Keynote Address: g2 - GlobalEd Gathering
Keynote Address from the April 2024 g2 - GlobalEd Gathering in Delhi, India.
Good morning, everyone. My name is Blair Thomson, and I serve as the University of Mississippi’s Senior International Officer. I’m delighted to be here in Delhi on behalf of the University of Mississippi and to share in the excitement of the g2 with all of you. I’m here not only to speak about the importance of internationalization in higher education but the impact we all have on students and celebrate our shared commitment to creating a world where education is the bridge between cultures, nations, and people.
In this room we have high school counselors, independent education consultants, and university representatives. Why have we chosen to come together? Besides the good food?
Let me begin with a story. I started working in international education as a study abroad advisor, counseling students on the opportunities to study for a semester or a summer outside the United States. Originally, I took the job because I had studied abroad in China, and it was a transformative experience for me – but I thought it would be temporary until I found a job related to my degree. What started as a pit stop before some nebulous final destination became a career.
I watched students who were shy and insecure come back to Ole Miss full of confidence and independence. I remember one of my first advisees, Eddie. He was sweet and quiet and had a real interest in Japan, but he was unsure of the process and whether he would fit in once he got there. I helped him with the application process, including the daunting Japanese visa application, and spent many sessions meeting with him about what life would be like in Japan. I talked with his mother about safety and housing. He left, barely kept in touch, and I hoped he was having the best time.
Fast forward a year later, and Eddie came back from Japan a changed person. He was comfortable, talkative, and wanted to share every single thing he did in Japan with me. I’ve seen so many Eddies over the years now, and I never tire of it. These global experiences for students, shared with people from around the world, transformative ones like Eddie’s, stay with you. I relish every single detail of my students’ lives abroad because I remember mine and I know how much it meant to live it but also to share it. Above all, I see them as courageous individuals who are willing to take a chance on a new experience far away from home and reap all the rewards from doing so.
Every time students thank me for helping them, I always tell them it was all them – I just helped with the paperwork. And it is true. We all work with amazing students, and it is our job to highlight the opportunities, make the process accessible, and be encouraging of their journeys, but ultimately, they make the decision to change their own lives, the lives of those around them, and the world.
We are in this room because we all have our Eddies – worried about both the big things and the little things. We see the students in Grade 10 who are so worried about which stream to choose, and we, being older and wiser, know that it doesn’t decide their fates, but it is likely the biggest decision they’ve ever faced.
We see the students worried about where to apply to university. Stay near home? Move far away? Students worry about everything – from whether they can afford to study abroad at all to whether they’ll like their roommate, or the food, or be able make friends.
We meet students at fairs with inquisitive and surprising comments about majors and hope they choose our university. We are helpful in giving them information about life on our campus but know they will choose based on a variety of reasons.
But, why have we chosen to join the global ed gathering? I don’t see any students in the room asking us for guidance.
We are here because we believe in the power of international education. We see that power in our students who come back from studying abroad as changemakers, with a better vision for the future and for the world. We see the impact they make on their chosen university campus.
Internationalization comes in many forms as it relates to higher education. Universities like mine in the United States identify internationalization efforts in several ways: internationalization of the curriculum, short-term study abroad for degree-seeking students, increasing international student enrollment, language learning, joint research projects, and internationalization at home which includes providing intentional space and events on our campus toward increasing intercultural and global competences – particularly for those who cannot or choose not to study abroad.
All of these efforts start here, with us. We wouldn’t be able to fully accomplish our internationalization goals without all of you. It starts with building friendships, trust, and camaraderie. It starts with learning from each other to better serve our students and learning about each other’s cultures so we can apply that knowledge in our daily lives and interactions. It starts with using tools like AI to make us more efficient in our jobs. It starts with our own intercultural competence, empathy, and hope for a better future for everyone.
We, as educators and destiny benders, must continue our own journeys. Let us carry forth the spirit of the global ed gathering back to our communities and institutions, never underestimating the profound influence we wield in shaping not just individual futures, but progress, innovation, compassion, and peace through international education.
In closing, we should always take the time to remember our Eddies, remember the reason we started counseling and interacting with students even when it feels transactional, and remember how we are part of a huge network of changemakers, young minds who are making a difference in the world. Let us continue to nurture generations of global scholars who are not just knowledgeable, but wise; not just educated, but impactful; and not just successful, but compassionate.
Thank you.