Syracuse Sun

Studying abroad is a unique academic experience that isn’t just limited to undergraduates. Syracuse Abroad offers a wide range of short-term and longer-length programs that can often be integrated into even the most high-intensity graduate school schedules.

Nomar Diaz G’25 combined a months-long internship as a systems analyst for ML Systems Integrator Pte Ltd. in Singapore with Syracuse Abroad’s 18-day Euro Tech program. In addition to his time in Singapore, he visited tech innovation firms in seven countries and business and cultural centers in 10 cities.

Diaz, who is pursuing concurrent master’s degree programs in information systems and applied data science at the School of Information Studies, is open to a career in another country. He’d like to do sales engineering or be a solutions engineer at a computing solutions or information consulting firm in the United Kingdom, Singapore, or Spain. As a former global ambassador for Syracuse Abroad, Diaz tells students not to second-guess their interest in studying abroad. “If you feel the hunch, just go for it,” he says. “You won’t regret it.”

While studying abroad, Nomar Diaz (front left, in the black shirt) and a group of fellow graduate students visited a landmark on the waterfront at Palau Ubin, a small island in Singapore. (Photo courtesy of Nomar Diaz)

Bennie Guzman G’25 is a master’s student studying art therapy in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and he works full-time at La Casita Cultural Center. His goal is to be a licensed creative arts therapist. “My dream would be to connect what I’m doing here with international places that do similar work and expand our outreach beyond Syracuse,” Guzman says.

Guzman says the short-term Mexico’s History, Culture and Security program was exactly the right program for him. “Mexico is the place for Latin American art and indigenous studies. I wanted to see how international communities think about art, culture and community health and tie those things together,” says Guzman, whose experience helped him formulate his thesis on how Latino/Latin American communities use art and culture for community well-being.

Martin J. Whitman School of Management M.B.A. student Jude Azai G’25 used a summer abroad program to fine-tune his leadership capabilities in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. That interest developed during his bachelor’s degree program in pharmacy at the University of Jos in Nigeria and has continued throughout his work in business and healthcare.

Syracuse Abroad’s Business in East Asia program helped Azai gain valuable insights into healthcare and broader leadership structures in countries such as Singapore. He wanted to understand how such nations become global powerhouses and learn how innovation and effective governance can drive economic growth. He also discovered that leadership is not overly complex: “Leadership is about creating the right vision, following through with openness and honesty, and bringing people along. When leaders do this, miracles in nation-building can happen,” Azai says.

Whitman School of Management Students including Jude Azai (far left), pose at the waterfall garden at Changi Airport in Singapore (Photo courtesy of Jude Azai).

Krister Samuelson G’25 is pursuing a master’s degree in information systems at iSchool with aspirations as an analyst or security engineer specializing in information security. His EuroTech experience provided quality time with like-minded individuals: “I learned real-world settings broadened my understanding of global business strategies,” Naw says.

This group of students which includes graduate students Krister Samuelson Emmy Naw began three-credit EuroTech course Norway visited number tech companies located ten cities across seven countries two-and-a-half-week tour (Photo Royal Palace Oslo courtesy Krister Samuelson).

Maxwell School Citizenship Public Affairs public administration graduate student Troy Patrick G’25 interned Council Europe Strasbourg participated Religion Law Human Rights Comparative Perspective program studied peacebuilding human rights wants work humanitarian field perhaps one day United Nations secretariat he says.

Patrick used summer term maximize work experience Council Europe internship Department Political Affairs External Relations assigned high-level tasks running meetings international leaders creating talking points leader visits work provided real-world training helped better understand religion religiously affiliated states religious groups impact advocacy actions formulated deal human rights legal issues

Learn More

Students can learn more about University wide range study abroad programs during Syracuse Abroad Week started Monday runs through Sept 20 They visit Syracuse Abroad website suabroad syr edu

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