Donna Anderson has been the Director of UW-Platteville's Institute for Study Abroad Programs since the fall 2003. She has worked in education abroad since 1998. Particularly, she has developed study abroad programs in Ireland, Spain, South Africa, China, Australia, and Fiji. Anderson studied abroad in Erlangen, Germany during her junior year at Luther College where she earned degrees in German and sociology. She holds an MA in Education: Multidisciplinary Studies from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Anderson says that the most rewarding part of her job is seeing the transformation that takes place in students who participate in our programs. They depart eager and curious and return as world citizens.
Russ Braby joined the ISAP team in the fall of 2006. He works primarily with marketing and recruitment for the programs. During his junior year at UW-La Crosse, Braby completed his study abroad experience in Oldenburg, Germany. Upon completing his bachelor's degree, he did a nine month internship with Siemens AG at their Munich headquarters. Braby finished his MA in International Business at Webster University in St. Louis in May 2006. Though he considers Germany to be his home away from home, he is eager to travel and experience cultures of different regions of the world such as Asia and Africa.
Kay Lathrop is the newest member of the office coming on board in May of 2007. Kay is your first line of contact on the phone and your main contact with your application materials. And that only scratches the surface of what she does for the office. Kay's previous employment was with the Department of Transportation and with the University of Wisconsin-Medical School. While she did not study abroad, Kay loves traveling. Her travels include: the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Hawaii, Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, Canada, and all over the continental US. Kay says she is excited to be in the field of international education, and has no plans to stop traveling.
Molly Mroch is a graduate student at UWP studying Counselor Education. She has recently returned from working as an English teacher in Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.). During the summer of her sophomore year at UW-Madison, Molly worked as an Au Pair in Zandaam, Netherlands. While living in Zandaam, She was able to travel to many countries in Europe. She has also studied in Mainland China, during the summer of her junior year. After graduating with her masters, Molly hopes to work in the field of international education.
Holly Wegmann is a senior majoring in International Studies and Spanish. After graduating from UWP, she plans to attain her Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Iowa. Eventually, Holly would like to teach Spanish in a middle or high school setting. Holly spent the fall 2008 semester in San Jos??, Costa Rica where she further developed her Spanish speaking skills and learned a tremendous amount about the Latin American culture. She plans to study abroad in the spring of 2010 and has finally narrowed her next adventure down to The Czech Republic, Spain, or Chile. Holly recognizes that being exposed to different languages and cultures is an incredibly valuable opportunity. She feels that studying abroad is a great opportunity because, not only is it fun, but it will also ultimately broaden one???s horizons. She hopes that all students will consider some sort of travel experience during their college career so that they will become more understanding and perceptive of the remarkable world we live in.
Joan La Rosa is a senior at UWP studying History and Spanish. She studied at the Spanish American Institute in Seville, Spain for the Fall '08 semester. Her time in Spain was absolutely essential to her education, pushing her from a Spanish student to a Spanish speaker. Afterwards, she took a semester off to travel to India, making friends from everywhere on earth and visiting many of them on the long road home. After experiences as varied as getting lost in the world's largest and poorest slum and painting kid's faces on St. Patrick's day in Ireland, she is passionate about exploring the world. Now, working for ISAP, she hopes to share those invaluable experiences with as many students as possible, encouraging them to have their own.
Amanda Hinzman is a junior at UWP, studying Criminal Justice and Psychology, and has joined ISAP as a student intern for the Spring 2009 semester. She spent her time abroad in Spring of 2008 in Newcastle, Australia where she studied Law. She realizes that her time abroad was truly life changing and wishes to share her experiences with as many prospective students as possible. She is learning about more study abroad opportunities every day and does wish to travel more, much more! Amanda is looking forward to sharing her experiences and helping all students at UWP see how beneficial and amazing this program truly is.