Laying the groundwork for international experiences
Heavener is the only school at UF that has a dedicated international programs center. It’s no surprise that 47% of our students graduated with an international experience in 2017. Heavener is able to produce such results by planting the international seed early on during Warrington Welcome, a one-credit course for freshman.
“The fall 2017 Warrington Welcome students surveyed named STUDY ABROAD as the most valuable topic discussed in class,” said Joe Rojo, Heavener’s Director for International Programs. “The mission of the Heavener International Programs advisors is to ensure those students follow through and incorporate an international experience into their undergraduate degree. We do this by providing students timely information on programs, access to expert advice, and opportunities to meet with international students and UF students who have studied abroad.”
During the presentation to students, International Programs staff and International Program Student Ambassadors (IPSA) discuss the benefits of studying abroad and dispel the many myths associated with spending a semester or more overseas.
Freshmen students learn that if they study abroad they won’t get behind in their classes, miss out on on-campus opportunities, or struggle with paying for their abroad experience. Instead, they discover that investing in studying abroad will help them grow personally, gain confidence, learn to overcome challenges, develop professionally, learn new skills, bolster their resume, enhance their foreign language skills, increase their global awareness and boost their global network.
While studying abroad requires planning, International Programs staff and IPSAs are there to help students every step of the way, shining a light on all aspects of the international experience.
2017 Undergraduate Participation
Fall 2016
Exchanges: 15
UF Programs: 14
Transfer Programs: 4
Heavener Sponsored Programs: 23
Total: 56
Spring 2017
Exchanges: 24
UF Programs: 45
Transfer Programs: 25
Heavener Sponsored Programs: 54
Total: 148
Summer 2017
Exchanges: 4
UF Programs: 77
Transfer Programs: 29
Heavener Sponsored Programs: 151
Total: 261
Grand Total: 465
