Kira Paul is a Physics major with minors in Mathematics and Public and Professional Writing at ����vlog. She is part of the university’s teacher education program and the Science Teaching Program, where her work sits at the intersection of science education, community building, and public writing, with a focus on strengthening New Jersey’s STEM teacher pipeline.

Faculty-led programs are a key part of Montclair’s , which include short-term, semester-long and year-long opportunities in more than 50 countries. The programs continue to expand, says Tim White, director of International Academic Initiatives.

“We have more professors, more programs, more students overall studying abroad,” White says. “The students are stepping up, and they’re really excited to see the world and experience what they’re learning. If they’re studying glaciers or Mexican history, now they’re seeing it firsthand. It’s really quite powerful.”

Learning Beyond Borders

“Intercultural skills and cross-cultural communication are incredibly valuable for just about any career – nursing, medicine, art, business, government, law. These programs build skills that make students more employable,” says White.

Damaris Castillo, a senior Public and Professional Writing major who participated in a travel writing trip to Mérida, Mexico, adds: “These trips push students to take agency over themselves – to ask questions, to speak up when they’re in a foreign place. That kind of confidence stays with you.”

Reporting from the Field: Journalism in San Francisco

Senior Public Relations major Peter Guziejewski reflects: “Montclair has been instrumental in shaping my journey as a media professional, giving me opportunities to develop skills in journalism and content production.”

Making an Impact: Rebuilding Homes in North Carolina

Service is also a key part of the Montclair experience. Over spring break, students traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, to help rebuild homes devastated by Hurricane Helene as part of a Bonner Leader Program project.

Freshman Rhamses Sarmiento, a Journalism and Political Science major, worked alongside volunteers from All Hands and Hearts, a disaster relief nonprofit.

“I got to do a great service, though it was back-breaking work – mostly construction. But it was rewarding to know that some houses I helped rebuild will stay with the homeowners,” Sarmiento says.

Exploring Culture and Storytelling in Mexico

The course encourages students to use writing as a tool for reflection – capturing the places they visit, the food they try and the challenges they encounter while traveling. Throughout the trip, they recorded their impressions and will refine these writings into polished pieces inspired by their journey, Dadas explains.

Chasing Glaciers and the Northern Lights in Iceland

Montclair students traveled to Iceland to study the island’s geological and environmental systems. Led by Earth and Environmental Studies professors Greg Pope and Josh Galster, they visited a marine science lab to learn about invasive species, explored the Reykjanes geoheritage park, and witnessed tectonic plates shifting, volcanic craters, erupting geysers and countless waterfalls.

The trip also took them to Grindavik, a small town evacuated due to volcanic activity. Students learned how Icelanders harness geothermal energy to grow fresh produce, generate electricity, and heat homes. They swam in geothermal pools and watched the Northern Lights dance across the sky.

“When studying the Earth, the timescales involved can be hard to understand since some things happen over thousands or millions of years. In Iceland, time seems sped up – events happen over months or years. Students saw geysers erupt in seconds, measured cracks between tectonic plates, and witnessed months-old lava flows and melting glaciers,” Galster explains.

Driving Sustainability in Austria 

In Austria, Montclair students partnered with students from the University of Graz to tackle environmental and sustainability challenges. They met with eco-entrepreneurs, mapped out stakeholders, and explored ways to drive social change.

“Our week in Graz mirrored our mission – meeting with experts, refining our projects, and developing ideas that could have real-world impact,” says Jason Frasca, co-director of the MIX Lab.

Ethical Business in Panama

Senior Luke Laukaitis highlighted a conversation with a top banking official, who shared career advice and strategies for professional growth.

Back in class, students reflected on their visit to the Panama Canal and marveled at Panama City’s skyline – the tallest in Latin America – as well as the stark contrasts between its modern skyscrapers, colonial history, indigenous communities and a tropical forest in the heart of the city.

Making Study Abroad Possible

Senior Nikki Garcia, a Social Media and PR major, took part in the Panama trip thanks to a scholarship. “A lot of students don’t know about these opportunities, but they’re out there, especially for those with financial need,” she says. , offered by Montclair’s International Academic Initiatives, provide: $2,000-$3,000 for semester and summer abroad programs; and $750-$1,500 for short-term, faculty-led programs.

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First-Year Writing Exemplary Essay Awards went to Johnathan Smith for his WRIT105 essay “The Busta Cake Mistake” and to Kelly Naspo for her WRIT106 essay, “The Not-So-Authentic Native American Experience.” Honorable Mentions were given in WRIT105 to Malak Bayoumy for her essay “Toxic Relationships in the Media: The Bad and the Ugly” and Jessica Sconfienza for her essay, “The War on Drag.” WRIT106 Honorable Mention went to Annabelle Kempf for her essay “Disenfranchised Grief: Exploring the Complexities of Hidden Sorrow.”

The Outstanding Multimodal Composition award was given to First-Year Writing student Adrianna Sewell for her original song: “Natural Hair: The Beauty That We Need” while an Honorable Mention was given to Maya Chavez Velasquez for her website, “Mental Health Stigma in the Latino Community” Instructor: Jessica Taylor.

Awards were also given for outstanding work in the Professional and Public Writing major courses. The Excellence in Public Writing Awards went to Siddhi Sundaram for “Depression, has the Narrative Changed?” as well as Donaelle Benoit for her Grant Proposal, “Making Communities Brighter“, while the Excellence in Professional Writing Awards went to Brielle Bogash and Sadie Bevando for their presentation for a Global Community, “Etiquette in Japan“. The Excellence in Writing for Social Media award went to Gina-Marie Zoccoli for her campaign for Alchemy Scent Bar. And the Text Power Telling Awards went to Allison O’Donnell and Dillan Ortiz.

“As our course in Rhetoric started out examining the voices of the Greek Classicals, it is in my opinion that there was no stronger voice than that of Aristotle. His rhetorical concepts, originating over 2,000 years ago, are still incredibly influential and pervasive in the modern world. For example, Aristotle is the architect behind the rhetorical scheme of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, a concept so fundamental to rhetoric that I have heard it sermonized in a wide range of my college courses from public speaking to technical writing. Perhaps the most meaningful contribution to my understanding of rhetoric is Aristotle’s explanation behind the power of the enthymeme. In his work Rhetoric, Aristotle discusses the nature behind the power of rhetoric while giving us many banger quotes like “For the true and the approximately true are apprehended by the same faculty”.”