Eckerd College students visited Iguazu Falls in Argentina—one of the world’s largest waterfalls—as part of a January Winter Term class offered by the Office of Global Education. Photo by Emma Kelliher ’26
Laura Semenow and Rosie Nelson have studied abroad, lived and worked on five continents, and traveled to numerous countries. That passion to see the world led them both to Eckerd College, where they’ve begun their next journey as the new leadership team in its Office of Global Education.
In addition to expanding access, Semenow, the new director of global education, seeks to diversify the kinds of experiences Eckerd students can have abroad—from adding new locations, to increasing the number of students who go abroad for semester and yearlong programs, to adding new exchange partnerships with institutions abroad.
“Exchange partnerships allow Eckerd students to fully immerse themselves in another culture; and on the other side, new international exchange students come to Eckerd, and the campus community can meet students from around the world,” Semenow says.
She joined the College last June, following four years of leadership as the director of the Center for Global Engagement at The University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.
Eckerd students observe a male lion on his morning stroll through the bush during a Winter Term class to Botswana and the Okavango Delta. Photo by Sasha Gitler ’24
Nelson, a native of rural Vermont and the new associate director of global education, came to Eckerd in the spring semester from Dartmouth College, where she served as an immigration advisor to a diverse international undergraduate student, graduate student and scholar population. Both women bring a wealth of experience to their positions and firsthand knowledge of the power of study abroad.
In high school, Semenow participated in an international exchange program that took her from her native Brazil to Indiana for one year.
“That exchange experience in high school made me want to study international relations, learn more about the world and have more intercultural experiences,” she says.
Semenow returned to Brazil to earn a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, but she always knew her adventures would take her overseas again. While in college she studied, worked and volunteered in Switzerland, Denmark, Malawi and the U.S. For her Master of Education in higher education and student affairs, she attended the University of Vermont, where she worked in the offices of International Programs and Student Life.
When the time came for Semenow to find a postgrad position, The University of Tulsa, which was attempting to increase its study abroad numbers at the same time as growing its international student population, caught her eye. She became its study abroad coordinator and worked her way up the ranks to serve as the director of the Center for Global Engagement for the final four years of her tenure.
She’s excited to begin the work at Eckerd of increasing the number of students who take advantage of global education through short-term, semester-long, exchange programs and more.
“Global education has changed my life,” Semenow says. “And I really hope that as many students as possible can have that opportunity. I think the world will be a better place if people understand each other and we can work together towards solving global problems.”
Director of Global Education Laura Semenow
Associate Director of Global Education Rosie Nelson
Semenow’s Eckerd colleague Nelson graduated from high school a semester early and traveled abroad for six months to do an internship in India and volunteer in Kenya and several Western African countries. Nelson attended a small, private liberal arts college—Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts—that afforded her the opportunity to see more of the world as an undergraduate. She completed study abroad programs in the Czech Republic at Charles University and in Darjeeling, India, exploring Buddhism and the Himalayas.
Postgraduation, she took a job teaching English in Taichung, Taiwan, for two years, then returned to the U.S. to earn her Master of Arts in international education at the School for International Training Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont. Nelson did her graduate student research and thesis work designing a service learning study abroad program in Ghana, where she has spent much time over the past 15 years. Her work in international education took her to Learn International in Ireland and ISEP Study Abroad in Virginia before Dartmouth. The Eckerd College position intrigued Nelson with its opportunities for creativity and to return to her beginnings.
“I’ve wanted to work for a liberal arts college for a long time. A lot of Eckerd’s institutional values and community are like that of where I did my undergrad—community-oriented, kind and globally minded,” Nelson admits.
In her new role, she hopes to bolster student participation in semester-long study abroad programs outside of the College’s already popular London Study Centre and Semester in Seville, Spain—especially at untraditional locations in Asia, Africa, Central America and Eastern Europe.
“I’d like to see more students going on study abroad programs in the spring,” Nelson says. “The challenge with the spring is that we have Winter Term at Eckerd. So it’s about aligning the dates and figuring out which programs work for students who can start in late January after our Winter Term ends. Accessibility is very important to me, so I am committed to accessibility in the study abroad space and empowering and facilitating study abroad and exchange programs to typically underrepresented students in study abroad.”
Semenow acknowledges the tensions students and parents might sense between study abroad and the rapidly changing world—but she’s confident that those factors make study abroad even more important.
“I think that now more than ever we have to be really aware of the risks involved with international activities,” she says. “That means you go mostly everywhere, but with all the preparations in place. We have a robust risk management program and are ready to face challenges. In every international experience, you are going to face challenges, but the rewards are worth it.”
The new Office of Global Education will have a chance to meet the Eckerd community at its first campuswide event, the Study Abroad Fair, in Fox Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 4.
