Nisolo: Road Show and Job Opportunities

Nisolo, the shoe and apparel company founded by Croft graduate Patrick Woodyard, is hiring four new, full-time staff people in the U.S. and one in Peru. Visit http://www.nisoloshoes.com/contact/jobs/ for information about these opportunities and how to apply. If you are interested in learning more about Nisolo, visit their website at http://www.nisoloshoes.com/.  

For a great chance to look at Nisolo's products up-close and make some purchases, be sure to visit the Road Show, which will be hosted by Croft junior Murray Miller at 1527 Garfield Ave. on Thursday, November 14 from 4-8 p.m.

Croft Graduate Helps Launch Map of Citizen Security Projects in Latin America

Croft graduate Joe Bateman (B.A. 2010) is working for the Washington Office on Latin America (www.wola.org), where he coordinates the organizations work on Brazil and does research for the Citizen Security program.  In collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, WOLA recently launched an interactive Mapping of Internationally-Funded Citizen Security Projects in Central America. This web application identifies citizen-security programs and projects in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Costa Rica and tracks over 2 billion dollars of funding across 600 programs.  It looks like it could be useful for a future senior thesis!

Nisolo Accepted into Social Enterprise Accelerator Programs

Croft graduate Patrick Woodyard (B.A. 2010) recently informed us that his company, Nisolo, was recently accepted into one of the top social enterprise accelerator programs in Latin America, Agora Parternships, as well as one of the top accelerator programs in the world for social enterprises, The Unreasonable Institute in Boulder, CO. These opportunities will enable Nisolo to move quickly from growth to scale stage in the life cycle of our business and are a huge honor, as each had hundreds of reputable businesses from around the world applying to be in the programs. He and his partners were also recently named "Heroes" in Nashville Lifestyles Magazine, an encouraging achievement after having moved there seven months ago.

University of Mississippi Special Programs Application Unavailable from December 20 to December 30

The University of Mississippi will be performing a major upgrade to its campus management software between December 20 and December 30, 2013.  Consequently the Special Programs Application, including the application to the Croft Institute, will be unavailable during that time.  It will be available again on December 31, 2013.

Recruiting  Trip to the Gulf Coast

Croft Coordinator of Admissions Ms. Worthy recently spent a few days on the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast recruiting for the Croft Institute. She, along with Nate Flake (Chinese Flagship), Tara Brando (School of Pharmacy), Jordan Troisi (Honors College), and Steven Nelson (Admissions), visited and spoke in several of the high schools in the area. A huge thank you to Biloxi High School, Ocean Springs High School, Our Lady Academy, and Gulfport High School (pictured above) for a very warm welcome.

In addition to these high school visits, the group was also able to dine with some of the Coast's best and brightest students at Mary Mahoney's Restaurant in Biloxi, MS. The Gulf Coast Scholars' Dinner seems to have become an annual event. It was first initiated by Ryan Upshaw, formerly of the Honors College, three years ago. It brings together wonderful students from all over the Gulf Coast. It gives them a chance to both meet other students from surrounding schools and learn more about the wonderful programs at Ole Miss.

Finally, the group made the trip back North to visit some Hattiesburg area high schools. They were delighted to speak at Presbyterian Christian High School, Oak Grove High School, and Hattiesburg High School. Overall, the trip was a success!

Prof. Vogel's Lecture on Deng Xiaoping

The event was quite successful by any measure.  The thirty-five Croft students who signed up for Croft dollars were only about a third of the total audience, which probably numbered between 120 and 150.  There were many students from the Chinese program, faculty from various departments, other students, and people from the community.

Prof. Vogel's talk was based on his biography of Deng Xiaoping published in 2011.  He began by emphasizing the importance of Deng's experience studying and working in France in the 1920's.  Unlike Chinese Communist Party leaders, including Mao, who had never spent significant time abroad, Deng and the others with international experience had a better understanding of how the world worked and knew how much China had to learn from other countries. 

Croft junior Tyler Smith said that he was impressed Croft had gotten such an accomplished speaker, and his high expectations were met.  Senior Patrick Fields remarked that it was the best lecture he had attended in his four years at Croft.

We have posted a few pictures from the event on the Croft Institute's Facebook page.

New Course: Social Issues in the Mississippi Delta

Croft alumnus Ryan Parsons just started a new job as a program coordinator for the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi.  Among his other responsibilities, he is organizing an experiential-learning course, Soc 451: Social Issues in the Mississippi Delta, that will include a spring break trip.  While this course will not count for the international studies major, it is still a unique opportunity that is worth investigating.  For more information, see the flyer or contact Ryan at rjparson at olemiss dot edu.

Boren Award Information Session

Sarah Grace Gleisner, from the Institute of International Education, will be speaking with interested students about the David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships on:

Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Info Session from 4-5pm
311 Honors

Boren Awards provide a unique funding opportunity for U.S. students to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East). The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded.

The Boren Scholarship provides opportunities for undergraduate students to study in countries that are generally underrepresented in study abroad. Boren Scholars are awarded up to $20,000 for an academic year.

The Boren Fellowship allows graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate studies. Boren Fellows can be awarded up to $30,000.

Additional information on preferred geographic regions, languages, fields of study and application procedures can be found at www.borenawards.org.

For more information about the Boren Awards, please contact your campus representative, Andrus Ashoo, at dru@olemiss.edu.

November Croftie of the Month

The Croft Senate has elected Anna Murphy as November's Croftie of the Month. Croft students submitted nominations for the student they felt had been working extremely hard in a class or had exhibited a positive attitude or had done great community service work.

Students should submit their nominations for December Croftie of the Month by emailing croftsenate at gmail dot com.

Congratulations to Anna!

Rebel Global Connections Upcoming Events

1. World Passport Day

• Friday, November 1, 2013
• 12:00 to 2:00. (Will leave around 11:00...still t.b.d.)
• GOING to Green Hill Elementary in Sardis, MS
• briefly present about different countries (fair style with passports) and then play some group activity

2. Map Mural Project

• Saturday, November 2, 2013
• 10:00 to Dinner Time (students can come in shifts...still t.b.d.)
• GOING to Crenshaw Elementary in Crenshaw, MS
• Painting world map on wall

3. World Showcase

• Monday, November 11, 2013
• All Day (activities in shifts...still t.b.d.)
• HERE at Ole Miss
• Potentially hosting Quitman County Elementary and another school
• Field trip like last year. Will have various activities: students representing their home countries, games, football tour potentially, etc.

For more information about Rebel Global Connections, contact Conner Clark.

International Studies Class Visits the Texas State Fair

On October 10 and 11, the students in Inst 318: The Anthropology of Public Spectacle, visited the Texas State Fair in Dallas.  Developed as part of the Honors College's efforts to help students understand the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, explores this course gives students the theoretical and methodological tools to study public spectacle.  The trip to the fair gave the students a chance to observe a public spectacle first-hand and practice anthropological participant observation.

Global Ambassador Program

Run by the Study Abroad Office, the Global Ambassadors program pairs visiting international exchange and intensive English students with American students at Ole Miss to foster understanding and more open communication between these two groups. What this means for you is that you can meet with people from countries you've visited or from countries you have developed an interest in! If you are planning to study abroad, then this would be an excellent opportunity to make some connections before you go, and if you study a foreign language, then this could really help you improve your skills!

What this means for the international students is that they have someone to help them acclimate to life in Oxford by inviting them to social events and campus activities, and introducing them to Ole Miss college traditions such as Groving, pep rallies, Greek life, and local arts. Some of these students have never been to America before!

Each Global Ambassador will assist a group of two to four exchange students and will be paired based on common interests and majors. International exchange and intensive English students come from universities across the globe: China, France, Ireland, South Korea, Argentina, Germany, Australia and Ecuador... just to name a few.

If you are interested in helping visiting international students integrate into the Oxford and Ole Miss Community throughout the semester, and make some really great friends in the process, then this program is right for you!

Our application is now open for Spring 2014. The deadline for receiving applications is November 1, 2013 and the program requirements and application form can be found at this link: http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/exchange/student_activities.html

If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to contact Eleana Overett, graduate assistant for the Study Abroad Office (ecoveret at go dot olemiss dot edu).

Croft Senate 2013-2014 Elected

The Croft Senate has completed its elections for the new school year.  Congratulations to the following:
President - Kendra Wright
Vice President - Alison Bartel
Secretary - Holly Smith
Treasurer - Will Mahoney

Members: Madeleine Achgill, Gage Adam, Conner Clark, Patrick Fields, Landin Smith, Maggie Spear, Liana Tai, Steven Wild, Colby Woods