The Office of Global Education will host its first “I (Heart) Travel” Week on the fourth floor of the University Library in hopes to excite students to study abroad or travel the world.

Starting Feb. 10, a section of the fourth floor of the library will be dedicated to the event. Each day will be devoted to a specific continent or region, including the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia.

“The general idea is to not make it feel like it’s one long academic lecture or to make it feel like it’s all fun and games,” said Kristin Stasiowski, director of International Programs and Education Abroad and assistant modern and classical languages professor. “We really tried to split the difference by having faculty give academically relevant information and fun talks and have students come and offer their experiences, whether they’re domestic students from Kent that have studied abroad or they’re international students who have come here as their study abroad.”

Nina Mikulandra studied abroad in Italy last summer and said she is excited to share her experience with others who are just as passionate about travel as she is.

“I love to talk about my experience in Florence; it’s my life. I will live there one day; it will happen,” Mikulandra said. “I’d be happy to show pictures, to talk about it and get everybody to fall in love with travel.”

Between learning martial arts skills and getting henna tattoos, scholarship opportunities will be offered to students in a raffle.

“If you’re a major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and you have not already received a scholarship for the Florence Summer Institute, then you can put your name into our little box and possibly win a $1,000 scholarship to any program with any college travel opportunity that you want to go to,” Stasiowski said.

There will also be a scholarship opportunity for students who aren’t in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“Jewish Studies is offering a $500 scholarship for their trip to Israel to all students,” Stasiowski said.

The event will be free to all students, faculty and staff. Free food from each culture will be provided on the corresponding theme of the day.

Students also have a chance to take home a free T-shirt from the event.

“Students can fill out a paper that says ‘My dream travel destination is…, and we’ll give them a fun colored marker and have them write their answer on it and take a picture with it,” Mikulandra said. “Then when they tag the photo to ‘KSUStudyAbroad1’ on Instagram with the hashtag ‘IHeartTravel’ they will receive a free T-shirt.”

The pictures will be collected and made into a heart-shaped collage at the event.

Senior art history major Margalit Schindler also traveled to Italy, where she met Mikulandra.

“Studying abroad was the best decision that I have ever made,” Schindler said. “It was definitely worth every penny and every minute. I learned so much about the world and myself, and it was incredibly humbling and monumentally empowering.”

 Schindler said the event can be very informational and beneficial to those students who have always wanted to travel the world.

“It costs you nothing to travel the world next week, because we brought the world to Kent,” Stasiowski said. “We’ve got students and faculty who’ve traveled the world and students don’t need to worry about visas, passports or airport security. Students can come to the library and get free food, free advice and free guidance. You don’t need a date when you have a passport.” 

Contact Christopher Woods at [email protected].