Why Global Connections?
Global Connections enables you to make the most of international and global opportunities during your time at Appalachian. That means not only seeking out campus events, new classes, study abroad opportunities, and internships, but also meeting like-minded peers who are becoming globally engaged, both in and out of the classroom. The activities you engage in, and the courses you take, for the certificate will provide you with opportunities to develop professionally. You will explore ways to market your international experiences to employers and graduate or professional schools. Your certificate goes on your transcript and makes it clear to others that you took your global education seriously.
What is the importance of a global education?
Today employers and graduate and professional schools want people who know languages other than English, and how to understand (and appreciate) cultures other than their own. Even more importantly: The more you understand about the wider world, the better informed, more compassionate, more aware, and more fully human you will be. And the more you can be a change agent in our world, creating the change that you want to see!
What will that certificate mean?
The Global Connections certificate marks you not just as a global citizen-- but a citizen who is globally engaged. Companies expect their employees to be able to work well with colleagues from different cultures at home or abroad. As a global citizen, you can provide evidence of how you attained a degree of global competence, in contrast to those who believe that all that is good in the world stops at the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. It does not matter if you are an engineer or a poet: You will stand out from your competition because you are becoming a global citizen. One of our early graduates, with a major in History and a minor in Finance, got a job with Fidelity Investments because she could show her global certificate credentials and talk about how the activities enhanced her qualifications to work in the company-- giving her a unique critical and experiential global perspective. Another student majored in Econ, studied in Belgium, learned French, worked on Appalachian's Solar Decathlon team, went on to work in Global Securities in the Triangle area-- and then decided, based on his certificate activities, that he really wanted to pursue a transatlantic Master's program in European politics through Chapel Hill. The certificate allows you to "package" the activities you are doing that make you stand out from the crowd in any field!!
Can I talk to someone about Global Connections?
Contact Dr. Alexandra Hellenbrand for more information about the certificate. Remember the flowchart? The certificate is a way to capture the opportunities you already know you want! Feel free to click on any of the many videos throughout this site to see students talking about their global experiences.
