Programs Abroad Office Staff

As a Programs Abroad Coordinator at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, I advise students regarding opportunities to study, work, or intern abroad. I also work with program development and the administration of exchange programs. I have worked in International Education in South Carolina since 1998. I received my Master of Education, Student Affairs Administration degree from Clemson University in May 2007. I studied abroad for a year in Belgium after high school and then on a short-term program in Italy during college. I have loved traveling and working with students ever since. I also enjoy gardening and working on my home, spending time with friends, hiking, and reading.

Contact Information
Email: ameador2@utk.edu
Phone: (865) 974-3177

Noah advises students interested in studying in Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. Originally from New Orleans, he joins the Programs Abroad Office from the University of Wisconsin where he worked in the Division of International Studies. He holds degrees in History and Geography and has studied and conducted research in Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Austria. Noah also works with students on scholarship issues and is involved in program development in the aforementioned regions.

Contact Information
Email: rost@utk.edu
Phone: (865) 974-3177

I have been with the University of Tennessee since 2004. As the Senior Accounting Clerk for the Programs Abroad Office I work mainly with faculty on a variety of issues concerning the short-term summer programs. When I’m not in the office I work with Teen Challenge of East Tennessee, and I’m very active in my church. I have a wonderful husband of 16 years and two of the most amazing kids ever born. I love UT football and basketball, music and learning. Go Vols!

Contact Information
Email: lwelch1@utk.edu
Phone: (865) 974-3177

I grew up in Knoxville and received my degree in Education from the University of Tennessee. My family and I lived in Texas and Colorado for 30 years before moving back to Knoxville in 2004. I have never worked in International Education before taking this job in 2004.

Contact Information
Email: cjenki10@utk.edu
Phone: (865) 974-3177

Christine "C.C." Ray comes from the sunshine state where she graduated from the University of Florida with an undergraduate degree in Advertising and a minor in Leadership. While at UF, C.C. studied abroad down under in Australia and Fiji. After graduating in May of 2007, she started working on her Master’s degree at UT in Communications that summer (specifically interested in Organizational Communication) with another study abroad experience to France and Belgium. There she studied international Organizational Communication. She has had the travel "itch" all of her life and has visited many other countries such as: Italy, Switzerland, Holland, England, Spain, Africa, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Greece, and Turkey. C.C. now serves as the Program Abroad Office Graduate Assistant, performing a variety of duties aiding study abroad students and international students at UTK.

Contact Information
Email: cray10@utk.edu
Phone: (865) 974-3177

Originally from Flomaton, Alabama, Johnathan is a travel addict. While studying abroad for a semester in Budapest, Hungary, he traveled to nearly 20 countries. His goal is to completely fill up his passport before it expires. With only 4 pages to go, this should not be a difficult task. Johnathan completed a certificate program in Hungarian and Central European Studies at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. He also completed a Thermal Science Engineering course while there. Johnathan is a Nuclear Engineering major. He is a participant in the cooperative engineering program. Johnathan is an avid enthusiast of international affairs and feels that his study abroad experience was one of the most important aspects of his university studies.

Hannah is a senior in Political Science and Global Studies and is excited about her second year as a Peer Advisor in the Programs Abroad Office. She first left the US on a trip to India before she started college and she hasn't been able to stop traveling since. She studied abroad in the spring of 2006 in Morocco and has spent her summers in China, Thailand and Europe, most recently participating in the Transatlantic Summer Academy based in Germany. She loves working to help other students study abroad and is excited to be back for another year!

I am double majoring in history and political science, and originally hail from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I have studied abroad twice during my time at the University of Tennessee—first on a 2005 miniterm trip to China, and most recently during the Fall ’06 semester at the University of Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Both experiences have proved invaluable in giving me greater insight into both the challenges and opportunities that exist in the developing world. Study abroad has defiantly been one of the most defining experiences of my college career, giving me the opportunity to grow both academically and personally. In addition to travel, my hobbies include camping, running, and applying to graduate schools.

I was inspired to study abroad after my senior year in high school when I went to Haiti for a week to renovate a school. Since that week, I had the desire to do international service again. I looked around and found a great program called Cross Cultural Solutions. I went to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania through their program for 6 weeks in the summer of 2005. I lived in a house in a village called Karanga with 13 other volunteers. I shadowed a teacher, Mama Justina, who instructs mentally and physically disabled children. Some of the highlights of the trip were a safari and a weekend camping trip with the Maasai Tribe. After this trip, I realized I wanted an immersion experience, so I decided to study abroad for a semester in Fribourg, Switzerland to study French. I lived with nuns, although I did not know I would be living with nuns until I got there! It was the most challenging learning experience of my life and the most rewarding. They became my family for 5 months. In Switzerland, I traveled every weekend, and went to Barcelona, Spain for Easter break. My advice for studying abroad is “Just Do It.” Most people want to, few actually do, and then you miss out on a unique opportunity that is perfectly suited for college. Avoid that regret and go for it! There is plenty of help and amazing experiences along the way!

Mona Sheth has lived in Knoxville, Tennessee for most of her life excluding the occasional trips to India for weddings. She is a double major in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Tennessee and will graduate this Spring. She studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in order to learn the tango but ended up learning Spanish instead. Upon her return from South America this summer, her alleged first words were “chicken biscuit and Starbucks.” She would also like all to know that she has finally developed a sense of direction after wandering around the city of five million people. Her next out of country trip will hopefully be to Africa in the summer of 2008.