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A Twist on International Education: Study Abroad & Fashion Show

UCIE Fair and Fashion Show | Photo by Kelsie Tomlinson | The Wright State Guardian


The University Center for International Education held a fair and fashion show on Nov. 2 for cultural education and study abroad information.

The fair

Joy Wanderi, the Associate Director at UCIE, explained why the center held the fair and what this event meant.

“This is a way for us to celebrate all the cultures we have here at Wright State, but also give the opportunities for students to study abroad,” Wanderi said. “We had both domestic and international groups represented here as a part of International Education week, which is a department of state initiative to celebrate cultures globally.” 

Wanderi mentioned the impact COVID-19 had on the center’s ability to host events in recent years.

“One thing is to connect with each other. I think COVID-19 took that away from us, and this is the first time bringing back this event. We wanted to connect with each other and let the Wright State community know that we have a lot of cultures and diversity here,” Wanderi said.

Fashion show

The fashion show included students from all over the globe dressing in traditional clothes. Frank Buabeng, a graduate assistant at UCIE, voiced opinions on the fashion show.

“My favorite clothes from the fashion show were from Japan. I like how we had so many students stop by to hear about study abroad. It was more of an informal event, very easy going and informative,” Buabeng described.

Megan Trickler, a coordinator at the study abroad program, explained why the study abroad experience can be daunting for some students. Trickler mentioned that some students are not familiar with a foreign language, which detracts those students from studying abroad. Trickler debunked this myth. 

“I can send a student to over 50 different countries, and all their classes are taught in English. They do not need to have a university level of a foreign language to be able to participate in programs,” Tricker explained.

Another reason students are offput from studying abroad is a delayed graduation date, according to Trickler.

“[Students] can take many different classes in every major, it’s never a matter of transferring credits, they are always Wright State classes,” Trickler said.

Trickler notes a final reason students choose not to study abroad: financial restrictions.

“There are many programs that are very affordable. Some programs involve a waived tuition, so you only pay the fee of the program, which can be the same price as Wright State tuition,” Trickler said.

Trickler also provided further information for students who are interested in studying abroad. Students can visit a study abroad information session at UCIE every Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. 

Students can find more international education events and information on UCIE’s Engage page


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