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Archive for the ‘Guest Post’ Category

By Stephen Ferst
When I touch down in St. Louis, it will be my 18th annual conference. Not only has the conference grown in size since I began attending, but it’s also grown in sophistication and quality. Over the years, I’ve seen the event as a first-timer, a presenter, an exhibitor, and now as chair of the Annual Conference Committee (ACC).

I vividly remember my first conference. I sat wide-eyed, soaking up the collective wisdom of those who paved the roads before me. I scribbled notes on paper, scoured the offerings at the bookstore, and scored freebies in the Expo Hall. I was lucky enough to have a mentor who brought me to the conference, helped me choose sessions, and taught me to navigate its offerings. By the end of the week, I belonged to an incredible community of committed educators.

During subsequent conferences, I picked up tips and made new connections. I was ready to submit a proposal and was accepted. That first proposal and the first time presenting was a new view on the conference. Instead of simply absorbing, I was expected to deliver. I spent weeks preparing my talk, re-writing and polishing, and practicing my delivery. When I stood to deliver that session, something clicked. It wasn’t the power of the microphone, but the notion that as the field expanded, a body of knowledge had begun to accumulate, and I could help deliver it. From that first presentation, I never looked back. I accepted all offers to co-present, submitted frequent proposals, and helped to develop and deliver numerous training materials. As a result, I was rewarded with more colleagues, friends, and associates, who allowed me to grow professionally and personally.

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By Heidi Bohn, MA and Sora Friedman, PhD
What is international education? Or perhaps a more modern twist is: What isn’t international education (IE)? A field that once was defined narrowly as international student advising and study abroad in higher education has expanded significantly since its founding. The advent and commonplace usage of air travel instead of boats, the Internet instead of phones and postcards, and the spread of globalization have connected our world in ways we could never have imagined even two decades ago. The result is that working in this field can result in a career of travel, global reach, grassroots interactions, and substantive impact on the lives of others as well as our communities and world.

While most NAFSA members work in higher education settings, the field of IE is ever expanding and can lead one to work in citizen exchange, immigration, refugee programs, international leadership, education policy and advocacy, nonformal education, English as a Second Language, and foreign language learning programs, to name just a few. You can work for the government as a diplomat, field service officer, or program manager. Or perhaps you may end up in the private, nonprofit sector as an agent for social justice and social sustainability, a trainer for the Peace Corps, or as a professor with a PhD. And yes, still yet, you can work with international students or scholars, advising them on their studies and work in the United States, or with U.S. students traveling to study abroad in a high-school, gap year, or university program.

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By Mitch Gordon
If you are already considering entrepreneurship, congratulations. You’ve taken a step few people do. Let’s help you move past the idea phase and to the point where you’re committed to building something special.

We are in the midst of an exciting time for entrepreneurs. There are more resources than ever available to you: start-up programs include YCombinator, TechStars, and 500 Startups and government programs like Startup Chile. Methodologies such as The Lean Startup help founders loosely follow a formula for success. The above said, every community is unique, and NAFSA is certainly no exception. Here are some suggestions for how to follow an entrepreneurial path in the world of international education.

Be a Creative, Entrepreneurial Thinker
From the outside looking in, it may seem that international education has everything it needs. I’d argue the opposite. We need creative, entrepreneurial problem solvers more than ever. The view from my vantage point says we’re in the calm before the storm. Massive, career altering disruption is around the corner for the field of international education. Online education is at the beginning stages of turning the U.S. university system upside down. Everyone will be impacted, including the world of international education. Disruption is chaotic, but it’s also an opportunity for positive change. Think ahead five, 10 years. What will the world of NAFSA look like then? What do students need? Can you create a business model around meeting those needs more efficiently?

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By Ryan Saale
Ready to relax and party the night away at NAFSA? You’re in the right place in St. Louis. Our town is home to many nightclubs, lounges, and bars, catering to all tastes.

To party like a local, you’ll want to check out St. Louis’ live music scene; luckily, for you, the city—home to the regional style of music known as the St. Louis blues—will host the annual St. Louis Bluesweek Festival over Memorial Day weekend, just minutes from the convention center.

St. Louis Blues
To feel more of the pulse of the city’s live blues music scene, you’ll want to head to the Beale on Broadway or BB’s Jazz, Blues, and Soups. Don’t miss Kim Massie perform—she plays every Tuesday and Thursday night at Beale on Broadway. These clubs are adjacent to one another, and are a short taxi ride from the convention center.

Other Live Music
Live music thrives in St. Louis, with many venues featuring indie, underground, local, and national bands. There are many options in and near downtown St. Louis including Old Rock House , Venice Café , Off Broadway , and Plush. For a livelier, interactive experience, head to The Jive & Wail dueling piano bar on Washington Avenue. The Dubliner on Washington Avenue and McGurk’s in the Soulard neighborhood both feature live music in an Irish bar setting.

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By Mandy Reinig
Many people are using social media for personal and professional reasons. Everyone knows that social media platforms are powerful tools. However, not many people are putting their social media use to work for them and using the power of social media to aid them in their job search. Below are a few tips and tricks to help you along the way and make your social media use work for you.

  • Post to add value to conversations, not simply to be on social media. Diehard social media users can tell the difference.
  • Don’t post anything on any social media platform that you wouldn’t be willing to say to someone’s face. Remember nothing is truly private when it is posted online.
  • Use your social media platforms to connect with colleagues as well as like-minded individuals.
  • Remember to use social media etiquette. For example, when someone mentions you or retweets you on twitter, you should say “thanks.”

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CEO and cofounder of Go Overseas Mitch Gordon, director and founder of The Pie News Amy Baker, former NAFSA Board of Directors member Ellen Badger, social media gurus Mandy Reinig and Mackenzie Hizon. These are just a few of the faces you can find at NAFSA’s Career Advancement Center during the annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Career Advancement Center at NAFSA’s Annual Conference & Expo has traditionally been a hub for job seekers and employers, providing a venue for international educators to find their professional match. This year, in addition to the usual spread of résumé reviewing, employer information sessions, and knowledge community roundtables, the Career Advancement Center has reached out to some of the leading professionals in the field to host open meetings on topics pertinent to all career levels in international education. Recent graduates, mid-career professionals, and international educators reaching retirement will all find information and resources to help them realize their career goals.

This week we kick off a series of career-oriented blog posts to introduce a few of our presenters and the topics they will cover in St. Louis. John Wilkerson, chair-designate of NAFSA’s Regional Affairs Committee, begins this series with a word about his travel advice session. Stay tuned next week for How to Start a Company in International Education and Making Social Media Work for You: Utilizing Social Media in the Job Search.
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By Ryan Saale
Don’t worry about spending a lot of money to have a great time in St. Louis. You can experience many of the best sights and attractions the city has to offer for free! From arts and culture to activities and attractions, you can spend all day doing, seeing, and experiencing the best of St. Louis at no cost.

Sights

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Housing the world’s largest collection of mosaic art, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis is worth visiting to experience the grandeur of this impressive installation. Located in the Central West End, you could combine your visit with lunch or dinner at a nearby restaurant on Euclid Avenue.

St. Louis Library
Just minutes from the convention center, the recently renovated St. Louis Public Library is a great place to check out. The historic building has been restored to its original elegance, most noticeably in the grand hall, which now sits nicely amid the building’s newest galleries featuring cutting-edge design and technology.
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By Ryan Saale
St. Louis is all about neighborhoods. Statistically our city is subdivided into 79 neighborhoods, many with distinctive architecture, subcultures, and preferences. This is good news for visitors, as you can find an area that suits your style. Whether it’s bohemian, upscale, artsy or urban, you’ll discover a place to call home while at NAFSA. To make things easier, I’ve identified the top areas to check out that are near the conference.

Downtown St. Louis
From its days as the twentieth century epicenter of St. Louis’ garment and shoe manufacturing district,  downtown St. Louis is now a large central business district with a vibrant entertainment scene and thriving loft district. The best place to walk around for shopping, dining, and entertainment options is Washington Avenue. Newcomers to the strip include: Takaya Sushi, Robust Wine Bar and Pi Pizzeria. For some fun, check out Flamingo Bowl for bowling, or MX Cinema for movies.

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By Ryan Saale
Visiting St. Louis wouldn’t be complete without a visit to its many wonderful—and mostly free—museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions in and around the city.

St. Louis Art Museum
Built as the “Palace of the Fine Arts” for the 1904 World’s Fair, the St. Louis Art Museum has a vast collection, and is considered one of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation. In fact, the collection is so large that only thirty percent is on display at any given time. The modern art collection includes works by the European masters Matisse, Gauguin, Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh. The museum’s particularly strong collection of twentieth century German paintings includes the world’s largest Max Beckmann collection. The museum is always free, except for its rotating exhibitions.

Missouri History Museum
Located near the St. Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum houses both national artifacts and Missouri and St. Louis-related materials, such as local colonial and native artifacts, Louisiana Purchase Exposition artifacts, and items relating to Charles Lindbergh and his transatlantic flight in the ” Spirit of St. Louis. “A replica of the “Spirit of St. Louis” can be found in the museum as well. A large amount of artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition are also housed in the permanent collection, as St. Louis was the starting point for that venture. Admission to this museum is also free.

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By Ryan Saale
Many of us traverse the world as international educators, and are given the opportunity to experience the places where we travel. No matter how in-depth one’s knowledge of a place, however, it’s the distinctive, unique experiences that often last longest in our memories. There is a long list of such experiences in St. Louis. To save you time, here are my top five picks.

Bellefontaine Cemetery This resting ground for the elite just north of downtown St. Louis was established in 1849, and is home to many prominent local and national businessmen, politicians, and Civil War heroes. Don’t forget to get a cemetery map when you enter, which identifies the most prominent tombstones and mausoleums. The cemetery’s most notable and interesting sites include the mausoleums of shoe manufacturers the Brown Brothers ; the mausoleum for Adolphus Busch, co-founder of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery; the resting place of William Clark, of Lewis & Clark, explorer of the Louisiana Purchase territory; and the Wainwright Tomb, a mausoleum for the wife of millionaire brewer Ellis Wainwright, designed by Louis Sullivan.

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