Ready to travel and learn something new? The Study Abroad Fair just might be your ticket.
The Study Abroad Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today in the University Center Ballroom at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Those attending the fair will find information on summer, semester and yearlong programs. Students who have studied abroad will be on hand to share their experiences. Faculty leading summer and mini-term programs also will be there to answer questions. Information will be available about scholarships, financial aid and internship opportunities abroad.
At a Ready for the World booth, you’ll learn about “What’s Your Story?” this semester’s special program which invites all members of the campus community to make one-minute videos telling the world who they are and what makes them unique.
Filming will take place Feb. 10-13 at a variety of locations on campus.
A panel of judges will select the best videos which will be posted on the Ready for the World Web site in March. The public will then get to rate the finalists’ videos. A winner and two runners up will be selected based upon the public voting and judges’ comments. Three cash prizes – a $200 top prize and two $100 runner-up prizes — will be awarded.
Learn more about “What’s Your Story?” by visiting http://www.utk.edu/readyfortheworld/story/.
The Ready for the World booth also will have information about “Where in the World is Smokey?” — which provides free T-shirts for faculty, staff, students and alumni who will send in their travel photos for posting on the UT Web site. The challenge has been running since the beginning of the 2007-2008 academic year and, to date, Smokey has visited all seven continents and 37 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. “Where in the World is Smokey?” wraps up this semester with the goal of getting Smokey to the remaining 13 states — Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Study abroad is an important component of “Ready for the World: The International and Intercultural Awareness Initiative.” The goal of the initiative is to transform the campus into a culture of diversity that best prepares students for working and competing in the 21st century. The initiative involves diversifying the university community, altering the curriculum, encouraging faculty to incorporate international and intercultural aspects in all of their courses, expanding study-abroad and work-study opportunities, and encouraging students to take advantage of all of these opportunities.
For more information about UT’s Study Abroad programs, visit http://www.utk.edu/news/www.utabroad.org.