Two international students won Maris awards this year for their outstanding oral presentations. Congratulations to Shadia Muñoz-Najar ’23 from Peru and Evans Asuboah ’24 from Ghana!
Black Home Schoolers of Central Florida provides support for families who chose to home-school their children. They depend on donations to provide these essential services. Evans reviewed their website and realized they needed a modern, streamlined look, more intuitive navigation and increased speed. Many parents were complaining about how difficult it was to find information.
After much research, Evans used the insights to address the pain points and meet the evolving needs of the community. After 100 hours of writing over 5,000 lines of code, a new, refreshing website emerged. Evans tested his new website among users and it was clear by the feedback that he made drastic improvements.
Last but not least, everyone who tested the new website said they would donate to the organization! Check out the new website here: https://www.blackhomeschoolerscfl.com/
Meanwhile, Shadia tackled a perplexing Latin America resource “curse”: why do some countries with plenty of resources struggle with long-term economic growth? She examined several variables, such as resource dependence, economic inequality and political instability and their effects on different countries. Country policies and political management seemed to be a significant determinant.
Congratulations Shadia and Evans for winning a Maris Award for this excellent work. For those of you who don’t know, this award recognizes quality scholarship at the University’s Undergraduate Scholarship Day.
Did you know that Stetson has almost 200 international students from 52 different countries? At this year’s International Festival, more than 15 tables were presented by multiple students sharing food, music and culture with American students and staff. Students received cultural credit if they learned 3 things they didn’t previously know about another country.
Table items ranged from food, candies, drinks, clothing items, games, jewelry, information boards and more. As people meandered through Palm Court and Libby Lawn, they were able to chat with the table hosts and ask questions about their country and customs. For those who were 21 and older, sample flights of beer (Mexico and Belgium), Japanese sake (Rice wine) and a USA honey wine mead were available for an international happy hour.
Peace Corps representatives were also present to answer questions about their exciting international opportunities and program benefits.
The evening ended with live performances – 2 students performed an Arabic “stick dance” that Stetson’s Egyptian Fulbright Scholar taught them – members of APAC performed a K-Pop dance. Afterwards, an Hispanic musical duo serenaded the crowd, and topping off the evening, a belly dancer performed dances from around Middle East and Asia.
I did my PhD in Linguistics at Kamianets-Podilskyi Ivan Ohiienko National University, Ukraine. I completed a professional internship as a professor of journalism on the basis of a European broadcaster (“BVBM as the representative of citizen media interests in Germany”, the Federal Republic of Germany, 2019-2020). Also, I participated in the Erasmus+ International Academic Mobility Program at the Catholic University of Ružomberok (the Slovak Republic, 2019).
Currently I’m working as a Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Communication and Media Studies at Stetson University. My research is aimed at recognizing false and misleading information distributed by Russian government-controlled media, pro-Russia websites, social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok. My attention is also focused on refuting fake news in the media covering war in Ukraine.
Being a facilitator of Media Literacy project, my objective is for students to develop critical thinking skills while accessing, analyzing, and evaluating media messages in a variety of forms.
As a graduate of the “Human Rights Academy for Journalism Professors”, I try to increase students’ awareness in the field of equality and non-discrimination, recognize, analyze and break down stereotypes in media.
Alaa Alafify is a highly educated and accomplished English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educator with a strong background in language instruction, curriculum development, and instructional technology. She holds a Master of Arts in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) from a co-supervision program between Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University in Egypt, and Limerick University in Ireland. She also holds a Teaching English as a Foreign Language Diploma (MTD) from Ministry of Defense Language Institute (MODLI) in Cairo, Egypt, and Special and Professional Diplomas in EFL Curriculum and Instruction from Ain Shams University. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Language (For Preparatory and Secondary Education) from Ain Shams University Faculty of Education, Egypt with a GPA of 4.0 and a General Grade of Very Good- the Second with Honor. She has publications in multiple international and national instructional journals.
Throughout her career, Alaa has gained extensive experience in teaching and training EFL students of all ages and levels. She has served as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) at Stetson University, where she taught Arabic as a foreign language and developed course materials for undergraduate students, including PowerPoints, handouts, workshops, and assessments, to enhance learning and enable students to master concepts. Additionally, she has served as a Teaching Assistant at Ain Shams University, where she educated student-teachers on the methods and techniques of teaching English as a second and foreign language.
Alaa is also a skilled curriculum developer and has experience in participating in developing Curricula for the EFL Curriculum and Instruction Department. She also has experience in conducting workshops on Instructional Technology and soft skills for EFL pre-service teachers. Alaa has also demonstrated her expertise as a teacher trainer, where she has designed and conducted teacher training sessions for teachers who sought a Diploma in TEFL.
Alaa is an active member of the academic community and has presented at conferences and workshops, such as FLTA Speaker with La Casa Cultural Latina Center, where she gave a cultural presentation about “Why Egypt is she the of mother of the World?” with the goal of introducing American students to the Arabic culture. She was also the only Egyptian who got selected out of over 200 applicants to represent Egypt at Fulbright FLTA Mid-Year Conference in Washington, D.C. She successfully delivered a presentation on using Infographics in Teaching Foreign Languages. In addition, she served as a Cultural Fair presenter responsible for hosting a booth to share experiences and engage attendees to encourage participates to learn more about the Egyptian culture.
Last spring, Stetson students jumped out of their comfort zone, literally, during the Mentored Field Experience in the Mayan World. The students (l-r): Zaikeria Pathas, Skye Cronje, Parker Hines and Madison Skelton.
In fall 2020, Stetson University School of Music chose the winner of the demanding Concerto Competition. WORLD is proud to announce international student Elené Okruashvili, a pianist from the country of Georgia, winner of the completion.
“This is the first time in the past 10 years, a pianist won the Concerto Competition,” said Elene, while also claiming she couldn’t believe that she overcame so many challenges during practices to be the winner.
Elene Okruashvili ’22
Reconciling with the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, Stetson’s School of Music opened the stage for students to perform to a virtual audience. Students were given a chance to perform and compete in front panel of judges. Students recorded their performances and submitted the videos in advance, judges scored and rated them virtually.
Elene is an international student from Tbilisi, Georgia and currently a third year student at Stetson University. She had exposed to music and competed at a very young age. Elene joined Stetson University in 2018, and majors in Piano Performance. She also a member of the Stetson School of Music Student Advisory Council (SoMSAC). Moreover, Elene holds different leadership roles on campus, such as Resident Assistant for the Catalyst Houses.
Anh Nguyen another international student who works alongside Elene as resident assistant in Residential Living and Learning praised her classmate saying “she’s such an inspiring Resident Assistant and a talented pianist. “
Elene started working on the first movement of Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto during quarantine in Spring 2020, however, due to the global pandemic and every activity being moved to virtual formats, Elene says she lost her motivation. Practicing and finishing the recording for the competition deadline seemed unimportant. Elene mentioned, “Everything was so difficult, and I found no motivation to do anything, so I even thought about not participating in the competition”. She did compete, however. When the semester started in August 2020, one month before the competition, she decided to pick up where she left off and finish the piece. She shared “I feel really happy because I needed that motivational push. It makes me believe choosing piano performance is a correct choice, and coming to America from Georgia is finally paid off.”
All the videos recorded were uploaded on School of Music’s YouTube Channel, including the 2020 Christmas Candlelight concert performed on Friday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
As an international student from Syria when I first came to Stetson in the spring of 2020, I faced some hard times fitting in the American society as many international students do. I and a group of my Arab friends: Chama, Saif, Christa, and Noureen noticed that whenever we meet a new person, they would ask about our countries, cultures, and customs and people are curious about more Arab, North African, and Middle Eastern cultures. As we knew more people, we wanted to have a platform that represents our identity and let more people be aware of our culture. So, we thought about starting the Arab Student Organization at Stetson.
At the beginning of fall 2020, the organization advisor, Manal Ammagui, supported us to start a new student organization that will represent the Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Cultures at Stetson.
Anyone can be a part of the Arab Student Organization (ASO,) regardless of their nationality or ethnicity. We love curious people as our mission is to share Arab culture with everyone and offer them an authentic look into the rich Arab culture that the media misrepresent sometimes.
We will do that through fun events and activities like movie nights, cultural celebrations, and food rushes. Moreover, ASO will be a platform for Arab students to express their cultural identity and connect with other fellow Arab students to help them feel that they do belong at Stetson and that their cultural belonging is celebrated. You can join ASO by contacting us through email or by requesting to join through the Engage platform: https://stetson.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/aso.
The organization has been official for less than a week now and we have been receiving amazing feedback and a lot of people are excited to be at our events and enjoy the good food and learn more about our culture. We would love to have you at (ASO.)
If you have any questions you can reach out to any of these individuals. Each and everyone played a part in making this student organization a reality for all of Stetson’s community.
Yahia Adla, Biology/Pre-medicine major, 2023′. Saif Mostafa, CS/Economics major, 2023’Noureen Saeed, International Business/Entrepreneurship major, 2024′ Christa Assi, International Studies major, 2024’ Chama Bouoad Fulbright FLTA Scholar 2020-2021.
During a time of chaos, uncertainty, and an upheaval from the norm, the WORLD team continued to push through all obstacles by continuing to offer the best service to our Stetson community. This year, the WORLD Center staff and student employees were recognized for all their hard work.
Paula Hentz, Director of International Learning, P.A.R. Award
During Stetson Annual Employee Recognition Award Ceremony, Paula Hentz received the P.A.R. Award which is given to an individual who embodies the three characteristics of professionalism, attitude, and reliability. Her nominator said that during this tumultuous year for international education, Paula “navigated the roller coaster of activity related to the pandemic from carefully building programs to seeing them come to a screeching halt, evacuating students across the globe, border restrictions, political battles, ICE complications, and other global dynamics that threaten international diplomacies and relationships that the WORLD Center worked for many, many years to build.” Paula is a consummate professional and has managed the delicate balance between family life while maintaining the strictest codes of professionalism while attending to her core work responsibilities. “No matter the situation, Paula remains poised, exuding the essence of calm competence so critical to the work of higher education,” said her nominator. Our Center is incredibly honored to work with an incredible leader who has helped our office come out of one of the most difficult times for our field. Paula was also nominated for the Morale Builder of the Year.
Roxanne Lewis, International Student and Scholar Services Coordinator, January 2021 Spirit of Stetson Winner
Roxanne Lewis (top right) receiving her Spirit of Stetson award
The Spirit of Stetson is awarded monthly to a member of the Stetson community who dedicates themselves every day to do a job well done. Roxanne received the award in January for all the incredible work she accomplished with our international student population. The Quality of Service Council recognized the incredible challenges she faced with the ever-changing landscape of immigration laws, changes for a virtual orientation, and the relationships she builds with our students. Her nominator also mentioned that Roxanne is an incredible member of the community and cares deeply for others. During the pandemic, Roxanne regularly reached out to colleagues to check in and see how they were doing. Her empathy and care embodies the Spirit of Stetson. Also, this year at the Employee Recognition Awards event, Roxanne was nominated for the Go Beyond Award for her work with our international students. She successfully worked with Grants, Development, and Financial Aid to find financial support for our students who were unable to support themselves due to the pandemic and/or political and social unrest at home. In addition, Roxanne was a part of a group of faculty and staff to receive recognition during the yearly Top Hatter Awards as a First-Year Advocate.
Morgan Egan, Student Marketing Coordinator, September 2020 Student Employee of the Month – Professionalism and Productivity.
The Office of Student Employment presenting the Student Employee of the Month award to Morgan Egan (top right)
Morgan worked tirelessly from the start of the pandemic assisting the WORLD office in processing refund requests for all the canceled study abroad programs. After the university went entirely virtual, Morgan created a biweekly student-driven program called the Virtual Culture Hour. The series, which continued through the 20/21 academic year, highlighted a different country or region of the world where our international or study abroad students would share the history, culture, misconceptions, brief language lesson, cooking demonstration, and a fun trivia game. Morgan also worked hard throughout the year to update the outdated WORLD websites and make them more visually appealing and easier to navigate. She also assisted in the creation and implementation of our Virtual Study Abroad Fair which we offered 3 times during the year. Morgan is graduating this upcoming weekend and we will miss her professionalism and productivity at the WORLD Center.
Anh Nguyen, Student Clerical Assistant, March 2021 Student Employee of the Month – Global and Intercultural Engagement
Anh Nguyen (bottom right) receiving the March 2021 Student Employee of the Month award
As the Clerical Assistant, Anh Nguyen, works closely with her supervisor, Roxanne Lewis, by designing posters, creating presentations, planning events, managing email communications, and helping fellow international students with the management of their residency status. Anh initially began working with WORLD as a WORLD Ambassador as a member of the Social Committee. She has always had the goal of assisting international students and make them feel at home at Stetson. From the moment she first entered the WORLD building, she knew she wanted to work there and help her fellow classmates. She loves being able to learn new skills that she can apply to all areas of her work and education. Not only is Anh a WORLD student employee, but she is also a Resident Assistant (RA), Vice President of APAC (Asian Pacific American Coalition), and a full-time International Business major.
Anh also was the recipient of the Stetson Values Leader Award for Global Citizenship during the Top Hatter Annual Award Ceremony. The award is given to one outstanding Stetson student that has demonstrated a commitment to Stetson’s Value of Global Citizenship in their involvements, leadership, and contributions to the community.
International student Evans Asuboah wanted to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as possible because the way he sees it, the virus is the enemy.
“I believe that we are on a battlefield, and to protect me and the community that I serve, I had to take this step,” said Asuboah, a Bonner Program Scholar, Honors Program Scholar and computer science major from Ghana. Read more.
