Story: Phillip Tutor
University’s desire to ‘bring the world’ to campus and students is paying dividends
By the time she enrolled at the , Carlyn Rawls was already captivated by the notion of studying abroad. Reared in Millbrook just north of the state Capitol, she soon learned options were bountiful for curious students without fear of moving to the globe鈥檚 opposite side. It鈥檚 an experience she sought.
UWA made that happen.
This winter, Rawls is enjoying her second semester at , which is part of University of Rennes 1, a historic institution in the western French region of Brittany. Situated along a hill about 30 miles from the English Channel, is renowned for its arts and culture and a population bolstered by a constant influx of international students.
Rawls, a junior at UWA, is taking advantage of a double-degree program in which she will earn a degree in international business in Rennes and a business management degree from UWA. It鈥檚 a win-win, given that she will graduate with two degrees and international exposure without doubling her classroom time. What she鈥檒l do with those twin degrees is a decision for the future.
鈥淢y original idea was health-care management, but I’m being open and influenced by all of the international (aspects),鈥� she said via Zoom from France. 鈥淭here are a lot of universities in this city and there are international students throughout. I’ve met so many people from so many different countries. It’s opened my mind to do something else more international, but maybe still based in the U.S.鈥�
Rawls鈥� European adventure exemplifies one component of UWA鈥檚 multifaceted international efforts. By sending students abroad and recruiting international students to Livingston, UWA is broadening the educational experience of its traditional students, boosting its global programs and exporting the university鈥檚 brand across several continents. International partnerships play a significant role.
It鈥檚 by design, said Dr. Mark Davis, UWA鈥檚 dean of International Programs, given that the university’s president, Dr. Ken Tucker, considers the university鈥檚 global efforts a priority.
鈥淚 think bringing the world to campus is incredibly important for our own students鈥� worldview, but then offering the world to our students through study-abroad opportunities,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淲e’ve had students go to grad school overseas because of their international friends.鈥�
A Brit鈥檚 cross-culture experience at UWA
鈥檚 arrival in Livingston from her home in Windsor, England, came via a familiar path for many international students — sports. She鈥檚 a senior on the who plans to graduate this spring with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology.
Several UWA teams actively recruit international students, including the women鈥檚 soccer program. Recent UWA rosters for tennis, soccer and other sports have included students from Ireland, England, Germany, France, Tanzania, Ukraine, Finland, Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Scotland, Spain, Thailand and Japan sprinkled liberally among those from the United States.
鈥淚 wanted to come to the States to play soccer,鈥� Laidler said. 鈥淭he college sports life in America is taken a lot more seriously. It’s more like a professional team compared to what college soccer would be in England.鈥�
In Livingston, Laidler鈥檚 experience mirrors Davis鈥� belief in opening the world to UWA and its students. 鈥淓ven though England and America are both English-speaking countries, the culture is still very different,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it gives you that open-mindedness in your life to be open to different cultures, to just experience new things.鈥�
A few semesters ago, an international student from China sat in front of Laidler during class. One was an athlete, the other wasn鈥檛. One spoke English well, the other didn鈥檛. But the connection was there, even if they never had a deep conversation about their shared experiences of being international students at UWA.
鈥淵ou could tell she was just happy,鈥� Laidler said. 鈥淪he was in class doing all her work. I just thought it was absolutely a credit to her because she doesn’t speak our language well and she was doing great. Every time we came in, she’d say hello. We always seemed to be the first two people in class, just magically.鈥�
The cross-culture experiences that can happen at UWA — in Laidler鈥檚 case, as an English woman meeting a Chinese student on a rural campus in baby直播鈥檚 Black Belt — are invaluable.
鈥淚t certainly opens a worldview to things, whether it’s in class or hearing them speak or having them as friends,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 was quite serious when I said we bring the world here.鈥�
COVID鈥檚 impact on international affairs
Davis, previously dean of UWA鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts, discusses the university鈥檚 international efforts as if they were two chapters of a book: the first written before the pandemic, the second still largely unfinished. The differences are stark.
Before the Covid-19 shutdown in March 2020, UWA鈥檚 international programs were expanding thanks to an increased emphasis and a series of overseas trips on which administrators sought bilateral partnerships with similar institutions. Visits to universities and education conferences in China, Turkey, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates and England, among others, built relationships that sent UWA students abroad and international students to Livingston. Recruiting efforts by faculty and coaches increased the number of international students on campus to around 170 at its peak, Davis said. What emerged was a globalized campus culture, an influx of motivated students and a financial benefit to the university itself.
鈥淚 think bringing the world to campus is incredibly important for our own students鈥� worldview, but then offering the world to our students through study-abroad opportunities.”
— Dr. Mark Davis, UWA鈥檚 dean of International Programs
The pandemic, though, altered everything. Issues arose: concerns about student safety, restrictions on international travel, problems acquiring visas, and the availability of vaccines once they were available. A majority of universities across the United States, adjusted to online-only classes for much of 2020. Recruiting international students to Livingston and sending UWA students abroad took a direct hit.
鈥淎nd we’ve been trying to dig out of it ever since,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淭here was this momentum built. And then, COVID.鈥�
One example: Prior to March 2020, UWA was preparing to send as many as 11 students abroad in the coming semesters. 鈥淔or us,鈥� Davis said, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 huge — and we were working to get more.鈥� Previously, the most the university had sent abroad in a single semester was four. When the pandemic roiled the planet, UWA鈥檚 study-abroad students didn鈥檛 leave the country. The global easing of pandemic restrictions has been uneven, which has further complicated the university鈥檚 attempts to regain that promising momentum.
But it is happening, Davis said. The university’s study-abroad trips, such as a successful venture to Ireland last year, have resumed. Last fall, UWA had roughly 85 international students on campus and one student, Rawls, studying abroad. Those numbers are expected to increase this year.
鈥淐ovid hurt a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t wasn’t really until 2022 that places said, 鈥榊es, you can come study,鈥� and it wasn鈥檛 until after the Omicron variant kind of went away and third doses of the vaccine started happening that we got to that level safety.鈥�
What Dutch students learned in Livingston
University Charter School may be an unlikely place for two Dutch students to spend a semester teaching baby直播 children and teenagers, but that didn鈥檛 dissuade Tom Heijl and Teun Isselman. As UWA provided Laidler an opportunity to play soccer in the United States, the charter school on the university鈥檚 campus allowed them to learn the differences between physical education and competitive sports in America and the Netherlands.
鈥淚t鈥檚 completely different than what we’re used to,鈥� Isselman said.
Heijl and Isselman came to UWA as graduate P.E. teachers from the Netherlands鈥� who interned at the charter school. (HAN University is one of UWA鈥檚 global partnerships.) Fit and trim, they struck quite a pose in Livingston: Heijl, 23, plays field hockey. Isselman, 21, plays soccer. Both have worked as ski instructors in Germany. When not teaching classes at UCS, they were completing coursework online with their university, where their internships are continuing this semester.
Exposure to American sports and P.E. instruction proved eye-opening.
鈥淲e knew that there were differences, that they were working with athletic teams here, but we didn’t know it was bigger than we expected,鈥� Heijl said. 鈥淭he idea of Dutch P.E. is teaching kids motor skills and preparing them for lifelong movement. But here, everything is focused on the athletic teams.鈥�
Livingston is literally a world away from their Dutch hometowns, but on campus Heijl and Isselman found camaraderie in the community of global students that often meet at UWA鈥檚 International House. Heijl ticks off an lengthy list of students they met at UWA: several Germans, a Russian, students from France, Ireland, Brazil, Japan, English students like Laidler and, of course, American students like Rawls. It鈥檚 another example of the campus鈥� international flavor that Davis espouses.
鈥淵ou get to know each other very soon because you are here for almost the same thing,鈥� Heijl said.
As instructors at the charter school, the Dutch students spent only a few months at UWA. Their experience was brief but meaningful. It鈥檚 quite a contrast from Laidler, who has lived on campus since 2019 and worn a Tigers red jersey countless times. She leaves no doubt that her international experience in Livingston has been immeasurable.
鈥淭he town, the school, everything — I’ve honestly had an amazing time,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is almost a home away from home for me, and it’s somewhere where I feel comfortable, somewhere where you can be happy and go to school and play soccer. I know it’s a small place and the motto of the school is 鈥楾here’s something about this place,鈥� but it’s absolutely right.鈥�
