Cornell Abroad administers undergraduate study overseas during a semester or full academic year and assists with program development and safety and security for Cornell colleges and programs. Of the roughly 500 students who study through Cornell Abroad, roughly a third enroll in programs run directly by Cornell while the rest enroll in programs run by other American colleges study abroad organizations or directly in universities overseas. Our goal is a close integration of academic work with study on the Ithaca campus.
Cornell Abroad works with all seven undergraduate colleges. Each college has a designated Study Abroad Advsisor who approves all applications for their college (see "Getting Started").
Cornell Abroad Staff
Kristen Grace, Ph.D., Interim Director
Kristen Grace spent her childhood experiencing different US cultures before attending Bryn Mawr College where she studied sociology and French. Her study abroad experience in Senegal launched her international experiences, primarily in places U.S. students never go. For her first “real job” after graduation, Kristen worked for the Community Development Office of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, further developing her language and development skills. Thinking that if she could handle coups in Haiti, she could survive in the Middle East, the Episcopal Church sent her to East Jerusalem right after the end of the first Gulf War where she worked in administrative positions and as a writer for a year and a half. After her return to the States, Kristen landed at Cornell where she earned a masters in Adult Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. She taught ESL at Cornell and several courses in the former Education department before joining Cornell Abroad as Associate Director of Cornell Abroad in 2003. Kristen is currently serving as Interim Director. (email) (more)
Kathy Lynch, Financial Services Coordinator
Kathy is the Finance Manager of the Cornell Abroad Program and brings almost 30 years’ experience in the areas of financial management and study abroad to the unit. Kathy has been with Cornell Abroad since its creation in the mid 1980’s. She enjoys the challenges presented by working in the ever-changing field of study abroad and the opportunity to work with study-abroad colleagues across the globe. A native of Ithaca, NY, Kathy and her husband Brian live in Danby with their canine companions, Casey and Tyler. (email) (more)
Alexis E Santí, Coordinator of Travel Safety
Alexis E Santí currently serves as the University's first Coordinator of Travel Safety. Previously, he worked in higher education at Washington University in Saint Louis, George Mason University and Hobart and William Smith. He has traveled and worked extensively around the world, visiting over 20 countries and has lived in Spain, South Korea and Romania. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania and returned to Romania in 2006 as a translation scholar. He holds an MSW from Washington University in Saint Louis with a concentration in Social Justice and Mental Health and an MFA in creative writing from George Mason Universit. He speaks fluent Spanish and Romanian and can say thank you over 20 languages. (email) (more)
Libby Okihiro, Academic Records Coordinator
Libby is the Academic Records Coordinator and advisor for study abroad students. She enjoys working with students and encouraging them to spread their wings and experience life outside of the US. She was raised and educated in Scotland and graduated with a degree in education. After teaching for several years in Scotland she became a volunteer with IVS (International Voluntary Service) which is based in Geneva, Switzerland and taught in Botswana at a teachers training college in Lobatsi. She returned to Botswana for a second time to help conduct research for over a year on the Bakwena people in villages on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Libby has been fortunate to visit many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa and continues to enjoy travelling. Ithaca is the coldest (but one of the friendliest) places she has ever lived! (email) (more)
Ann Hoover, Program Advisor and Publication Coordinator
Ann is a program advisor and publication specialist for Cornell Abroad. Ann’s cross-cultural interests began at an early age as her parents opened their home to exchange students and guests from abroad. After high school she spent the summer in Mexico City with her Mexican “sister.” She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, spending a semester of her Junior year abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland. Ann has traveled to Europe and the East Asia and has worked with numerous international initiatives. With a life-long interest in international understanding and experiential education, study abroad became a natural focus when she came to Cornell. (email) (more)
Corinna Lewis, Outreach Coordinator
Corinna Lewis serves as the Outreach Coordinator, with her responsibilities including oversight of the Race and Identity Abroad series, coordination of the Voices from Cornell Abroad Blog Journalist program, and participation in the Cornell Undergraduate Research Advisors group. She worked in the non-profit sector before joining academia, and has run volunteer programs, raised funds from a variety of sources and managed federal grants. Corinna left the US with her family at age 10 to move to Beirut, Lebanon. She attended a local Franco-Lebanese school, lived in the city, and had no other Americans in her friend circle. Because of the civil war, she was sent to finish her last 2 years of school in Lyon, France. This experience of seeing the world – and herself – through a different cultural lens is an opportunity she wants to provide for every student who wants it. When not working at Cornell, she is probably riding a horse over jumps or volunteering for a local non-profit. Her spouse, Deborah Rifkin, is an associate professor of music theory at Ithaca College. (email) (more)
Olivia Hall, Program Advisor
Olivia Hall serves as an International Programs Advisor. Raised in Germany, she studied abroad for a year during high school – in San Francisco. After the German Abitur, Olivia returned to the US for college and, most recently, a graduate degree at Cornell. Trained as an anthropologist, she spent nearly two years in Poland for her research on the revival of traditional food products. Olivia is bilingual in English and German, speaks Polish fluently, and has forgotten a lot of French, Spanish, and Ukrainian. (email) (more)
Samantha Parker, Resource Coordinator
Samantha Parker serves as Cornell Abroad’s Resource Coordinator. Previous to working at Cornell University, she traveled Australia’s west coast during high school. After which, she studied Art, Art History, Psychology, German Language, and graduated with a BA in New Media Design, from SUNY Cortland in December 2011. Samantha looks forward to traveling abroad in the future, and enjoys encouraging students to do the same. (email) (more)
Student Office Staff
Whitney Holman, '13
Whitney Holman is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and is minuting in East Asia Studies. In Fall 2011 she spent a semester in Shanghai, China through CIEE: China in a Global Context. While abroad she tried new things, met new people, and greatly improved her Mandarin skills. She hopes to return to Shanghai for work in business or finance in the coming years.
Lawrence Kogan, '13
Larry is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in biochemistry and minoring in Spanish. During the fall of 2011 he went abroad to Santiago, Chile where he took a variety of courses, including a clinical observation seminar and also kept a blog for Cornell. He has been an outreach team leader for Cornell Abroad since his return in the spring of 2012. In his free time, Larry enjoys cooking, traveling and learning new languages and hopes to go to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
Annaclaire Brodnick, '13
Annaclaire Brodnick is a senior in the College of Human Ecology studying Human Development. She is an avid traveler, and her travels span 16 countries and three continents so far. Annaclaire studied abroad her junior year at Apicius International School of Hospitality in Florence, Italy where her studies focused on wine, Italian cuisine, and adventuring around Europe. On campus she is a member of Delta Gamma, Alpha Kappa Psi, Kappa Omircon Nu Honor Society, and has been a research assistant for many psychology studies. At Cornell Abroad she is the Database Assistant under the Coordinator of Travel Safety. Annaclaire enjoys traveling, sailing, and learning. Next year Annaclaire will be joining Teach for America and moving to Hawaii to teach elementary school.
Meghan Wing, '14
Meghan Wing is a Student Outreach Team Leader for Cornell Abroad. She is from North Salem, New York and is a junior in Arts and Sciences double majoring in Sociology and Italian and minoring in English. Meghan studied in Bologna, Italy through the Bologna Consortial Studies Program for the Fall 2012 semester. She loved the experience of language and cultural immersion and hopes to encourage other students to consider language-based programs of study.
Cornell Abroad
300 Caldwell Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
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