It’s a big world out there, and Nebraska Wesleyan University students are busy exploring it.
Three faculty-led study abroad experiences this summer — to Egypt, Italy, and Mexico — highlight the opportunities available to NWU students with an interest in learning abroad.
This year marked the first time Nebraska Wesleyan has sponsored a faculty-led study trip to Egypt. It was an idea that came to fruition after two years of planning from NWU Assistant Professor of Sociology/Criminology and native Egyptian Heba Khalil, and NWU Director of Global Engagement Sarah Barr.
“I hope students learn to approach other cultures with humbleness and respect, and to question their preconceived notions of Muslims, Arabs, Africans, and Middle Easterners,” Khalil said of her goals for the trip. “And I hope they bring this experience back to NWU and to their communities in Nebraska and become advocates for cultural respect and understanding.”
The group of 22 students and faculty didn’t waste a minute, traveling to Egypt just a few days after NWU’s May 9 commencement. There were trips to the Giza and Saqqara Pyramids, numerous religious centers, a cruise on the Nile River, a swim in the Mediterranean Sea, and a day of service learning with an organization that works with refugee women and children.
It was one of three NWU faculty-led study abroad programs Prairie Wolf students could take advantage of this summer, and another important way Nebraska Wesleyan supports its students while preparing them for the future.
“Accessing study abroad experiences is transformative for NWU students because they develop critical thinking, adaptability, and cross-cultural communications. Those are all skills that employers want,” Barr said. “Study abroad students build lifelong friendships and come home with greater self-confidence, more independence and a better understanding of themselves and what they want to do in the world.”
While Egypt was a new destination for NWU’s global engagement program, there was familiarity in other locations for Prairie Wolves wanting to travel the world.
Rachel Pokora, NWU professor of communication studies, led a group of students to Florence, Italy, and the surrounding area to study the local culture. It was the seventh time Pokora has taken students on a short-term study abroad class to Italy.
“Being immersed in another culture is so different from reading about it and seeing pictures,” Pokora said. “It is so different to have an experience with all our senses and our brains. While we were there we ate the food, walked on the streets, shopped in the grocery stores, experienced the lower-powered air conditioning, saw the architecture; this is a powerful experience.”
The three-week experience, which saw the group return to the U.S. June 6, included an emotional moment in Florence’s Academia Gallery—NWU’s group was the first through the doors when the museum opened in the morning, and was able to spend a few quiet moments admiring Michelangelo’s David, one of the world’s most famous sculptures, before crowds of tourists arrived.
NWU’s final experience of the summer just began, with eight students taking a three-week trip to Mexico City where the group will immerse itself in the Mexican culture while staying with local families. Each student will earn three Nebraska Wesleyan language credits while exploring one of the world’s largest cities.
And those are just the faculty-led trips. NWU students can also study abroad through exchange and non-exchange programs; pursue internships, student teaching, or research abroad; or participate in virtual international programs.
Interested in studying abroad in spring 2027? Start here. NWU’s priority deadline for spring 2027 study abroad trips is September 8, 2026. Final deadline is October 1, 2026.