The Center of Global Education recently had the opportunity to send a group of students and faculty to Dublin, Ireland for the 2018 Global Undergraduate Awards. The Undergraduate Awards is the leading awards program in the world for undergraduate students, and it allows them to share their research in a global setting with an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural audience. In its 10 year history, the Undergraduate Awards has invited budding scholars from 333 unique institutions and 46 countries. At this year’s summit, TU students Tori Patrock, Bryant Loney and Jaime Nunez had the privilege of attending with 300 students representing 180 different nationalities from around the globe. Tori was commended in the business category for a paper that described the potential consequences of Brexit in three different geographical regions. After the summit, Tori summarized her experience by commenting, “Not only did I make some new friends, but the UA Summit was an amazing opportunity to meet and collaborate with students about their research. Students from around the world gathered to present their papers, network, and think critically about issues facing the world today.” Faculty members Nona Charleston, the Director of Nationally Competitive Scholarships, and Dr. Lara Foley, the Assistant Director for Global Education, also attended. Dr. Foley was a judge for the sociology category and spoke on a panel that addressed the topic, “Combatting Crisis: Practical and Critical Approaches to Sustainability.” 
While in Dublin, the students were able to visit several historic landmarks such as St. Stephen’s Green, Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Students also ventured into the countryside, visiting Cork, Galway and the cliffs of Moher. The group was lucky enough to run into a fellow TU student from the Law College, Matt Flynn, who is studying abroad at the University College of Dublin with his girlfriend Christina for the year, proving once and for all that the world is a much smaller and more intimately connected place than we often believe it to be.