Cadets gain overseas experience in summer

University of North Georgia (UNG) cadets and leaders traveled abroad this summer for a wide range of professional development opportunities and events. This included multiple visits to international military academy partners, as well as conferences and leadership courses.

Cadets who gained experience abroad this summer included:

• Jacob Lyons, Ryan McGlaun, Andrew Moreshead, Hyunbean Park, and Colin McBride Parker took part in a variety of activities in the Republic of Georgia. They taught English while interning at the National Defense Academy. They also took a leadership course in Poland.
• Steven Bullock and Yakir Mufson completed internships at the National University of Public Service in Budapest, Hungary.
• William Buettner and Adam Sisson traveled to Andermatt, Switzerland, and completed a nine-day course on skills in ridge climbing, ice climbing and glacier movement, multi-pitch climbing, sport climbing, and alpine climbing. They also practiced with complex high-line rescue systems and pulley systems.
• Mia Libosada and Thomas Samples attended a conference at Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces Academy in Sibiu, Romania, with other cadets from around Europe.
• Ayomide Adekola, Charlie Fendius and Komlan Sogah visited Brussels, Belgium, for an intelligence conference.
• Luis Lopez Montes, Tremaine Reid and Spencer Schwock traveled to Tallinn, Estonia, for the NATO Cyber Center of Excellence Conference.

Some of the cadet travel was paid for by the U.S. Department of Defense funding for UNG's Institute for Cyber Operations, while the Olmsted Foundation funded the Switzerland trip. The Olmsted Foundation gave a $26,000 grant to UNG for 2022 and has provided more than $140,500 in six years for international experiences for cadets from UNG, Atlanta-area historically black colleges and universities, and Georgia State University. These trips, typically one to three weeks in length, take place in non-English-speaking countries for cadets who display outstanding leadership and plan to commission into a combat arms branch in the active-duty Army.

Additionally, UNG President Bonita Jacobs; retired Col. Joseph Matthews, UNG commandant of cadets; and retired Lt. Col. Wesley Pirkle, UNG director of global military programs, visited Korea Military Academy.  

"UNG's partnerships with international military academies and the financial support we receive provide valuable overseas experience for cadets in multiple countries," retired Sgt. Maj. Terry Baumann, UNG assistant director of global military programs, said. "We are grateful to provide these unforgettable leadership lessons and global perspectives for our cadets."