Nicole Desjardins Gowdy has been working in the field of international education since 2003. Nicole’s work at Pomona College is inspired and informed by her previous work directing and facilitating summer community service and semester-long internship programs in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean for college, gap year, and high school students. Nicole has contributed to national efforts to support diversity and inclusion, health and safety, and student development in study abroad through presentations, advocacy, and membership in task forces and working groups through NAFSA, IFSA, IES Abroad, and Diversity Abroad. Nicole has an MA in International Education from SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont, and a BA in English and Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Additionally, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon, and lived, worked, studied, and traveled in 41 countries on six continents.
Annie earned a M.Ed. in Educational Counseling from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Riverside. Upon completing her master’s program, she worked as an undergraduate academic advisor at the University of Southern California for 10 years. Not only did she advise students on curriculum requirements, study abroad opportunities, and tracked student progress towards graduation, she also coordinated departmental short-term study abroad programs and new-student orientation sessions. Annie is excited to have transitioned her primary focus to international education with IDPO at Pomona College. She hopes to continue to support students and their interests in study away opportunities to supplement their college experience.
Before even applying to college, Christine was planning her junior year abroad. That year in Italy and France sparked an interest in exploring the world. After graduating with a BA in Romance Languages and a minor in German from the University of Maryland, College Park, she pursued work opportunities abroad, which lead her to teach English in France and Austria, work as a travel agent in Australia and New Zealand, and run a high school summer study abroad program in the UK. She has traveled to 67 countries and hopes to visit many more.
Melissa earned her MA in Cultural Anthropology/Women's Studies from Brandeis University and BA in Cultural Anthropology from the State University of New York at Cortland. While at Cortland, Melissa studied abroad for a semester in Mexico and during graduate school, participated in two Yucatec Maya language programs through UNC-Chapel Hill. Her experiences during her studies abroad and subsequent travels abroad sparked her desire to pursue a career in international education. She is excited to join Pomona College and the IDPO team.