By Zaynah Almasri ’27, Leila Bensrhir ’28 and Julia Fedoruk ’26 Wesleyan hosted its 50th annual Navaratri Festival from October 8th through 11th 2026. The oldest continually running festival of its kind in the United States, it celebrates new beginnings through music, dance and conversation. This year, the festival featured guest artists T. M. Krishna…
By Ellie Green ’28 One piece of advice I heard numerous times before I began my study abroad semester was to say yes to as much as possible – even if, and especially when, it was difficult to step outside of my comfort zone. Fast forward to today, in the home stretch of my time…
By Julia Fedoruk ’26 In this third episode of the Wes and the World Podcast, hear from Dr. Erica Kowsz, the Associate Director of Fellowships at the Fries Center for Global Studies (FCGS) and Assistant Staff Professor. From Hebron, Connecticut, she holds a bachelors in Archaeology with a minor in Hispanic Studies and Art from…
By Leila Bensrhir ’28 Some professors teach you a subject, and others remind you why learning can be such a beautiful experience in the first place. Professor Abderrahman Aissa, my Arabic professor at Wesleyan University, is one of those rare people who makes learning feel less like a classroom requirement and more like an opportunity…
By Zaynah Almasri ’27 Latine Affirmation Month (LAM) is officially underway at Wesleyan! Each fall, LAM brings together students, faculty, and staff to celebrate the histories, cultures, creativity, identities, and experiences of Latine communities both at Wesleyan and beyond. Last Wednesday, the month began with the annual LAM Kickoff, bringing the community together for an evening…
By Steven Tu ’29 I didn’t expect to leave a documentary screening holding a piece of bamboo. I definitely didn’t expect it to mean anything. That’s what happened on the afternoon of May 9, at the first public event ever held at One Muni, Middletown’s new Community Center. Maxwell Wijaya, a high school junior at…
By Leila Bensrhir ’28 You know the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? This is the opposite. Instead of spending ten weeks figuring out how to get someone to leave you, spend 10 weeks figuring out how to make a new language stick! To stay in the loop about current offerings on…
The Fries Center for Global Studies is pleased to welcome two new Language Ambassadors this year and welcome back one. The Language Ambassadors are FCGS’s journalists, highlighting multilingual and multicultural events and efforts in the Wesleyan and broader Middletown community in articles for this blog! They also help coordinate FCGS events, as well as running…
By Ryan Wong ’27 The Office of Study Abroad is excited to announce this semester’s Global Correspondents! From Dunedin to London, Taipei to Paris, Ellie, Natalie, Ry, and Sophie will share bits and pieces of their time in four cities known for their arts, architecture, gorgeous views, and food. Curious about what they’re up to…
Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) visit Wesleyan for one year to study as visiting graduate students and enhance students’ language learning instruction. They work under the supervision of Wesleyan’s language learning departments and bring valuable cultural exchange to Wesleyan’s language community! This year, we welcomed 9 new FLTAs and 2 returning FLTAs. Hailing from France,…
By Ryan Wong ’27 You may have already met them during advising appointments or seen them tabling around campus—the Office of Study Abroad is delighted to welcome its newest Ambassadors! The Study Abroad Ambassadors are students who’ve returned from abroad to work part-time at the Office during the Academic Year. They walk students through the…
By Morgan Keller, Director of the Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) This past June, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend two weeks in South Korea as a recipient of a Fulbright International Education Administrators (IEA) Award. Over the course of the trip, I visited 14 Korean universities across the country with a cohort…
By Anita Deeg-Carlin, Director of Intercultural Learning Konnichiwa and thank you for your interest in my Fulbright experience in Japan! It was my first time to visit the Asian continent and I am so grateful for the opportunity. After supporting student Fulbright applicants for many years, I decided to pursue an “adult” Fulbright opportunity myself,…
By Alexander Ober ’26 This summer I had the opportunity to walk 500 miles solo on El Camino Francés (the French Way), funded by the United States of Adventure (USOA). I documented my journey and observed the religious practices associated with one of the most famous pilgrimages in Christianity to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral,…
Hear from Wesleyan Associate Professor of Russian, Eastern European & Eurasian Studies, German Studies, and Feminine, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Roman Utkin in the newest edition of the Wes and the World podcast. Utkin discusses his courses, teaching style, the gap between speaking and teaching a language, the trip he led to Berlin, and his…
The Fries Center for Global Studies welcomes Julia Fedoruk ’26 into the role of Global Language and Outreach (GLO) Fellow. Graduating with majors in French and Education, she is excited to bring her passions for educational language games and cultivating linguistic diversity to the Wesleyan community. After making her first game in Professor Zamboni’s Educational…
