Hobart and William Smith Colleges

As students return to campus, Dean of Global Education Thomas D'Agostino P'15 says there is "an institutional effort" to ensure they continue to engage with the lessons they learned abroad. Working with faculty and staff in academic departments and offices across campus, the Center for Global Education pushes students to "flesh out skills from study abroad, to nuance their experience and get them ready for grad school, Fulbright Awards, the Peace Corps and their long-term careers."

The annual Study Abroad Photo Contest sponsored by the CGE invites students who have returned from programs abroad to submit images of the people and environments that defined their experiences around the globe. HWS faculty and staff serve as judges.

Submissions are also considered for publication in The Aleph: A Journal of Global Perspectives, a joint project of the HWS and Union College Partnership for Global Education. The annual publication features poetry, prose, photography and art produced by study abroad students at the two institutions.

CGE also sponsors Global Cafes, which offer students opportunities to share their international experiences with the HWS community, "build community through storytelling and learn about a brand new culture," says Zoe Collis, an exchange student from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England.

With the half-credit course "Continuing the Journey: From Study Abroad to a Life of Global Engagement," students returning to campus have a forum in which to understand and communicate their experience to a variety of audiences. Reflecting back on their time abroad, students develop skills to tell their stories in oral, written and digital forms, and learn to market their experience as they apply for jobs and graduate and professional schools.