Making MSU a more welcoming place for international students is something Peter Briggs, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, or OISS, strives for every day. With assistance from the MSU community, Briggs recognized those who share that goal by thanking them with Globie Awards.
The seventh annual Globie Awards were presented Tuesday in the International Center to three members of the MSU community deemed to have provided outstanding service to international students and scholars at MSU.
The winners were Jessica Wright, anthropology and interdisciplinary studies in social science, health and society senior, Josh Gillespie, assistant director of Residence Education and Housing Services and Barbara Sawyer-Koch, a former member of MSU’s Board of Trustees.
Briggs said out of the many nominees this year, something about Wright, Gillespie and Sawyer-Koch’s winning stories touched him.
Wright, a peer adviser in the Office of Study Abroad, often hosted potlucks at her house and planned an alternative spring break this year to Florida. The alternative spring break included 19 international students from 14 different countries and six students from the U.S. On the trip, the group served two families whose homes had been damaged by recent hurricanes.
“A large part of the U.S. culture is service,” Wright said. “Making that opportunity available for international students was something that I … Wanted to bring in.”
Gillespie was recognized for incorporating field trips this year to bring international and U.S. students together, Briggs said.
One of the biggest trips he planned was to a Detroit Pistons basketball game. Briggs said about 500 students came to the event and received souvenirs to remember the game.
“This was a way for me to have international and domestic students connect, but when I collaborated with OISS, it went to another level,” Gillespie said. “Honestly, I felt undeserving of this award because there are people doing far greater work with international students.”
Because Sawyer-Koch wanted to be active on campus after her trustee position ended, she chose to work with Community Volunteers for International Programs, which aims to help international students feel comfortable at MSU.
Sawyer-Koch was recognized for helping care for a Tanzanian student who came to MSU’s orientation with an injured knee. The knee was so badly injured that the student was taken to urgent care and placed into surgery that night. Sawyer-Koch stayed with the student until 4 a.m. and continued to care for her into the next week, Briggs said.
The student attended the ceremony briefly because she had to attend class. They took pictures together and exchanged a few words.
“She is like my sister,” Sawyer-Koch said. “I didn’t realize I was nominated, but I am very grateful and humbled to receive this award.”
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