Education Abroad Ambassadors

If you are interested in going abroad to study, University of Wisconsin-Platteville Education Abroad Ambassadors are here to share their experiences of living, learning, and traveling. Ambassadors assist the UW-Platteville Education Abroad office by:

• Giving classroom presentations
• Advising prospective students on program options
• Creating promotional materials
• Representing their program at the Education Abroad Fair
• Assisting the Education Abroad office with various projects and initiatives

Ambassadors are asked to set one scheduled hour each week to be available and answer questions and have the option to volunteer at other events throughout the semester as mentioned above.

Current Ambassadors

Allie Gray
Hungary, Austria, and the Netherlands

Allie Gray is a junior biology major with a zoology emphasis. She is looking forward to exploring the world after college.

Allie went on a short-term faculty-led trip in Summer 2018. The class was the History of Science and Technology in Europe, and she was able to travel to Hungary, Austria, and the Netherlands. On that trip she learned about the history and culture of the countries and met new friends. Through the class she got to tour the Hospital in the Rock (Hungary), see the Austrian Museum of Technology, and visit Netherlands National Maritime Museum. And during her free time, she explored the Roman ruins of Aquincum in Hungary, saw the Imperial Treasury in Vienna, and ate stroopwafels in the Netherlands!

Studying abroad was such an amazing and unique experience that she would recommend it for everyone.

Contact Allie at grayall@uwplatt.edu for questions about short-term faculty-led trips or general advising.

Anna Drazkowksi
Spain

Anna Drazkowski is a junior studying broad field science-secondary education, with minors in Spanish, social and environmental justice, and physics. After graduation, Anna would like to use her international interest in her career as a teacher. She may move abroad to teach, or teach at a school with a Spanish-speaking student population. Study abroad has helped her realize her future possibilities are endless!

Anna has always been interested in traveling internationally, and saw study abroad as a once in a lifetime opportunity, but was worried that it would be difficult to fit into her course planning. However, it was not, and in the spring semester of 2018, during her sophomore year, Anna studied abroad in Seville, Spain through API´s Spanish Language and Humanities program. While there, she took classes in Spanish at the Universidad de Sevilla to complete required courses for her minors. She chose to go to Spain so that she could immerse herself in the Spanish language as well as travel throughout Europe.

She was very happy with the API program, especially with their included weekend excursions, wonderful in-country support staff, and affordable cost. Some of her favorite experiences included teaching English to four-year-olds in Spain, traveling to Poland, Morocco, and Portugal, experiencing the spring festivals in Seville (Semana Santa and Feria), and making new international friends.

Anna feels as though studying abroad has helped her become more confident and flexible, has greatly improved her Spanish language skills, and left her with many amazing memories and friendships. She would highly recommend study abroad and believes that every student can find an opportunity that is right for them and their education.

Contact Anna at drazkowskia@uwplatt.edu.

Kellie Clinton
Poland, Germany, France

Kellie Clinton is currently a senior studying mathematics with an emphasis in actuarial science. After college she hopes to become an actuary and explore the world.

During the summer of 2017, she went on the short-term faculty-led History of Science and Technology in Europe learning trip to Poland, Germany, and France. She was able to learn about the history of each country and explore the culture. During the trip she experienced Auschwitz, saw the historic Brandenburg gate, and saw the Eiffel tower light up at night. This trip was amazing and participating is one of the best decisions she has ever made!

Study abroad was a life-changing experience and she would love to help you find a study abroad program right for you.

Contact Kellie at clintonk@uwplatt.edu.

Branninghan Hutchison
Austria, Hungary, Netherlands, and Italy​

Branninghan is a senior, double majoring in accounting and business administration with a double emphasis in finance and management.

During the winter of 2017, she went on the short-term faculty-led Visual Art in Rome trip. Branninghan was able to stay in the highly populated city of Rome, and see the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and many other historical places of ancient Rome. Her favorite part of this trip was getting lost and finding the Trevi Fountain and feels this is an example of how studying abroad is full of adventure!

During the summer of 2018, she again went abroad with the short-term faculty-led History of Science and Technology in Europe trip. She stepped foot in five different countries: Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, and the Netherlands. She found every single portion of this trip amazing, and the amount of knowledge and experience she gained life-changing.

She always knew that studying abroad was on her bucket list and getting to achieve it twice was a bonus!

Contact Branninghan at hutchisonbr@uwplatt.edu.

Jessica Minich
Netherlands

Jessica Minich is a senior majoring in Civil Engineering. After graduation, Jessica hopes to work in water infrastructure. Jessica was very skeptical of being able to travel abroad during her time here at UW-Platteville, because she heard that it is almost impossible to travel abroad and graduate within 4 years. When she heard about the opportunity to travel for 15 days and receive credit for the experience, she jumped on the opportunity.

During the summer of 2018, Jessica went on a short-term faculty-led Cycling Infrastructure of the Netherlands with Kristina Fields. She had the opportunity to visit Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Zwolle. She even had time to visit Antwerp, Belgium on a free day. While it was only two weeks long, Jessica had a fantastic time meeting new people and exploring the Dutch culture.

Now that Jessica is back, she is eager to help students explore their options to study abroad. Contact Jessica at minichj@uwplatt.edu or on Friday afternoons in Royce Hall.