Some Eastern students will be attending other schools in the fall.

In March, Margaret Messer, co-coordinator of the National Student Exchange program, went to the National Student Exchange placement conference in Minneapolis to place students in host universities.

The National Student Exchange is a program for undergraduate students to exchange within the nation and Canada.

Messer said the program is an opportunity for students to be able to visit other universities in other geographic areas with a different culture experiences as well as additional educational opportunities.

“It allows us to be nationally on front with other schools that are exchanging students, so it gets our name out there on a national level,” Messer said. “But it also gets our students to experience educational opportunities in other universities.”

Instead of studying overseas, NSE students can cross state lines to experience academic, social, and cultural opportunities in one of 200 locations.

Bradley Hill, a junior industrial technology major, was the first student to come to Eastern through the program.

Hill came from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He found out about the program through a friend that was going to another university.

Hill said he has experienced great opportunities both academically and socially.

He is a former member of the EIU rugby team and a current member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

“My school back home has over 30,000 people and it is hard to make friends and here it’s fast to make friends because you see the same students over and over,” Hill said.

Kaylee Babbs, freshman French major, was recently attending Universite de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for the Fall 2008 semester.

It was her first choice school because it is a French-speaking university with a French as a second language program.

“I have always had a passion for foreign languages,” Babbs said. “Anything that can help me learn more about another culture and language is something I love doing.”

Where Eastern Kids are placed

Kaylee Babbs: Universite de Sherbrooke

Carina Bowman: Mississippi State University

JoEllen Campagna: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Antonio Curcuru: William Paterson University of New Jersey

Joshua Echevarria: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Cameron Hackney: Bishop’s University

Derrina McIntosh: Bowie State University

Nicole Miller: University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Stephani Pescitelli: Humboldt State University

Chelsey Poole: Bowie State University

Emily Sheehan: University of Alaska Southeast (Juneau)

Sean Slattery: University of Alaska (Fairbanks)

Patrick Walsh: University of Montana

Monica Yoder: University of Tennessee at Martin

Requirements for the program

Students must be a full-time student at their home campus.

Accumulative GPA of 2.5

Good academic standing

No current or pending probationary status

No outstanding financial obligations

Students must not be on probation, parole, or have any pending legal judgments.

An application fee of $150 is also a part of the process.

Brittni Garcia can be reached at 581-7942 or at bmgarcia@eiu.edu.