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About 2,200 miles south of Garden City, New York, lie the hills of Ciudad Col贸n, Costa Rica. Nearly 3,700 miles to the northeast sits the coastal town of Moss, Norway. Meanwhile, a 23-mile westbound hop on the Long Island Rail Road ends in midtown Manhattan, where those locales converge at the United Nations. There, a special relationship has been opening doors for Adelphi students for more than a decade and forging connections around the world, from Scandinavia to Central America.

Thanks to a heritage of global commitment begun under the University鈥檚 first president, Charles Levermore, Ph.D., and nurtured by passionate faculty and administrators, Adelphi has two critical connections to the In 2010, it became a charter member of the United Nations initiative, which brings an annual conference on peace and human rights to Adelphi鈥檚 campus.

Secondly, in 2003, Adelphi became one of the few institutions of higher learning granted nongovernmental organization (NGO) status by the U.N. . NGO status鈥攗sually reserved for relief organizations, environmental groups and other nonprofits鈥� lets Adelphi students engage in a wide array of programs, Chief among them is (LGS), an academic honors community that enables students鈥� no matter their major鈥攖o deep dive into issues such as sustainable development, attend invitation-only events with diplomats and have their voices heard by top U.N. officials. The LGS Fellows program also brings international scholars to lecture, supervise research and mentor on campus.

鈥淢ost of our engagement is in New York City,鈥� said Peter DeBartolo, an Adelphi adjunct professor who administers the program along with its academic director, Associate Professor Cindy Maguire, Ph.D. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 end there.鈥�

LGS takes students to places like Ciudad Col贸n, where they do research at the U.N.鈥檚 (UPEACE). It helps them get internships and seed funding for community projects. It also brings them from places like Moss, where Adelphi partners with the American College of Norway.

Ida Eriksson 鈥�14 transferred to Adelphi and joined LGS after her sophomore year at the American College of Norway. Through LGS, she consulted on U.S. development鈥攁nd her recommendations were included in an official report to the U.N. secretary general. She also researched sustainable development at UPEACE in Costa Rica.

With a , Eriksson works at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia, and plans to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in international education in the U.K.鈥攁 path she traces back to Garden City. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the relationships I made with fellow LGS students and professors at Adelphi,鈥� Eriksson said. 鈥淚t was a home away from home in many ways.鈥�

Current LGS students hail from 37 majors. There鈥檚 the nursing student who attends briefings; the who speaks with authority on 鈥渃onflict minerals鈥� in supply chains; and the physics student whose research on sustainable engineering earned him a ticket to a prestigious master鈥檚 program.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a diverse group,鈥� said DeBartolo, 鈥渂ut each often ends up becoming the most globally minded person in the room in whatever field they go into.鈥�

Non-LGS students can also take advantage of the University鈥檚 global ties, with weekly briefings at the U.N., lectures from LGS Fellows and conferences on a variety of topics.

Then there鈥檚 the National Model United Nations class taught by Professor Katie Laatikainen, Ph.D., interim director of international studies, who played a key role in getting Adelphi鈥檚 NGO accreditation. The course is a rigorous elective that culminates in a five-day conference鈥攖he world鈥檚 largest鈥攁t U.N. headquarters. Participating students represent an assigned nation鈥檚 鈥渕ission鈥� by debating key
issues and policies that concern it.

The course is demanding and offered only every other spring. But 鈥渢he benefits can鈥檛 be overstated,鈥� said Emil Thomsen, a political science major who graduated in May 2017. The Denmark native participated in 2016 and served on Adelphi鈥檚 delegation representing Malta.

Thomsen transferred from the University of New Haven for Adelphi鈥檚 broad international student body and its soccer program. He hopes to use what he has learned to represent his native Denmark at the U.N., a prospect enhanced when he introduced the Danish ambassador to the U.N. at an on-campus event. 鈥淚t develops your decision making, assertiveness, public speaking, research skills鈥攁ll things that are incredibly important in the career I want to pursue,鈥� he said.

LGS alumna Erica White 鈥�15 participated in the Model U.N. and now serves with the in Madagascar en route to a master鈥檚 degree in public health. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that career path is a coincidence,鈥� DeBartolo said.

Ultimately, college is about preparing to succeed in the world. Adelphi鈥檚 global connections make discovering the world that much easier.