Aug. 3, 2020
CWU Virtually Welcomes International Student Advisors to the Ellensburg Campus
International student advisors from Bangladesh to Tunisia, and from Nigeria to South Korea, recently visited Central Washington University--virtually. The advisors all were affiliated with EducationUSA.
“Last January, were learned that Central had been selected by EducationUSA to host the visiting advisors and we were thrilled to have that opportunity,” said Stacy Soderstrom, assistant director of CWU’s International Student and Scholar Services. “However, everything changed because of the pandemic. Fortunately, we were nimble enough to regroup and move everything successfully to an online format.”
Despite the venue revision, the visitors were still able to gain a thorough understanding of the university’s international student admissions processes, academics, scholarships, internships, and placement opportunities through visits with Soderstrom and other university officials.
The advisors, from a dozen different countries, are part of a U.S. Department of State network of more than 430 international student advising centers in more than 170 countries and territories worldwide.
Ediz Kaykayoglu, CWU’s interim associate provost of Extended Learning and Outreach and executive director of the Office of International Studies and Programs, noted “These events increase our visibility in the global landscape. We value our partnership with EducationUSA and other Department of State entities. Creating networks around the world and sharing our quality education taught by amazing CWU faculty is one of our top priorities. International students bring diversity and contribute to the inclusivity efforts at our university.”
The collaboration between the CWU and EducationUSA advising network is expected to continue and strengthen the partnership for recruiting international students to CWU’s Ellensburg campus and to its University Centers and instructional sites across Washington.
Soderstrom explained, “EducationUSA provides services and promotion of US higher education to students around the world. It also provides services to our country’s higher education community to help institutions meet their recruitment and campus internationalization goals.”
Media contact: Robert Lowery, Public Affairs, 509-899-0235, Robert.Lowery@cwu.edu
Photo: Soderstrom (right) at the EducationUSA Nepal fair this past February.