The Study Abroad Office, Peace Corps, the School of International Training (SIT), and the Blank Honors Center will hold two upcoming informational sessions - "Not Your Ordinary International Experience: SIT Study Abroad and the Peace Corps!" These events are free and open to the public, and will take place from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in room 2390 of the University Capitol Centre, and 12:30-1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2016, in room 350 of the Blank Honors Center.

Dr. James Zogby will visit the UI for "How we should be discussing the Arab world and Islam in 2016," a lecture in which he will discuss the significance of political discourse regarding the Arab world and Islam. The event is free and open to the public, and will take place on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in 1117 University Capitol Centre. It is co-sponsored by International Programs, CIVIC, the UI Honors Program, the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication, UICHR, and the UI Department of History.

When teachers, mentors and professors describe Jeffrey Ding, there's not just one thing that stands out. On Sunday, the West High graduate and University of Iowa senior was announced as one of 32 American winners of the 2016 Rhodes scholarship, out of 869 applicants. He's also a former U.S. State Department intern, UI student government vice president, national high school debate champion and triple major in economics, political science and Chinese — and he's also getting a certificate in international business.

University of Iowa student Jeffrey Ding says he’s unsure yet how being named a Rhodes scholar will change his life, but he’s already getting more than the usual number of friend requests on Facebook. Ding, a senior from Iowa City, was selected as one of 32 American Rhodes scholars on Nov. 22 from a field of 869 applicants; 90 are named worldwide. He’ll receive $50,000 annually for two years and will have the opportunity to attend Oxford University in England.

Sarah Mayer, of Johnston, IA, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to Colombia where she will work as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA). Mayer will graduate this spring with a B.A./B.S. in Spanish and biochemistry from the University of Iowa.

Quinn Hejlik has been awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant to Russia to work as an English Teaching Assistant where he hopes to develop a deeper understanding of the culture and language of Russia, and to extend the same understanding of English language and American culture to Russian students. A native of Omaha, NE, Quinn will graduate from the University of Iowa this spring with a B.A. in history and international studies.

Jeffrey Ding, a University of Iowa junior from Iowa City, Iowa, has been getting a lot of good news lately. Ding, a Presidential Scholar and member of the UI Honors Program, was attending a panel discussion about graduate study in the United Kingdom on Friday, April 10, in the Blank Honors Center when the Q & A session abruptly turned from the potential of the Rhodes Scholarship to the reality of the Truman Scholarship.

As a first-generation American coming from an Indian heritage, Aditya Chahande travels to central India about every two years. He had yet to see the northern region of the desert state, Rajasthan, however, until this winter break when he traveled with other students from the University of Iowa to fulfill a research project.