Arylssia Kelly, Janey Winiecki and Nikki Miziniak approached the Illinois Abroad and Global Exchange (IAGE) tent during Illinois Abroad Day in the main quad on September 7, 2022.
Although the three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) students had different majors, their own unique goals, and different experiences, there were at least two things they shared—one was a love for different languages and cultures, and the other was a passion to study abroad.
They were in the right place.
Illinois Abroad Day is an annual event coordinated by Illinois Abroad and Global Exchange (IAGE), the campus study abroad office, that attracts hundreds of students between passing periods just outside the Illini Union.
There students can talk with representatives from different colleges about what study abroad is and how they can start planning.
This year, Illinois Abroad Day returns from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6 on Anniversary Plaza, which is on the south side of the Union.
Boswell Hutson, the assistant director for media and marketing at Illinois International, said Illinois Abroad Day is valuable because it brings every college study abroad office together in one spot for students.
“Illinois Abroad Day is a campus-wide nexus for study abroad information,” Hutson said. “We’re kind of unique here at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) in that we have IAGE, which is the main campus study abroad office, but also all of our colleges have their own study abroad offices. For example, Grainger has their own study abroad office, GIES has their own, so (Illinois Abroad Day) is kind of an opportunity to bring everyone all together in one spot on the Quad to just start the semester with a bang in a collaborative environment to learn about studying abroad.”
Illinois Abroad Day celebrates all aspects of study abroad and global learning by helping students explore programs and learn about all the resources available to them.
Hutson said there’s a lot of planning that goes into studying abroad and recommends starting to plan as early as possible.
Stopping by this event is a good first step for any student, and Hudson emphasized how important it is for students to ask questions if they are interested in studying abroad.
Colleges across will also be holding events leading up to, and after, Illinois Abroad Day. Students can find a full list of these events on the University of Illinois campus-wide study abroad calendar.
Any other general inquires can be sent to iage@illinois.edu.
Editor’s Note: Kelly, Winiecki and Miziniak were all sophomores at the time the interviews took place.
Analicia Haynes is the storyteller and social media specialist at Illinois International. She can be reached at ahayn2@illinois.edu.
