Giang Do

Students, representatives from different study abroad and internship companies and professors participate in the Study Abroad Fair in Gavle Rooms on Oct. 4.

Two study abroad staff vacancies have made it challenging for the Augustana College study abroad program to support students. 

Former Assistant Director of International and off-campus programs (IOP), Sasha Zainal, left her position on Sept. 27, 2023, shortly after the former director for international and off-campus programs, Pedro Bidegaray, no longer held the position. 

With these positions currently unfilled, study abroad students are left without direct contact to the study abroad office, according to students that are currently studying away. Additionally, prospective students lack the resources to begin their study abroad process. 

According to Zainal, there are two possible candidates for director. However, Augustana College has yet to fill either position. According to Provost Dianna Shandy, the college is in the last stages of the hiring process, and they hope to have a replacement before the end of fall semester.

“We are searching for an assistant director of international and off-campus programs, and the new IOP Director will be able to participate in the final stage of that search process. In the meantime, the work of that office is being managed by a faculty member and CORE staff,” Shandy said.

During his time as director of IOP, Bidegaray created new study abroad programs, established partnerships with other international schools and acted as the liaison between the IOP office and the community. After his resignation this summer, Zainal was assigned his responsibilities as the assistant director. 

“It was a huge learning curve for me,” Zainal said. “But, I mean, when you find out last minute that your director left the position and having to kind of pick up whatever was left… it was a shit show.”

Before leaving her position, Zainal served as the main contact for semester-long study abroad students. Junior Kenaya Allen, currently studying abroad in the United Kingdom, relies on Sasha as an emergency contact and an advisor while away from Augustana. 

“Sasha is the person I go to when there’s something going on, such as anything regarding academics, finances or anything like that,” Allen said. “And if the situation’s too dire, where I have to end my program early, I have to count on her to help me get home because she’s supposed to point me in the direction of where I need to go.”

Without new hires, Augustana faculty members are serving as contacts and informational resources for students until Bidegaray and Zainal’s former positions are filled. Augustana students who wish to begin their study abroad process cannot currently receive the same support that was previously provided to students. 

Before taking over Bidegaray’s responsibilities, Zainal organized semester programs, internships, summer programs and non-faculty-led programs in addition to marketing for the study abroad department and acting as a liaison for the department and campus. 

“I literally helped students from almost zero to 110,” Zainal said. “I will help them figure out possible options to take, what goes with their major and work out a budget.”  

Sophomore Genevieve Ryan, currently studying in Ecuador, received support from Zainal throughout her study abroad preparation. While Ryan did research on her own, she relied on Zainal to begin the process and provide details.

“I don’t think that my transition here would have been as smooth in terms of little details,” Ryan said. “There are so many things that you can forget, and she gave me a lot of advice, even on when to buy my plane ticket. So she made the process smoother.” 

Ryan said there are several challenges that potential study abroad students may face when beginning their study abroad experience, such as details about courses, day-to-day life in other countries and figuring out travel plans. Even if students research on their own time, Ryan believes support from the study abroad office is integral for a successful experience.   

Both Allen and Ryan spoke highly of their experiences with the study abroad office, and they encouraged students to study abroad despite the lack of resources on campus.

“I hope that students don’t feel like they can’t study abroad just because we don’t have anyone in the office,” Ryan said. “It shouldn’t be a determining factor.”