Cory Smith, Fall 2000

Class of 2001

Study Abroad: Madrid, Spain

With 17 years of international education and teaching experience, Cory holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and Spanish from St. Lawrence University, New York, a Master's degree in Education from Fitchburg State College, Boston, Massachusetts and a Masters degree in Spanish from Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus. She is currently the Director of Central Admissions at ELS Educations Services, Inc. 

As an Education Abroad professional, she has worked as Assistant Director of Faculty-Led Study Abroad at the University of Cincinnati, where she led initiatives in strategic partner planning, faculty and program development through the mentoring and development grant program and coordinates 70+ faculty-led programs annually.  As Senior Programs Coordinator, Programs Coordinator and Budget Analyst in Madrid in the field of international programs she led program development collaborating with universities to create culturally rich and innovative programs, successfully planned, developed, managed and implemented program logistics: housing, academics, excursions and study visits, headed MBA programs and scheduling of short intensive academic programs including company visits, cultural excursions and seminars exercising knowledge and leadership expertise in the international education environment, international processes, experiential learning and cross-cultural competencies in order to serve students and staff alike.  

Previously she worked as a Spanish teacher in Milton, Massachusetts and held the position of co-chair of the Foreign Language in the Elementary School instructional review team, coordinated a Spanish community service trip to Costa Rica to serve underprivileged families as well as a Spanish exchange to Madrid and served as a visiting teacher in Shanghai, Beijing and Xian, China collaborating with village schools and migrant worker schools to share American ideas and methods.  

How study abroad has helped in her life and career:

"While at St. Lawrence, I spent the Fall semester of my Senior year studying abroad in Madrid, Spain.  I was lucky to have the opportunity to spend my semester abroad with my Spanish advisor as my faculty leader, who has become a cherished friend and colleague in the international education field.  The impact and influence of my study abroad experience has clearly had a dynamic and far reaching influence on my career and life. Although change and living in a foreign culture can be overwhelming at times (echoed every day navigating life in the Midwest with my Spanish husband and bilingual 3 year old!), my study abroad was a time of significant growth and one that shaped my career path in international education. Through my career path changes from Spanish teacher to working with program providers in Spain to my position on the university side as Assistant Director of Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programming, I am continuously grateful for the foundation and support that I received, and have been able to model, through my own study abroad experience at St. Lawrence.  I often advise students and remind faculty leaders that faculty-led study abroad is a short and structured glimpse of what our global world has to offer.  My abroad experience at SLU prepared me to be a leader in my field with the understanding and skills to effectively and positively navigate across different cultures, something that is crucial in any career."

2000