by Zaynah Almasri On March 5th and 6th, Wesleyan University proudly welcomed members of a binational U.S.-Japan study group focused on advancing non-military cooperation between the two nations. In light of shifting global dynamics—particularly China’s growing geopolitical and geo-economic influence—the symposium emphasized the increasing relevance of “soft” security. This includes collaborative efforts in areas like…
by Tasmiah Akter Wesleyan faculty’s collective expertise spans the globe, and the Office for Intercultural Learning at the Fries Center for Global Studies is pleased to celebrate their international and often multilingual work here in the Wes and the World newsletter. This is the first of a two part series to be highlighted in the…
by Julia Gardner The Fries Center for Global Studies is proud to announce that five Wesleyan students will be participating in Critical Language Scholarship programs this summer! The Critical Language Scholarship is a competitive, fully-funded program that offers immersive instruction in thirteen different languages considered critical to the U.S.’s global engagement. CLS programs cover the…
by Kate Marriott Every year, Wesleyan seniors have the opportunity to apply for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. The Watson is a one-year fellowship that allows graduating seniors to pursue an independent research project in any field of interest, as long as they do so outside the United States. The grant supports personal exploration through…
By Henry Ewing-Crystal ’26 During the last couple of weeks of my semester abroad in Thailand, we were brought to Koh Tao (or turtle island), where I got scuba certified and started going on conservation dives. Throughout the process of becoming certified, three cardinal rules were drilled into my head, all of which I found…
by Oleksandra Volakova Porcelain War, a multiple award-winning documentary and a 97th Academy Awards nominee for Best Documentary Feature, brings a unique perspective on the brutal Russian-Ukrainian war, now in its 11th year, featuring artists as part of the resistance. The film focuses on Ukrainian civilians who, upon the full-scale war outbreak on February 24,…
by Isaías Pagán de Jesús This semester I live in Cairo, in the heart of Egypt. I’m writing this from Hurghada, right on the shore of the Red Sea. As a sort of gradient between the two stands Alexandria, right on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. My parents decided to visit me in Egypt…
by Tasmiah Akter I met Lois Amponsah at the beginning of her freshman year on a field trip to the United Nations. The trip was focused around social entrepreneurship and we got to hear from people who were on the ground running their own organizations. A year and a half later, I get to interview…
by Baron Fisher After 18 hours of flight time, along with a 12-hour time difference, the first stop of my fall semester abroad landed me in Shanghai, China. I was too excited to be affected by jet lag just yet, but it was disorienting to have almost 2 days disappear from travel. Going forward, I…
by Julia Gardner Stepping outside of the bubble of fellow study-abroad students and engaging with your host community is one of the most rewarding– but sometimes one of the most challenging– parts of studying abroad. For Isabel Gill ‘26, the search for deeper immersion in her host community led not only to an internship with…
