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A lifetime of dancing around the world defines the work of Maryland faculty fellow Kate Spanos (Ph.D. ’16), non-profit founder and now first-time author. She specializes in dances of resistance, which allow communities to have their voices heard in a way that transcends speech. Through her travels to Montserrat in the Caribbean, Ireland, and Brazil—she’s seen the power of these dances to resist subjugation and build community firsthand, and she’s sharing this knowledge on campus and off.

It’s graduation day. When Paulina Leder ‘23 walks across the stage, four years of late nights studying history, conversations in German, and term papers in French come to a close in a singular handshake from the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) and the flash of a graduation photographer’s camera. Leder has joined the ranks of other fearless alumni of one of the top 50 global universities in the world. Her first order of business? One more international exchange with her alma mater.

Using several programs under the Office of International Affairs as stepping stones to engage with her immediate international community, Angie Lee found friends, leadership and growth that characterized her undergraduate student experience. 

Sophia Wooden ‘24 shares her experiences interning in Paris, France at the Aeffe S.p.A. showroom.

If I’m being completely honest, I felt doomed during my first 24 disastrous hours in Ireland. The day was full of stressors that gave me the impression that maybe I wasn’t cut out to be on my own. Above all, I realized that talking about studying abroad and actually going abroad are two entirely different things. In retrospect, this needed to happen, and everything that took place on that first day allowed me to build my confidence from the ground up. 

Maryland-in-Florence (PHYS), with its careful academic design including visits to physics facilities across Europe, stands as an increasingly successful Education Abroad program founded in collaboration with ISI Florence, a strong institution partner overseas.