Meet the RISE Fellowship Participants

Alexandro received his Bachelor of Arts in French from Yale University and a dual Master of Arts in International Education Management and Master's of Public Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. His passion for international education stems from several...

Born and raised in Colorado by an Ojibwe mother, Ariana has worked with and lived among various tribes in both the US and Arctic Canada. Now, working for Susquehanna University in Study Abroad, Ariana helps fulfill the university's mission for all students to engage in meaningful cross cultural...

An Iranian-American who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, Aurian Eghbalian is the Education Abroad Advisor for the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Business. Before she joined UA in December 2019, Aurian attended the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, where she received her M...

Dionne joined Bentley University as a Study Abroad Advisor in February 2020 on the heels of completing her practicum at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. She takes pride in engaging with different communities on the Bentley campus, including co-hosting LGBTQ+ events, supporting...

Jaron Hightower-Mills is an International Services Specialist at the University of Colorado Denver|Anschutz Medical Campus. Prior to joining CU Denver|Anschutz, he has served as an International Student Advisor at the University of Texas at Austin and the International Technological University...

Jordan Anderson is from Greenwood, South Carolina and is the International Programs Coordinator at Anderson University. He holds a bachelor's degree in Communication and is pursuing a master's in Organizational Leadership from Anderson University. Read more about Jordan.

Sandy Wang is currently the Assistant Director of Programs at the UCI International Center. In this role, Sandy is responsible for the development and implementation of programmatic efforts for international students and scholars at UCI, which includes outreach, marketing, budget planning, and...

Tessa Lane is a Study Abroad Advisor at The University of Texas at El Paso. Since joining UTEP in November 2020, she has served as a selection panelist for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and co-manages a team of student engagement interns for her department. Tessa received her BS...

Tiff Hayes (she/her) is a dynamic and collaborative leader known for supporting, developing, and advocating for international students. She has worked in higher education for 13 years, with the last 6 in international education at Portland Community College (PCC) in Oregon as the International...

Timothy F. Bryson (he/him) is a Black millennial educator whose mission is to help all people identify their passion, inspire vision, and walk in their purpose. He currently carries out this mission as the Program Director of Student-Athlete Career Development at the University of Maryland, College...