anderson said students can benefit from attending the fair by the resources and connections they will gather while there.

“Mostly it’s there to see what programs are offered and talk to people about the different programs,” Anderson said. “They are really able to see all the different programs that are offered as well as what would fit with their major if anything.”