JOHNSTOWN — Pitt-Johnstown is hosting a series of events, beginning today, linked to International Education Week.
The nationwide initiative began in 2000, according to a UPJ news release, as an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.
The university currently enrolls 42 international students from countries including Syria, Hong Kong, Australia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Vietnam.
Additionally, a growing number of UPJ students study abroad, and destinations have included Australia, Italy, India, Germany, Bolivia, Spain and New Zealand.
Through its strategic plan, UPJ has developed goals “to ensure that its graduates are globally literate and inter-culturally competent, possessing the skills, dispositions and competencies necessary for successful participation, service, and leadership in an increasingly interdependent world,” the university said.
The university plans to broadcast international travel programming on its cable system at 3 p.m. all week.
Campus events will include:
Today
• “The Value of Languages and Appreciating the Culture of Other Countries”: Dr. Barbara Petrosky, assistant professor of French, will lead a discussion designed to promote global literacy; 11 a.m. to noon, 138 Blackington Hall.
• “Service Learning and Life in Rural Tanzania”: Pitt-Johns-town students Anthony Scaletta and Holly Lees will discuss the value of service to families and children in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. Lee will share her experiences in working with an orphanage and as a volunteer teacher in Africa; 3 to 4 p.m., 140 Krebs Hall.
• Study abroad student panel discussion: Students who have recently returned from study abroad trips will share their experiences. Countries represented will include France, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Italy; 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., 240 Krebs Hall.
Wednesday
• International Education Provider Fair: Vendors will be on hand to help students select a study abroad program. Vendors at the event will include Pitt-Johnstown international students and International Services staff, University of Pittsburgh Study Abroad office, and the Vira Heinz Scholarship.
Passport processing also will be available. Handmade goods from Central America will be available for purchase, with proceeds being used to support relief efforts there. Donations also will be accepted for Operation Smile; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Student Union.
Thursday
• “How to Prepare for an International Career”: Pitt-Johnstown career counselors Victoria Biter and Angela Boyd will provide students with important information and considerations for exploring career opportunities in foreign countries; 1 to 2 p.m., 240 Krebs Hall.
• “Life in a Village: How College Students Can Study, Learn, and Work in Africa”: Dr. Eric Schwerer, associate professor of writing, will share the joys, challenges and reflection that both writing and service-learning can provide; 2 to 3 p.m., 140 Krebs Hall.
• “Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union – A Student’s Perspective”: Students Consolee Uwizeyimana and Polina Valitova will share their experiences while growing up abroad and will discuss what life is like there today; 3 to 4 p.m., 240 Krebs Hall.
Local News
UPJ schedules events throughout International Education Week
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