GVSU Faculty & Staff reflect on their experience on the 2017 Delegation to London: 

“The partnership that Grand Valley shares with Kingston University has allowed many of our Psychology students to experience study abroad, and will continue doing so in the future. Given that Kingston is one of our students most common study abroad program choices, it is important for our Psychology Department to have enough information about the program to fully advise our students about it as they assess their program choices and select their courses. Hence, my primary objective in making this visit to Kingston was to collect information about the overall experience our students would have thereboth in the classroom and outside of it.”

-Benjamin Swets, Psychology Department

“The Power of Education and being the first. I am the first to go abroad in my family. This is a big deal and an empowering experience! I was selected to participate in the U.K. Partnership Delegation with the University of Kingston. I got to walk where Kings and Queens have ruled, visit remarkable land marks, and learn a lot of great things in the U.K. such as the British culture and knowledge of historical, economic, political, academic, environmental and social development taking place there. I also developed bonds with more GVSU Faculty and Staff that I do not work with daily. This opportunity will enhance the work that I will continue to do with students of color, first generation, and limited income college students. One of our goals in the TRiO SSS program is to increase, educate, and empower students to access study abroad opportunities. Study abroad is a high impact practice that influence students lives and retention. I am thankful for GVSU and Padnos International Center for creating opportunities for Faculty and Staff to go abroad. My TRiO colleagues and Unit Head have been very supportive of me during this endeavor. I encourage all GVSU Faculty and Staff to participate in this program.”

-Ariel Arnold, TRiO Student Support Services

“The reason I applied for the London Delegation was primarily because I work with admissions to recruit international students and with the Padnos International Center on the Study Abroad Catalog. I have never had the opportunity to discuss how other institutions recruit international students and promote study abroad to their students, so this offered me the opportunity to do so at Kingston University. In addition, I have never travelled out of the United States so I wanted to experience another culture. I had the opportunity to meet with several of the marketing staff that had similar roles to mine at Grand Valley and the exchange of ideas was very fruitful for both institutions. This trip changed my outlook and perspective in many ways! If you have the opportunity I would highly suggest you take advantage of this spectacular program!”

-Jennifer Allard, Institutional Marketing