ACT Welcomes 150 US Students as 2022 Gets Underway
The Spring I, 2022 term at the American College of Thessaloniki has begun! This term, more than 150 students have joined the ACT Study Abroad Program from 19 colleges and universities across the United States of America. Facing severe snowstorms in the US and the worldwide COVID outbreak, these students made a significant effort to arrive in Thessaloniki this year. They are joining us through two types of programs for visiting students; the ACT Study Abroad Program and custom programs for first-year students.
The Study Abroad program at ACT is open to all individuals who apply for a semester abroad from their home schools whereas the program for first-year students is a special program that is restricted to students from a particular partner school.
Thirty students make up the spring Study Abroad cohort and are from a wide list of schools in the United States of America including the University of Iowa, Texas Tech University, Calvin University, Indiana State University, Lorain County Community College, Case Western University, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Iowa State University, American University, Michigan State University, Rutgers University, Saint Vincent College, Virginia Tech, University of Minnesota and Randolph-Macon College.
One hundred twenty students make up the cohort of visiting first-year students at ACT from George Mason University and Northeastern University. These universities prepare the students academically and socially, starting with special courses and community building on their home campus during the first semester, and culminating the first year with a spring study abroad experience. First-year study abroad programs allow students to engage globally early on in their studies and bring back international experience into the classroom as well as build a strong portfolio of experiences for their future.
After arriving in Thessaloniki, the ACT Student Services Office provides an orientation week that included a variety of activities to help everyone settle into their new home, get to know their new classmates and the ACT Residence Life Support Staff, learn the way around their neighborhoods, take a guided tour of Thessaloniki and try their first Greek foods. Moreover, they visited ACT for a campus orientation. The week concluded with a visit to their local farmer’s market and a field trip to Vergina at the Royal Macedonian Tombs Archaeological Site. On Monday, January 10, our visiting students integrated onto the ACT campus alongside a record number of degree-seeking students to engage in academic and social endeavors that are enriched because of the diversity of our growing community.
