Our Global Campus Podcast
Engage the World through Illinois
The podcast Our Global Campus: Engage the World Through Illinois features the international and intercultural experiences of students and professionals, who dare to explore life on the other side of their cultural assumptions.
Hosted by the International Programs Team in the College of LAS, each episode unpacks the complexities that often attend the journey of finding one's place in the world.
The podcast can also be streamed via Anchor.
Jump to Season 1
Jump to Season 2
Jump to Season 3
About the host
The Our Global Campus podcast is hosted by Nikia Brown, LAS Associate Director of Intercultural & Global Learning, International Student Experience. She directs the LAS 100 orientation course for international students & Global Leaders Program.
Connecting the Dots
Marissa Lombardi discusses how following her passions and a non-linear path led to a career in education abroad.
Language as a Tool for Connection
Jude Mensah's passion for language learning and teaching is neatly juxtaposed with his thoughts on language as a vehicle for cross-cultural communication.
LAS & KSA Welcome New Korean Students
Jiwon Lee, president of the Korean Student Association, reflects on a new student event in Seoul and shares her goals for the KSA.
War’s Disruption of Language, Culture & Identity
Ekateryna (Kat) Bondareva details how she is personally affected by the war in Ukraine and the ways in which it has brought into question her language, culture and identity.
Iconically International
Students boldly address the challenges facing international students on UIUC’s campus and their plans to help mitigate some of these barriers.
Episode 1: Korean - 신입생 한국 학생 환영회 LAS & KSA
Goalbalization
Ava Marginean and Kayla Constabileo, LAS Global Leaders and soccer aficionados, discuss the interplay of soccer, globalization, and identity.
Study Abroad & Sustainability: Steph’s Estancia in Spain
Global Studies major, Stephanie (Steph) Lepak, shares how her passion met a problem that subsequently revealed her purpose.
Global Initiatives + Environmental Justice
LAS Global Leader Colette Schlie and McKenzie F. Johnson, assistant professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, discuss the implications of global governance.
A Testimony of Transformation Through Travel
Martin Källstrand set out to visit all 195 countries 25 years ago. On the heels of his visit to his final country, Eritrea, he shares an exclusive interview about his life-changing journey around the world.
The What and Why of Representation
Dr. Isabel Molina-Guzmán discusses her journey to becoming the Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion for LAS.
Trading My Suit in Kazakhstan for Swag in Illinois
Assel Aryn, Vice Rector of AlmaU in Kazakhstan, describes what it’s like to push pause on a career and study abroad later in life.
Home: A Re-Evaluation
Students discuss how as they cross national and cultural borders, they develop transnational identities and are able to find a sense of home.
How Study Abroad Led to a Lifetime of Service
Catherine Barry, former U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officer, details how study abroad led her to engage with the world.
Enabled Abroad: Amideast Talks Access & Agency
Ahmed Shehata and Ahmed Abdelaziz (U.S.–Egypt Higher Education Initiative) discuss how international education programs help students with disabilities study abroad.
Graduating Senior Reflects on Life & Leadership
Shaojing Gao takes us on her journey from China to her varied experiences as a student and campus leader at UIUC.
Survival Tips from an International Transfer Student
LAS TA HyeJin Tina Yeo talks with Jeongeun Seo, a junior in chemistry, about transferring as an international student from South Korea.
From Indonesia to Illinois
Fisca Aulia, a development planner in the Ministry of Planning in Jakarta, details her journey as a graduate international student.
Episode 1: Mandarin - 來自中國的大四畢業生回首在伊利諾伊大學的生活與領導之路
Episode 2: Korean - 국제 편입 학생을 위한 서바이벌 팁
Korean, Yet Culturally Black
Cindy Wilson discusses her experience growing up as a transnational Korean adoptee with an African American family in the southern U.S.
Negotiating Hybrid Identities Abroad
Robert Whitmore and Issy Marquez discuss what it means to be African American and Latina abroad.
One Adventurous Third Culture Kid
Katrina Rbeiz shares her diverse experiences growing up as a Lebanese-American in the Middle East and how they are influencing her studies.
Campus in China, Class in Illinois
Yunong Zhang and Yiren Dai discuss their experiences studying at UIUC from China.
Lessons from Tram 49
Emily Freiburger recounts the ways German shifted from a language to a love through her time abroad in Vienna.
Togetherness by Design
Christopher Earney, Head of the UN Secretary General’s Crisis Insights Team, speaks of the critical interplay of mental health and innovation.
Episode 7: Mandarin - 在中國校園裡的伊利諾伊大學課堂-新常態下的混合學習項目
Episode 8: German - Illinois in Vienna Programs oder Weisheiten der Straßenbahn 49
Being Black in China Means...
Angelique Evans, doctoral student in U of I’s College of Education, takes us on her incredible journey as an international student and Black professional in China.