The International Center at Saint Louis University is
information central for students who are looking to study abroad.
Longtime program coordinator, Maria Bravo, left SLU this summer,
and Ismael Betancourt has accepted the position.

“The transition was really nothing more than Maria had an
opportunity to move to the private sector,” said Jennifer Ewald,
director of the International Center. Bravo was at SLU for 10
years. “She did a superb job,” Ewald said.

Betancourt began at SLU in mid-August in a move within the
University from undergraduate admissions. His job is twofold: to
find positions for students going out and to coordinate exchange
programs, which are one-to-one exchanges with universities around
the world. He is also the liaison between SLU and counterparts at
other universities.

The transition from Bravo to Betancourt happened just as
students were returning to SLU from the summer and starting to
inquire about next semester’s programs.

“From my perspective it went smoothly; we didn’t have anyone
miss a deadline,” Ewald said. “Usually we have a number of students
who get confused in the process. We only had two students who made
the assumption that because Maria was gone they couldn’t get help
with study abroad, but we rectified that.”

Jim Ryan, a sophomore who will be studying in Rome next
semester, said that he went to the center twice and found no one
who could help him, but he was assisted on the third visit.

“Ismael was very helpful,” Ryan said. “He broke it down for me
and made it all really simple.” Ryan heard about the Rome Center
program through a friend. The Rome Center program is operated
through Loyola University at Chicago.

Betancourt worked in undergraduate admissions for four years and
was also a SLU student. He graduated with a B.A. in international
business and a minor in communication, and also has his executive
master’s degree in international business. He is from San Juan,
Puerto Rico.

He explained that this job is different because, “In admissions
I worked with domestic students and here I have the opportunity to
work with international students more.”

He used to recruit in the Southeast and in the Caribbean.

“We want to expand our programs, to give more opportunities to
study in more places and to help students afford it,” Betancourt
said. If you choose a SLU-approved program, your financial aid
comes with you, and sometimes it can increase.

“Study abroad can be very affordable, and as far as experience,
there’s nothing like living in the classroom,” Ewald said.

SLU-approved programs include campuses in Madrid, Beijing,
France, the Netherlands, Belgium, El Salvador, Germany and
Rome.

The International Center can also help you find other programs
outside of SLU. “If you want to go to New Zealand or Australia, we
can help you do that too,” Betancourt said.

Ewald recently met with a school in Taiwan to arrange an
exchange with a social work department. “We look for programs that
support programs that are offered here,” she said. “We try to find
programs of equal calibur to what SLU offers.”

The International Center will hold study abroad information
sessions all semester in Ritter Hall, room 331.

They run different types of informational sessions, both for
students who don’t know where they want to study and those who have
specific programs in mind. Upcoming programs will be offered on
Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 25 at 12:30 p.m.,
Monday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 12:30 p.m. and
Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.