Spring 2017 Semester Brings Fresh Faces to Campus

While the spring semester means a return to classes for many, for 267 undergraduate students, it marks the official commencement of their AUC experience.

Approximately 35 of these new students add to the many international students who are already enrolled at AUC. This semester, the new international students hail from the United States, Denmark, Norway, Libya, Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece and Yemen. In addition, several international students who originally intended to stay at AUC for the Fall 2016 semester only have decided to extend their stay for a full year. 

For the Spring 2017 semester, there were 806 undergraduate applicants; however, only 454 were accepted. More than half of those accepted enrolled. The gender demographics of this semester’s newly enrolled undergraduate students are quite even, with 135 female and 132 male students.

Warren Butler, an American student who is studying abroad from his home institution of the University of North Florida, cites personal development and his interest in the Middle East among the many reasons why he chose to study abroad at AUC.

“This experience strikes me as having the greatest potential to spur my personal, academic and professional growth of all the destinations to which I could have traveled,” he said. “I'm interested in pursuing law or diplomacy, and studying in the Middle East -- specifically Cairo -- offers an experience that is second to none in gaining practical, firsthand experience."

He added, “I am most excited to be put outside of my comfort zone and be forced to find out what I'm made of, whether that's in the classroom, in the streets of Cairo, or in a foreign city while traveling. The potential to learn in such a unique environment is undeniably thrilling."

For Jana Moss, who is pursuing her master's in migration and refugee studies, AUC offers the opportunity to improve her employability post-graduation. "I decided to come to AUC because I loved Egypt when I first visited and because having international experience will help me in the job market," she said. 

In addition to the many new students joining AUC this semester, one new faculty member has also been appointed: Gerda Heck, assistant professor of sociology and migration and refugee Studies, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Egyptology. Heck received her PhD from the University of Cologne in Germany and since 2015 was a postdoctoral fellow at the CETREN Transregional Research Group.