Delaney Nolan, an MFA candidate at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, traveled to Istanbul on a Stanley Award. She researched topics such as gender, sexuality, and feminism within modern and historical Turkish society, which enabled her to write two short stories. She reflects on her research and the lively city of Istanbul in the following story.

UI Study Abroad Diversity Ambassador Stephanie Cuddalore Priya is an accounting student at the Tippie College of Business, and a CIMBA spring 2015 alumna. She studied in the small Italian town, Paderno Del Grappa for 12 weeks, traveling to 10 different countries and experiencing self-discovery, adventure, and culture. In this letter to prospective students, she reflects on overcoming being a 'homebody' and how her multicultural background comes in handy while traveling.

Jessica Lile, a UI undergraduate, received the Stanley award to conduct research for eight weeks on adolescent tobacco usage in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

University of Iowa has had a booth for years, often used as a recruiting center and Hawk Shop, but this display stands apart. For the first time, it was designed and constructed by UI 3D design students.

'It’s not too uncommon for University of Iowa students who are studying abroad to leave temporarily or take a break due to an illness, injury or family emergency. But rarely do students cut short their experience and not return to their program in some capacity, according to UI International Programs.

Now that the first step toward restoring the historical ties between the U.S. and Cuba has been taken, Americans are, once again, eager to experience Cuba. I would like to share a unique travel opportunity with the people of Iowa, and invite them on a trip that ties together my personal history, the island’s natural beauty, and the warmth, humor, and hospitality that characterizes our people. In another welcome turn of fate, Citizens Ambassadors Program in Washington state has invited me to lead a People-to-People delegation in early December 2015 (December 4-13).

Kali Slaymaker is a first-generation college student who will earn her degree in marketing from the University of Iowa in 2016 after just three years of study. Kali was a 2015 recipient of the Diversity Ambassador Scholarship for Study Abroad which she applied toward a summer program with CIMBA in Paderno Del Grappa, Italy during summer 2015. The following is a reflection by Kali on her time abroad.

More than 400 incoming freshmen, their parents, and alumni joined UI faculty and staff in early July for pre-departure orientation sessions in Beijing and Shanghai, China. This was the third year of on-site orientation sessions and the largest group of attendees to date. Attendees heard orientation presentations from UI staff, personal reflections on life at Iowa from panels of UI students and alumni, and had the opportunity to ask their own questions during a Q&A and two reception events.

They hail from as far away as Estonia, the Gaza Strip, the Côte d ’Ivoire and as near as Iowa City, but Monday, they were all gathered in one room to discuss human rights. Local and international activists gathered for a forum on human rights at the University Capitol Center, held by the Council for International Visitors to Iowa Cities (CIVIC).

Kali Peschel was able to do everything she planned during her six-week study abroad trip to Spain this summer. Peschel immersed herself in the foreign culture, she experienced a different way of life and took in the sights during her stay in the town of Valladolid. The Iowa senior also got to do something she never expected during stay in Spain — she got to play a little basketball.