Administrators have had practice leading through crises before, and it helped them come together to respond to COVID-19 as a team.

Sojeong Nam is a PhD candidate in the counselor education and supervision program at the University of Iowa. The inspiration to attend the UI may have come from her father, Dr. Sangin Nam, who, over 30 years earlier, graduated from the same doctoral program at the UI, holding the distinction of being the first international student from South Korea to do so.

Yuchen Liu, a fourth-year Ph.D. student originally from Nanjing, China, joined the University of Iowa’s teaching and learning (foreign language and ESL education) graduate program through the College of Education in hopes of broadening and enhancing her language acquisition and teaching skills.

During a time of extreme uncertainty, leaving many students’ semesters or college careers cut short, some students are finding a silver lining in the current adversity they are facing. Classes are being moved online, commencements are now virtual, and many are finishing their University of Iowa experience from home. Heejin Kim is an international studies and Asian languages student who will be a Spring 2020 graduate from Seoul, South Korea. Showing true Hawkeye spirit, Kim says she wouldn’t have changed a thing about her three and a half years at the UI.

Julia Reichart, a public health student at the University of Iowa, earned a 2020 David L. Boren Fellowship, and will spend next year studying Portuguese in Brazil. 

A record 22 University of Iowa students and alumni from a range of creative, academic, and scientific fields have been chosen from among more than 10,000 students nationally to receive a prestigious Fulbright award to conduct research, teach English, or undertake creative projects abroad in 2020–21.

While this was certainly not the semester they imagined, two University of Iowa students found a way to continue engaging with their host country by reaching out to help a community they discovered through their time abroad.

During her studies at the UI, Piroska Boros, international student from Hungary, realized many successes: co-authoring several published papers, presenting her research findings at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, as well as receiving a fellowship award to support her dissertation project. In addition to excelling in her studies at the University of Iowa, Piroska contributed to the university community through her role as co-chair of the International Student Advisory Board, Graduate Panel, and also as a volunteer with the Student Accountability Office as a Critical MASS Mentor.

Margot Allascheid, who received a BA in elementary education from the University of Iowa in 2019, is the winner of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Spain for 2020-21

Coming from both an international and transfer student background, Celine Kusnadi wished for nothing more than to find her home in the Hawkeye state. Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia, Kusnadi packed her bags four years ago to pursue higher education. Now she is a senior graduating with a major in international relations under the perplexing circumstances of online education.