Category: Students

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Zoe Weaver wins Stetson Student Employee of the Month

Zoe Weaver, ‘19, one of WORLD’s outstanding student employees, is winner of the October 2018 Student of the Month Competition at Stetson University.

Our Student Employment office hosts the monthly competition. The office seeks meritorious nominations from employers for student employees who exemplify Stetson’s Professional and Career Readiness Competency themes. This month’s theme is Professionalism and Productivity.

Stetson’s Professional and Career Readiness Competencies are the basis of each month’s theme and represent skills most sought by employers: critical thinking and problem solving, professionalism and productivity, teamwork and collaboration, communication, digital literacy, leadership, global and intercultural engagement, and career navigation. Our student workers practice and master these competencies in their campus work roles. Stetson employers are encouraged to help student employees recognize and build competencies to enable better articulation of transferable skills when students interview for internships, jobs, and post-baccalaureate educational opportunities.

Wendy Viggiano, who serves as Stetson’s international learning program coordinator and Weaver’s supervisor, offered praise as part of the nomination application.

“From the first day of work, Zoe has gone above and beyond, exceeding expectations. She has been instrumental in helping acclimate all of our international students during orientation. She led several orientation sessions, assisting in any small or large task asked of her, and always offered to do even more than asked.

Recently, Zoe organized with her WORLD Ambassador Team a panel on Immigration. She coordinated faculty, staff, and students from around campus to speak about their experience immigrating to the United States. Zoe was the main coordinator for the entire event and was the moderator for the panel. As a student employee, Zoe has anticipated the needs of our center, solving problems before we even ask for help. “

Zoe Weaver, a global development major, envisions her work experience at WORLD as critical to her future endeavors.

“Working at WORLD has not only connected me with students from all over the world and taught me how I can best support them, but has also introduced me to an environment in which all workers truly care about the job they do. The WORLD center and its staff have been an important part of my experience at Stetson, and although I am graduating soon, I am sure they will continue to serve the international community in ways unmatched by any other office on campus.”

Article written by Ally Topliff,’ 19 (political science) and Roxanne Lewis, international student and scholars coordinator at Stetson University

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 International Student Receives Global Citizenship Scholarship, Stetson Access Grant

Congratulations to Henry Semaganda, international student from Kampala, Uganda, who received one of Stetson’s prestigious Global Citizenship Scholarships. Semaganda has long demonstrated interest in Stetson University, applying twice before receiving the scholarship.

“As a recipient of the prestigious Global Citizen Full Tuition Scholarship, I have an immense opportunity to live my dream at Stetson University, Florida. A dream that has come to pass despite the fact that the competition was indeed stiff, with only one slot available for a student from sub-Saharan Africa.“

Henry Semaganda, ‘20 (biology), proudly displays his Global Citizenship Scholarship certificate of award. Semaganda is the second recipient of the Global Citizenship Scholarship, a new scholarship program at Stetson University aimed at attracting outstanding international students.

The full tuition scholarship is awarded to incoming international students with top academic potential who exhibit Stetson’s value of global citizenship. Three students are chosen annually, each from different regions of the world. The scholarship enables recipients opportunity to deepen their practice of global citizenship as Semeganda describes in his application essay.

“For a substantial part of my life, I have always held a firm belief in the promise of humanity. This belief has persisted despite the wrongs and misfortunes that have befallen our societies. I have never given up hope in believing that there is potential to do good in all of us and that deep within us lies the solution to the problems that torment the world today ranging from war, terrorism, disease among others. I believe everyone has a place on the team in this journey to make the world a better place for posterity”.

Semaganda has also received the Stetson Access Grant Scholarship (now discontinued) to cover the remaining costs of attending university. He believes that the small class sizes and student-to-teacher ratio at Stetson  will afford him the “rare opportunity of an up-close learning experience and mentorship between the professors and me…”

Today, I rejoice in an improbable success. That as a student who began his academic journey at Masajja Bridge nursery and primary school, a school that is on the verge of demolition currently, I will be obtaining my undergraduate education at Stetson University, one of the top institutions in U.S. Both my parents dropped out of school during the 1979 Iddi-Amin civil war but held a firm belief that education would be the ultimate gift they would ever give me. It is their unwavering hope that even pushed me to limits they had never envisioned.

The biology major has participated in the EducationUSA program at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala and has volunteered to work with them to spread the benefits of an American education.

I want to share in the diversity, to bask in the depth, richness and flexibility of an American education. My story is one of hard work, tenacity and unflagging faith that I can be among the best. If one wants to achieve greatness, the door to opportunity is always open. My story has just begun. I urge students from Uganda, and from around the world to never give up on their dreams because they seem too big. Let us strive to push ourselves to limits we have never imagined before.

Semaganda’s future plans include a career as a medical doctor to help improve Uganda’s health system.

“I envision that after my time at Stetson, I will be an ambassador of hope, well equipped with knowledge, exposure and skills to contribute to sensitization and improvement of basic health care in Uganda but more especially in eradicating preventable diseases like HIV/AIDS, cholera and ebola that plague millions of Africans.

”Today, as a global citizen, I long to see African societies that are not held hostage to negative traditional beliefs and senseless stereotypes. This will boost our education, health, infrastructure, relationships, politics and leadership.”

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Menayese Named ASUN Player of the Week

Elvis Menayese

Stetson’s Elvis Menayese has been named -ASUN Conference co-Player of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday. It’s the first career weekly honor for Menayese.

Menayese captures the weekly award after scoring a pair of goals in Stetson’s 3-2 win at FIU last Friday in Miami. The sophomore from Cardiff, Wales, notched the first two goals of his career in the victory as the Hatters picked up their first win of the season.

His first goal gave Stetson a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute and helped the Hatters erase an early 1-0 deficit.

Menayese’s second goal clinched the victory, and he slid past the keeper for an easy score with less than three minutes to play.

The Hatters continue play this weekend when they visit Bucknell, Noon, Sunday, in Lewisburg, Pa.

First reported in gohatters.com

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Stetson welcomes parents of new international students

Parents of new international students enjoyed lunch and an orientation to Stetson University’s support structures for students. Parents hailed from countries including Australia, Canada, and France.

Stetson faculty and staff showcased resources available to international students and discussed student learning in a new country.

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Stetson welcomes new international and exchange students

Welcome to our new international and exchange students.

As part of a three-day special orientation, students enjoyed a tour of downtown Deland with Savannah-Jane Griffin, director of community engagement and inclusive excellence.

International students will join domestic students on Sunday, August 18 for the kick-off of FOCUS, Stetson’s five-day comprehensive first-year student orientation program.

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WORLD Ambassadors meet regularly to sharpen their peer-mentor skills

WORLD Ambassadors work with Wendy Viggiano, program coordinator for international learning, to sharpen skills for supporting and advising new international students.

Stetson’s WORLD Ambassadors serve as intercultural peer mentor-leaders to support diverse campus internationalization efforts, including new international student orientation, Study Abroad promotional activities, and events to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue.

WORLD Ambassadors comprise international students seeking a four-year degree at Stetson. As international students themselves, WORLD Ambassadors take the lead in significantly shaping the structure, presentation, and promotion of acculturation, education, and academic support at Stetson University.

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Paula Hentz and Jelena Petrovic co-author book chapter on cultural adaptation

A staff-faculty team presentation at the National Communication Association Conference in Las Vegas in 2015 has made its way into a new book, Communication in the Classroom:  A Collection of GIFTS.

The book chapter,  “Why are all the International Students Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Teaching about Cultural Adaptation through Community Engagement” is co-authored by Paula Hentz, director of international learning at WORLD, and Dr. Jelena  Petrovic, assistant professor of communication and media studies.


Paula Hentz 


Dr. Jelena  Petrovic

Co-authored by Utah State University’s John Seiter, Jennifer Peeples, and Matthew Sanders, the book is a compilation of the best 100+ great ideas for teaching key concepts in a variety of communication courses and were submitted by instructors of communication, rhetoric and more. The book was published in January 2018 by McMillan Learning and is marketed as “an invaluable resource for anyone teaching a communication course who is looking for new ideas to spice up their course and engage students”.

Congratulations, Paula and Jelena!

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Students attend the 2017 Florida International Leadership Conference

In 2017, two WORLD student ambassadors attended the Florida International Leadership Conference. Here’s what they thought about the experience.


Stetson students decorate a donation box at FILC 2017

I had no real expectations when I had first hopped into the car and was heading to Camp Winona for the Florida International Leadership Conference. But when I arrived, I was truly floored by the dozens of international students that gathered at the camping grounds. The attending students were amazing in every different way with the addition of their unique cultural backgrounds and origins. Everyone was so enthusiastic to learn about one another and about American culture from me, a domestic American student. I was as curious about their own cultures. It came to the point that everyone would talk to anyone even if they didn’t even know their name.

The sessions at FILC were pretty good, too. The first speaker, who dealt with refugees from Middle Eastern countries, was truly an amazing inspiration. The following sessions were pretty good as well. Most of the sessions were geared towards foreign students but there were still things I was learning from these sessions.

If given another opportunity to attend, I’d pounce on such an opportunity. And if anyone is considering attending the conference themselves, do it! And remember to bring everything present on the list for the conference and not forget important things like me.

 

Isis Whyte, ’17, is a WORLD student ambassador. She majored in digital arts with a minor in computer science.

 

When I found out I was going to the Florida International Leadership Conference I did not know what to expect. I left Stetson University with an open mind and ready to take on new challenges. Upon arrival, I felt very welcomed not only by the leaders, but also because everyone else at the camp was in the same situation as me. It was easy to bond with the other foreign students because we have similar experiences.

There was an amazing speaker after our first dinner Friday night. She told us about how she fled the war in Bosnia when she was 9 years old and how she came to United States as an immigrant. Her story was capturing and affecting – not a single person in the room was not touched by her story. She gave every foreign student hope that it is possible to succeed as in the United States.

The next day, we listened to another speaker that I really liked. He talked about public speaking for foreign students. I think most students have a fear of speaking in public and having an accent does not make it any better. The speaker talked about how a person should change their way of thinking when it comes to public speaker. The speech was very inspiring and motivated me to talk in front of people even though I have a fear of making a fool out of myself or that people might not understand my accent.

I am really happy that I took the opportunity to go to this camp. It was fun, I learned a lot, and I even made new friends. I will bring everything I learned back to Stetson and encourage other international students to go to if they have the opportunity.

 

Tove Strand, ’17 is a WORLD student ambassador. She majored in marketing.

 

The annual Florida International Leadership Conference enhances student leadership skills; promotes friendships and networks among foreign and study abroad students; acknowledges and reward student leaders who work at promoting international understanding on campus; challenges students to see themselves as global leaders; and recognizes the differing styles of leadership across cultures.