Global Envoys: Peer Mentoring and Inclusive Excellence
Imagine experiencing food and culture while learning in your dream country — are you thinking of Cameroon, South Korea, or somewhere else entirely? With the help of seasoned Grinnell travelers, students can follow their dreams, whether to study abroad, pursue global internships, or embark on an international class trip.
You may have lots of questions; Grinnell global envoys have answers! Under guidance from the Institute of Global Engagement (IGE), global envoys are paid peer mentors to help fellow students wishing to study, travel, or intern abroad. Global envoys often have international experiences themselves and love to share their personal adventures, transforming the pre-application process into casual informational sessions with friendly, recognizable peers. Global envoys connect students to global opportunities beyond off-campus study, as well — the Global Learning Program (GLP), Course-Embedded Travel (CET), or even international internships.
“What is cool about this job,” says Taylor Kingery ’24, “is that students recognize you as a peer — they see you in class or see you walking around. And so, they ask a lot of experiential questions, which I like. We do our training and are prepared to answer the ins and outs of applying, but we are also in a unique position. My coworkers and I just came back from study abroad, and so students want to ask, ‘How are classes here? How is it in a country where English isn’t really spoken?’ We get questions about nightlife and our lived experiences. It feels so good to ensure someone has the best experience possible.”
In the past year, Kingery studied abroad in DIS Copenhagen and acquired funding from the Russian department to travel to the Republic of Georgia. “Grinnell is also in such a unique position,” he says. “Funding for study abroad, along with financial aid, is so great that we can reach out and support students who have financial need, as well.”
The Program Assistant for the IGE, Heidi Criswell, leads and oversees the Global Envoy Program and brings her own global perspectives to her work. During the past year, she has nurtured a team of five global envoys from a variety of backgrounds. “Global envoys help students navigate various possibilities,” says Criswell, “especially for athletes and double majors who sometimes believe they can’t study abroad because of time or class requirements. But global envoys are trained to help students of any background or interest identify the best program for their educational goals.”
For example, Destany Best ’25, a computer science and French double major, studied biodiversity and conservation in Indonesia for six weeks this past summer. Next semester, she will be studying abroad in Morocco for French and is hoping to travel to Budapest the following semester and pursue computer science courses there. “I know a lot of faculty involved with the study abroad process, such as departmental study abroad facilitators,” Best says, “and so I thought it would be nice to work and interact with those who helped me on my study abroad journey – all while promoting study abroad myself!”
Before application season begins, global envoys host multiple information and pre-departure sessions and facilitate fun events such as Global Halloween. “Every year varies, but global envoys choose candies from different parts of the world and share it with students while they ask questions about off-campus study or any other programs we have,” says Criswell. The IGE also purposefully allows global envoys to take full charge of the Spring Off-Campus Study Returnee Banquet, allowing students “the freedom to share experiences, either good or bad, that help advise fellow students on the challenges and opportunities of specific programs or provide guidance on which programs are great for specific individuals or certain groups of people.”
Global envoys also possess a strong sense of inclusivity and commitment to students with diverse identities, often helping to identify viable and inclusive international experiences. Inspired by his own off-campus experience in Ecuador, global envoy alum Langston Thomas ’20 hosted three “identities abroad” presentations to the current global envoys, outbound students, and study abroad returnees from the previous year. “He went to Ecuador for a year as an African American man, and that is a different experience than someone who goes as a Latinx woman,” says Criswell. “Your identity can impact how you perceive your global experience, and so he had that idea and made the presentation.”
Best agrees. “Having been abroad, I completely understand diverse identities abroad, and my experience with it has been very interesting,” she comments. “Being Black in Indonesia felt very safe, and it made me want to travel more internationally. Being aware of expectations and cultural norms, such as for being a woman, had a positive impact on my time abroad. For me, Indonesia felt safe, welcome, and warm.”
During the returnees event, the attendees were grouped by their self-described identity, and then further separated them into the regions in which they studied abroad. The space among peers served as a way for Grinnellians to share their experiences honestly and openly.
Now having been trained by Thomas, the global envoys can plan and run this particular type of event, collect data from study abroad participants, and use it to guide students with diverse identities. Within the IGE, Criswell emphasizes, “We consider global envoys as a part of our staff. We value their opinions and ideas because they are among the students, know the current trends, and advise on the best ways to reach out to students.”
Criswell also applauds the global envoys for their constant growth in intercultural competency skills and their openness to inclusive mentoring. With global envoys’ purposeful training, commitment to diversity, and the student experience, they effectively pair impactful peer mentorship with exhilarating stories of international adventures. Your first step toward becoming a global Grinnellian begins here!