The Easy Button

Staples has a commercial out - well, an entire brand actually - centered on "the easy button." Besides wondering how they managed to get cake batter to shoot up about 4-feet onto the actress's face after dropping to the floor, it's striking that the idea of purchasing school supplies needs an easy button. In fact, it seems the whole process of getting ready for school needs an "easy button". There seems to be little that is easy about preparing for a full year of college - undergraduate or graduate. And for those students who are coming from another country, there's a whole extra layer of adjustments to make.

Lucky for you, there's an easy way to get your international perspective throughout your UNC Charlotte years - actually, several easy ways. We have various programs, events, websites and initiatives going throughout the year for students to participate in depending on what you're comfortable with and/or interested in. We'll post these options here and also on our calendar of events so there's no reason you shouldn't know about how easy it is to include some intercultural learning in many of the activities that you already consider important: traveling, making new friends, having new experiences and graduating as a competitive job seeker.

So, we'll have plenty about "how" to do it. Let's take a minute to talk about "why" do it. For that, we'll rely on outside sources so as not to "toot our own horn/button."

• From the NY Times - a business bio - it's the 2nd page that has the good stuff.
• This one requires some extrapolation (7 Skills Every Worker Needs), but if you're not sure how having an international experience can develop your "marketability" in these areas, ask anyone in the International Programs' offices.

So, while you're gearing up for the demands of another busy year, consider how you can easily gain international learning (and why you should) just by doing the things you'll be doing anyway.

Int'l Education for Future of Charlotte

Want to hear what business and community leaders think about having an international perspective upon graduation? Perhaps you'd rather hear it from a student? We've invited a panel of four people to reflect upon the changing nature of Charlotte and the realities of an international Charlotte - what can we do to be effective citizens and employees of the city? Though they'll be giving their perspective and opinions, the purpose of the Community Conversations program, with the Levine Museum of the New South and UNC Charlotte, is to engage in discussion about the topic at hand. So you'll have plenty of opportunity to ask question, debate or just listen to ideas about an international future for Charlotte and for UNC Charlotte students.

Panelists include:

Kurt Waldthausen, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany (North Carolina) & Founder and Chairman of the German Language and Culture Foundation

Alina MacNichol - Executive Director, Charlotte International Cabinet

Kareem Abdelnabi - Study Abroad Alumnus, UNC Charlotte

Lalit Mandel - international graduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, UNC Charlotte

Plan to attend on Wednesday, July 21 from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Levine Museum of the New South (200 E Seventh St.). The event is free and open to the public, but you do need to register. To see the invite and to register, click here.

Oh, and there's a reception included.

careers in international education useful web sites

As a follow-up to the earlier post about the career resource fair, here are a few links that may be useful to anyone interested in pursuing a career in international education.

www.oip.uncc.edu - our office's web page with information about our offices and various programs we administer - just to get a sense of what all goes on in an "international education focused" environment.

www.nafsa.org - the largest international education professional network. This is a great organization to be involved with for networking, understanding current trends and accesibility to resources in the field.

http://www.nafsa.org/career_center/ - the career center on the NAFSA site provides information on the field itself, expectations of professionals in the field, a job registry and useful tools for exploring or advancing your career.

http://www.nafsa.org/_/File/_/InternationalEducator/YourCareerJanFeb.pdf - an article providing an overview of the growing importance of having a masters degree for success in international education. Check page 3 of 8 (or 38 in the document) for a listing on the sidebar of available masters programs.

http://www.ncaie.org/ - a North Carolina professional organization for international education - start local, go global. Check their web site for the International Leadership Conference for students on November 14-15, 2009.