| by Sayre Weir MAIEM ’20

People

Sayre Weir at UGA Ice Cream Social
Sayre Weir MAIEM ’20 (second from left) helping out at international student orientation at the University of Georgia.

Middlebury Institute graduates discuss where they are working today, how the Institute helped them get there, and what advice they’d give to current and future MIIS students.

My name is Sayre Weir and I graduated with an MA in International Education Management (IEM) from the Middlebury Institute in 2020. My language of study was Spanish and I worked as a graduate assistant for Dr. Paige Butler, supporting her research on cultural transitions and parent engagement in education abroad. I was initially hired as the programming coordinator for International Student Life at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, where I was recently promoted to assistant director of International Student Life.

Time flies, so take advantage of your time in the program to build relationships with peers and faculty.
— Sayre Weir MAIEM ’20

I actually found the listing for my initial position at the University of Georgia while sitting on a plane on my way home to visit family over a break; I was scrolling through the jobs board on HigherEdJobs when the position title caught my eye. The resume workshops and one-on-one career advising sessions offered through the Center for Advising and Career Services at MIIS helped me with strategies for my cover letter and resume. Additionally, Dr. Katherine Punteney’s course on International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) was incredibly helpful as it prepared me with content and context for this role. I was able to reference specific projects in my cover letter, and it didn’t hurt that the final exam was a mock interview for a position working in ISSS!

Pursue Any Opportunity that Interests You and Ask for Informational Interviews

My advice for current students is that time flies, so take advantage of your time in the program to build relationships with peers and faculty. The IEM faculty are incredibly supportive and want to see us succeed, so use them as a resource. Also, when looking for opportunities, pursue things that sound interesting to you. Don’t be scared to apply to things that catch your eye and to request informational interviews to learn more about different opportunities.