Enhancing Experiences
Graduating seniors at Kent State’s Florence program recently participated in a unique Italian commencement ceremony at the end of their final semester at the university’s Florence center.
LaKaleb Bowen, ’24, is a criminology and justice studies major who admits to becoming captivated by Kent State’s education-abroad programs, noting that his most recent trip to Kigali, Rwanda, was an extraordinary experience focused on peace and conflict in the country.
Kent State has received two $1 million donations in support of Global Education experiences for students. These gifts will make education-abroad experiences available to more students through the Global Education Endowment fund that was created in 2022.
McKenzie Morgan, ’22, appreciates the opportunities Kent State provided her that included completing her academic journey with the university’s education-abroad program in Florence, Italy. “Studying abroad was definitely my all-time highlight,” Morgan said.
After spending her younger years in a variety of volunteer roles with non-governmental organizations in her native Macedonia, Ivana Krsteska chose Kent State to study sustainable architecture and also serves as a Kent Student Ambassador.
Kent State Salem nursing students visit the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota each year as part of a study away experience. As they immerse themselves in the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe, they embark on a journey of cultural understanding.
Fifty years after a handful of architecture students first studied in the city, the Kent State University Florence Center now hosts hundreds of Kent State students annually, serving as the university’s flagship study abroad and international center.
As a child, Heather Mikulski, ’08, Ph.D. ’21, hoped to find a cure for diabetes. She witnessed how the disease affected family members and believed she could make a difference. Over time, that broadened to an interest in public health.
Kent State University partnered with Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City for an international, cross-cultural exchange for students to study how sustainable gardening projects aid immigrant populations.