Growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Pedro Marra was an active youth who participated in many activities, including swimming, soccer, and tennis. With his parents, younger brother, and many extended relatives around him, he had a strong support network.

Zainab Mousa-Makky, who received a BA in international relations and ethics and public policy from the University of Iowa, is the winner of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Morocco for 2020-21

Yangyi (Edward) Luo’s journey into U.S. education started earlier than many students who study abroad. At the age of 15, he moved from China to Florida’s east coast to attend high school. Although young and living more than 7,000 miles from his home and family, Edward enjoyed his high school years.

Reflecting on his academic journey, University of Iowa graduate student Frankline Matanji said, “Sometimes I just sit down and think, ‘I don’t know what happened—I can’t explain this.’” You see, Frankline wasn’t sure he would be able to complete high school, let alone a doctoral program.

From celebrating our recent graduates to assessing the needs of our international students, Dean Ganim shares some of the latest activities of International Programs.

International Programs created a video message featuring University of Iowa alumni across the globe to celebrate Hawkeye unity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sylvia Dean (BA linguistics/TESL '20) was the winner of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Taiwan for 2019-20. While the coronavirus pandemic cut her Fulbright experience short, she has fond memories of her experience.

Aviral recalls the first three months at the UI as an exciting time, but not without its challenges. Beyond learning how to balance studies, he found himself struggling to make social connections. “Initially, I think I was trying to be someone I wasn’t in order to fit in. It was pretty stressful and really tiring. I finally decided to quit worrying about how to act and just be me. This is when everything started to change.”

Finishing her second year as a microbiology major at the University of Iowa, Ayushi Sood says she couldn’t have asked for a better experience. “I have grown so much as a person since I have been at Iowa,” said Sood. “As an international student, my experience has been that people are so welcoming here, which makes me feel that I am an essential part of the university.”

Following in the footsteps of her mother, a University of Iowa PhD alumna, Siau-Tong Ding enrolled as an undergraduate in 2018. Born and raised in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Ding came to Iowa City to double-major in environmental policy and planning and anthropology. Now, in preparation for her third year at the university, she is also considering minors in geography or a certificate in Geographic Information Science (GIS).