STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING A COMPETITIVE GRADUATE SCHOOL PERSONAL STATEMENT

Dr. Linda C. Macri

Director Academic and Professional Development, The Graduate School
University of Maryland, College Park

Linda Macri is the Director of Academic and Professional Development in the Graduate School and has directed the Graduate School Writing Center since 2014. From 2005-2013, she served as the director of the Academic Writing Program in the English Department. She earned a PhD in English Literature with a focus on rhetoric and composition at the University of Maryland and her undergraduate degree, also in English Literature, from Columbia University. She is a former co-chair of the Consortium on Graduate Communication. At the Graduate School, she offers a range of workshops for graduate students about effective academic communication.

MAKING THE JOURNEY ABOARD: OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES EDUCATION ABROAD STUDY

Co-Presenter: Ms. Asia King

Program Manager for Global Learning Abroad
Educational Abroad Program
University of Maryland, College Park.

Asia King is an international education enthusiast who has worked in global education for five years. She manages a portfolio of semester and short-term study abroad programs at the University of Maryland, particularly working with faculty and staff in BSOS, SPHL, EDUC, JOUR, IAP, and AAP. Asia also supports the Maryland-In-Barcelona and Maryland-In-Rome programs. Previously, she focused on subject matter areas both in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and International Student and Scholar Services. Asia completed her B.S. in Business Administration and her M.S. in Communication both from North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on improving international education with a DEI lens. She first began her journey as a global citizen through a summer intensive language program in Costa Rica. Since then, she has traveled to over twenty countries and enjoys connecting to cultures through food, music, and community. In her free time, Asia enjoys competing in Catan qualifiers, learning new languages, or listening to podcasts on personal finance.

Co-Presenter: Ms. Joy Gursky

Global Learning Advisor
Educational Abroad Program
University of Maryland, College Park

Having studied abroad in Dakar, Senegal, and Paris, France as an undergraduate student, Joy Gursky is passionate about promoting cross-cultural understanding and empowering young people to learn from the global community. Joy has supported measures related to higher education in a number of ways, including personally raising over $50,000 for student resources through cold calling at her undergraduate institution, launching the first alumni engagement program at a community college, and helping to recruit over 1,000 students for study abroad programs at her alma mater. She arrived at the University of Maryland after two years of teaching English to middle schoolers on the outskirts of Paris, France. Joy is a first-generation college student and a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship alumna. She received her B.A. in global studies and French from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Although she misses living on the beach, she is excited to continue expanding access to global learning opportunities for all.