Study USA | Today at Elon | �þ��

Cross-campus collaboration expands graduate school and career exploration for Study USA students

Collier Lumpkin — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:08:48 +0000

This summer, the Student Professional Development Center partnered with Study USA, National �þ�� Programs and Alumni Engagement to create two immersive graduate school exploration experiences for students interning and studying in New York City and Washington, D.C. Together, the collaborative effort connected students with leading graduate institutions, alumni connections, and meaningful conversations about their futures.

�þ�� and alumni in Washington, D.C., visited American University’s School of Public Affairs, where they learned about graduate education, careers in public service, and the many opportunities available through advanced study in law, business, and public and international service.

Panel conversations

In New York City, students and alums were welcomed by Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business for an evening exploring graduate programs across multiple disciplines, including social service and the humanities. A highlight of both programs was the meaningful engagement with Elon alumni living and working in the city, who shared candid reflections about the transition from college to career, pursuing graduate education, and building fulfilling professional lives. Together, the university partners and alumni provided students with both practical information and authentic perspectives that encouraged them to imagine new possibilities for life after Elon.

Fordham group visit

The experiences reflect Elon’s commitment to preparing students for lives of purpose through intentional collaboration across campus. By bringing together the career expertise of the Student Professional Development Center, the immersive learning opportunities offered through Study USA and National �þ�� Programs, and the lifelong connections fostered by Alumni Engagement, students were able to explore graduate education while strengthening their professional networks and broadening their vision for the future.

The Groundlings award-winning improv training comes to �þ�� Los Angeles

Brad Lemack — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:48:18 +0000

Summer students at �þ�� Los Angeles, joined by a group of students from other summer LA study away programs, had the opportunity to participate in a new and innovative workshop that teaches students how to think on their feet in a variety of situations. From an internship interview, to a job interview, to social and classroom situations, “thinking on your feet” training can benefit them in myriad of ways.

�þ�� Los Angeles Director Brad Lemack moderated a conversation about the history and styles of improv with The Groundlings improv coach Andres Parada.

The “Never Be at a Loss for Words” workshop idea was created through a partnership between �þ�� and The Groundlings, an industry improv training leader in Los Angeles. The workshop was led by actor, improv performer and The Groundlings improv coach Andres Parada. Parada has spent many years �þ�� actors critical communication skills that prepare them for anything that comes up in an audition, in a live performance or on a film set. Actors Will Ferrell, Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph and Lisa Kudrow are among the many well-known alumni of The Groundlings.

Now, Elon LA students have learned how to apply those techniques to benefit them along both their career and personal journeys ahead.

�þ�� Los Angeles, offered by Elon’s ��Ի��National �þ�� Programs, offers spring and summer immersive experiences for students that feature academic courses taught by instructors who are working professionals in their fields and on-site experiential learning at internship sites across the city. The Elon LA experience also includes alumni engagement, community service and unique professional development opportunities.

Based in historic Hollywood, applications are now being accepted for the spring 2027 semester.

Improv coach Andres Parada brought “think on your feet” improv exercises to �þ�� Los Angeles.

Laughter and skill building were the orders of a night of improv training for non-actors at �þ�� Los Angeles.

Elon Los Angeles summer students learned how to “Never Be at a Loss for Words” at a fun, new, innovative improv workshop.

U.S. Soccer comes to �þ�� Los Angeles

Brad Lemack — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:20:31 +0000

Atlanta-based Elon alumna Abbie Skladan ‘23, who is the manager of sporting and specialty retail development at U.S. Soccer, reunited with her �þ�� Los Angeles roots during a visit with summer Elon Loss and local alumni to discuss Angeles student U.S. Soccer’s initiatives in retail partnerships and community engagement. Skladan spent a semester at Elon Los Angeles during her academic career at Elon.

Abbie Skladan ’23 serves as manager of sporting and specialty retail development at U.S. Soccer.

Los Angeles has been serving as one of the key U.S. locations for the FIFA World Cup 2026; Skladan’s work responsibilities have brought her to LA for the duration of the games this summer.

�þ�� and alumni guests had the opportunity to learn about her impressive career in sports so far and her journeyposition to her current . “It is wonderful to be back at Elon LA’s home base at The Preserve, in the same space where my classes were held and from where I began the journey to launch my post-graduation professional career,” Skladan told the gathered group.

Each semester, �þ�� Los Angeles brings together alumni and students for conversations that benefit emerging young professionals in a wide variety of career fields. The program offers an exciting, immersive and robust spring semester and summer program experience in the heart of historic Hollywood through Elon’s ��Ի� National �þ�� Programs. Applications are now being accepted for the spring 2027 semester.

Abbie Skladan ’23 chats about her work with U.S. Soccer with a group of summer �þ�� Los Angeles students.

Mentoring sets the tone for �þ�� Los Angeles summer ‘Alumni Wisdom’ event

Brad Lemack — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 19:10:29 +0000

Elon alumni Landon Kestlinger ’19, Dezirae Zaman ‘24, Frankie Campisano ‘16 and Cierra Seawright ’18 returned to Elon Los Angeles with a wide variety of personal experiences to share with students during a panel in June.

Elon alumnus Frankie Campisano ’16 talks with Elon Los Angeles summer student Hammond Sherouse.

From production, post-production, content creation, producing, writing, directing and performing, the panel offered a wide range of information to students of diverse majors who are in Los Angeles this summer for a unique core capstone course, experiential learning, alumni engagement and community service.

Zaman, who works at the post-production house Picture Shop, shared the excitement of being in the middle of the artistry of post-production. Among Picture Shop’s most recent projects was providing color correction work on Steven Spielberg’s current film “Disclosure Day.” She is also a first-time site supervisor, mentoring summer student Hammond Sherouse at a first-time Elon Los Angeles Picture Shop internship.

Campisano, who served as a selection committee member for the first �þ�� Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Grant Competition last fall, spoke about the wide range of professional creative opportunities that await students who return to Los Angeles after graduation. Campisano is an award-winning filmmaker who often turns to the Elon Los Angeles alumni community when staffing and casting projects.

Kestlinger is a Physical Production Manager for television and feature films at SK Global Entertainment. Seawright, an actor, model, and entertainment and brand marketing specialist, currently performs at Disneyland Resort.

�þ�� Los Angeles offers an exciting, immersive spring semester and summer program experience in the heart of historic Hollywood through Elon’s and National �þ�� Programs. Applications are now being accepted for the spring 2027 semester.

Elon alumna Dezirae Zaman ’24 with Elon Los Angeles summer faculty-in-residence Doug Kass.

Elon alumnus Landon Kestlinger ’19 talks with students following the Alumni Wisdom Panel session discussion at the �þ�� Los Angeles home base, the historic property The Preserve, in Hollywood.

Capital Connections cohort visits U.S. Capitol, gain insight into Congress

Anna Smith — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:54:52 +0000

�þ�� take in the sights of the Rotunda.

On Friday, June 12, students enrolled in the Study USA Washington, D.C. “Capital Connections” program had the opportunity to visit the United States Capitol, where they learned more about Congress and the architectural history of the Capitol Building on a special tour organized by Jacob Stoken ’22, policy aid to House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. After the tour, Stoken sat down with students in the leader’s office in the Capitol for an extended Q&A session, where he shared insights about getting started as a Congressional staffer and provided an inside perspective on how Congress operates day-to-day. After the Q&A, students traveled with Stoken to the Rayburn House Office Building for additional conversation.

Joel Shelton, faculty director for Study USA, Washington, D.C. and associate professor of political science and public policy, and Tom Kerr, assistant �þ�� professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy, joined students at the Capitol.

“I am exceedingly grateful to alumni like Jacob for supporting the ‘Capital Connections’ program in its first year,” Shelton said. “I’ve known Jacob since he was a student in my Philosophy, Politics, and Economics capstone course, and it is especially meaningful to see him thriving in Washington and to experience how generously he is mentoring the next generation of Elon students.”

The visit to the Capitol is part of the innovative curriculum for “Capital Connections:

�þ�� visit a committee hearing room in Rayburn House Office Building.

Power, People, and Place in Washington, D.C.,” is a place-based capstone seminar in the Elon Core Curriculum that integrates classroom learning and direct engagement with D.C.’s institutions, cultural sites, and neighborhoods. Now in the fourth week of the nine-week program, students are busy interning in public and private sector institutions across the D.C. metro area, engaging with alumni, and attending special events and programming around Juneteenth and the upcoming 250th Independence Day celebration. This weekend, students will attend the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s widely acclaimed production of Othello and will join a special tour of Klein Theatre led by Company Manager Morgan Engle ’22.

�þ�� interested in this experience for summer 2027 may begin applying on Sept. 1. For more information about the program, contact Anna Smith, director of Study USA.

Elon Los Angeles area alumnae to premiere award-winning short films at inaugural Elon Los Angeles film festival July 22

Brad Lemack — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:57:15 +0000

Elon alumna Bex Evans, Julia Boyd and Mirai will have the world premieres of their Elon Los Angeles grant-funded short films at the first �þ�� Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Festival.

Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural �þ�� Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Festival on Wednesday evening, July 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the historic Sony Pictures Studios lot, in Culver City, California.

The festival will feature the world premieres of short films from three Elon Los Angeles area alumna who were recipients of last fall’s �þ�� Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Grant Competition funds.

Julia Boyd ’15, Bex Evans ’16 and Mirai ‘07 each received grants of $3,000 for the production of their original short films. Their projects were selected for funding from among numerous submissions received. A selection committee comprised of industry professionals and Elon alumni reviewed, ranked and voted on all of the submissions received; Boyd, Evans and Mirai’s projects were the three top selections from this process.

The short film festival will also feature a conversation with Elon alumni Lindsey Emerson, vice president of streaming, global strategy & operations at Paramount Skydance and Alex Stevenson, account lead at Creative Artists Agency, about the current state of the entertainment industry and the impact these shifts are having on students transitioning from college to the professional world, as well as how current working professionals might navigate the new landscape for new opportunities.

A reception will follow the festival presentation with the opportunity for current Elon Los Angeles summer students to connect with Elon alumni and other industry professionals.

Limited availability tickets for the film festival are $25 each, with 100% of all ticket revenue designated to support next year’s grant competition.

For information and ticket purchases, and for contributions to the grant competition fund, please visit the .

Study USA students move in for a summer of immersive learning and professional growth

Anna Smith — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:38:00 +0000

Elon University’s Study USA student cohorts arrived this week in four cities across the country, settling into new homes, new routines, and new opportunities as they begin their summer academic and internship experiences. Designed to blend classroom learning with hands-on professional engagement, Study USA places students in major U.S. hubs where they live, learn and intern alongside industry professionals.

This year’s students will spend the summer interning in fields ranging from media production to public policy, environmental research, business innovation and community development. At the heart of this experience is the opportunity to gain real-world experience while exploring the cultural and professional landscapes of their host cities, while earning academic credit through coursework.

Charlotte: Exploring sports, marketing, business and beyond

Study USA and SBI students attend a Welcome Mixer sponsored by Foster Flats

As students arrived in the South End of Charlotte, they were welcomed by Director of Elon Charlotte Karen Neff and Program Assistant Emma Hash. This summer marks an especially exciting chapter for the Queen City site, as it hosts Study USA students while also launching the inaugural Summer Business Institute (SBI).

The new 10‑week SBI offers Elon students the opportunity to earn a Business Administration minor in a single summer through an immersive blend of coursework, professional development, and experiential learning.

Study USA students will pair their internships with a dynamic geography course taught by Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies Ryan Kirk. Through fieldwork and urban exploration, students will examine Charlotte’s growth, infrastructure, and identity, gaining a deeper understanding of how the city became the economic and cultural hub it is today.

SBI students will balance four business courses with job‑shadowing experiences designed to connect classroom learning with real-world applications. Together, all students across both programs will take part in excursions that highlight Charlotte’s innovation, history and community.

Move‑in day set the tone for an engaging summer ahead, featuring a welcome mixer hosted by Foster Flats, orientation sessions, a city‑wide scavenger hunt, and a hands-on cooking class that brought students together.

Los Angeles: Launching creative careers in the entertainment capital

�þ�� gathered at The Preserve for a lively and engaging orientation session.

Arriving in the heart of the entertainment industry, students were warmly welcomed by Director of Elon Los Angeles Brad Lemack as they settled into their housing just minutes from major studios and production hubs.

�þ�� spend the summer interning with film production companies, talent agencies, digital media firms and theatre companies. Alongside their internships, students take a Core Capstone course taught by Cinema and Television Arts Professor Doug Kass, examining how visionaries and innovators have transformed Los Angeles, and how the cycle of invention and reinvention continues to shape the city’s commerce, creativity and cultural diversity.

Move in buzzed with excitement as students met their roommates, explored their neighborhood, and prepared for their first week of classes and internship onboarding. The following day included an orientation session at The Preserve, where students will have class each week, followed by an afternoon exploring The Getty, the Grove and L.A.’s Farmers Market.

New York City: Immersed in media, business and cultural innovation

NYC students take in sweeping city views from their home base in Williamsburg.

Political Science and Public Policy Professor Safia Swimelar��Ի� Program Assistant Hailey Duartes welcomed the students to Williamsburg, a student-friendly neighborhood in the heart of Brooklyn.

�þ�� will intern across sectors, including journalism, public relations, marketing, media production and more. The Core Capstone course, taught by Professor Swimelar, complements these experiences. In the course description, Swimelar notes, “to call New York City a microcosm of the global community is not exaggeration… This course uses New York City as a microcosm to model and understand the diversity and complexity of global humanity.” �þ�� will explore the diversity of values that New Yorkers hold and examine important social, political, and religious issues at play throughout the city.

�þ�� spent their first day navigating their new neighborhood, settling into their apartments, and exploring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Washington, D.C.: Engaging with policy, advocacy and public service

DC students kick off their first class with a guided walking tour through historic Georgetown.

�þ�� were welcomed into the nation’s capital by Professor Joel Shelton, Program Assistant Abby Wright, and Ashley Pinney, Director of National �þ��. �þ�� will spend the summer living in the heart of NoMa��Ի��interning with congressional offices, federal agencies, law firms, advocacy groups, and more.

The coursework, the inaugural Capital Connections: Power, People and Place in Washington, D.C. spearheaded by Joel Shelton, associate professor of political science��Ի� public policy, “explores ‘the District’ as a place where politics and policy meet culture, economy��Ի� community.” Through engaging walking tours, museum visits, and cultural experiences, students will gain a firsthand look at the decision-making processes that shape the intersection of power, culture, economy, and identity in the nation’s capital.

Move-in included orientation sessions, community building activities,��Ի� preparation for the fast-paced professional environments they’ll soon enter.

Grant recipients near completion of films in �þ�� Los Angeles Short Film Grant Competition

Brad Lemack — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:01:12 +0000

Production is well underway and nearing completion by all three of the �þ�� Los Angeles-area alumna who were recipients of the 2025-26 �þ�� Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Grant Competition. Filmmakers Julia Boyd ‘15, Bex Evans ‘16 and Mirai ‘07 are all expected to wrap their productions by the end of the month.

For Mirai, her short film shoot was an opportunity to both produce her original script and bring together several Elon alumni for a Hollywood reunion. Serving in various production capacities on her “#StopAsianKate” were Lauren Gadd ’06, who worked camera, Katie Laurence ’24, who worked as assistant camera, Alicia Reynolds ’07, who acted in the film, Stevie Kloeber ’07, who traveled to Los Angeles from Minnesota to serve as script supervisor, and Dean Karasinski ’06, who worked in production design, art department, craft services and as producer.

All three short films, Boyd’s “The Life and Time of …,” Evans’s “Shadow Dusk” and Mirai’s “#StopAsianKate,” will have their world premieres at the first �þ�� Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Festival, in late July.

�þ�� students explore Los Angeles through art, architecture and civic space

Macy Mills — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:14:26 +0000

This semester, students in the Study USA Los Angeles program taking the LA Issues and Art History course stepped beyond the classroom and into the city itself, engaging directly with some of Los Angeles’s most iconic cultural and historical landmarks.

Hollyhock House at Barnsdall Art Park
Perched atop Olive Hill, the Hollyhock House stands as one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most significant West Coast works and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the early 1920s for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, the home represents Wright’s experimentation with blending architecture and environment, what he called “organic architecture.”

�þ�� explored the house’s Mayan Revival influences, geometric motifs and the iconic hollyhock flower design woven throughout the structure. The site offered a powerful introduction to how Los Angeles became a testing ground for architectural innovation, especially during a time when the city was rapidly expanding and redefining itself culturally.

Downtown Los Angeles: Layers of History and Movement
Traveling via the Los Angeles Metro, students experienced the city as Angelenos do, through its evolving public transit system, before diving into the heart of downtown.

�þ�� Los Angeles Spring 2026 students in front of the historical Bradbury Building in downtown.

Union Station – Opened in 1939, Union Station is often called the “Last of the Great Railway Stations.” Its architecture blends Spanish Colonial Revival, Mission Revival, and Art Deco styles, reflecting Los Angeles’s layered cultural identity. Inside, students observed the grandeur of its waiting rooms, tiled floors, and wooden beam ceilings, symbols of a bygone era when rail travel defined urban movement.

�þ�� Los Angeles Spring 2026 students, Angels Flight is a historic 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles

Angels Flight – Just a short walk away, Angels Flight, the world’s shortest railway, offered insight into the city’s early 20th-century infrastructure. Originally built in 1901, the funicular once transported residents up Bunker Hill, a neighborhood that has since undergone dramatic redevelopment. Its preservation speaks to ongoing efforts to maintain pieces of Los Angeles’ historic fabric amid modernization.

Los Angeles City Hall & Chinatown
At City Hall, students discussed civic architecture and governance, noting the building’s Art Deco style and symbolic prominence in the LA skyline. Nearby Chinatown provided a contrasting cultural lens, highlighting immigrant histories, urban displacement and the evolution of ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles.

�þ�� Los Angeles Spring 2026 students at Olvera Street, commonly known by its Spanish name Calle Olvera, is a historic pedestrian street in El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, the historic center of Los Angeles.

Olvera Street
Often referred to as the birthplace of Los Angeles, Olvera Street immerses visitors in Mexican-American heritage. �þ�� explored its marketplace, murals and historic buildings while discussing the complexities of cultural preservation versus commercialization. The site reflects both celebration and simplification of heritage, an important conversation in art and public history.

Inside the Bradbury building, the five-story office building is best known for its skylit atrium with access walkways, stairs, and elevators, and its ornate ironwork.

Angelus Temple & Echo Park
In Echo Park, students visited Angelus Temple, a striking example of early 20th-century religious architecture and a cornerstone of the Foursquare Church movement founded by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. Built in 1923, the temple reflects a blend of revivalist architecture and emerging media-savvy religious practices, as McPherson was one of the first to use radio to reach a national audience.

The surrounding Echo Park neighborhood added another layer to the visit, offering insight into how communities evolve over time. Once a streetcar suburb, Echo Park has transformed into a culturally vibrant area shaped by waves of immigration, artistic communities, and, more recently, gentrification. Together, the site and neighborhood sparked discussion on the intersection of faith, media and urban change.

The Gamble House
In Pasadena, students visited the Gamble House, a masterpiece of the American Arts and Crafts movement designed by architects Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene in 1908. Commissioned by the Procter & Gamble family, the home emphasizes craftsmanship, natural materials, and harmony with its surroundings.

�þ�� examined intricate woodwork, custom furnishings, and the intentional use of light and space—hallmarks of the Arts and Crafts philosophy, which emerged as a reaction against industrialization. The visit provided a striking contrast to Wright’s modernism, allowing students to compare different architectural responses to similar cultural shifts.

Looking ahead: Final excursions
As the semester continues, students will expand their exploration of the city’s artistic and architectural landscape with one final site visit.
The course will conclude with a visit to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. Celebrated for its sweeping stainless-steel forms and innovative acoustics, the building stands as a defining example of contemporary architecture in Los Angeles. Here, students will consider how modern design continues to push artistic and structural boundaries while shaping the city’s global cultural identity.

These excursions bring course themes to life, allowing students to critically engage with Los Angeles as a living museum. From early 20th-century architectural movements to the layered cultural histories embedded in downtown neighborhoods and beyond, each site offers a unique perspective on how art and environment shape one another.

By navigating the city firsthand, students not only deepen their understanding of art history but also develop a stronger connection to LA itself—its stories, its communities and its ever-evolving identity.

The immersive Study USA Los Angeles semester and summer experiences offer students opportunities for alumni engagement, community service, unique academic classes with industry professionals and site-based experiential learning. .

�þ�� Los Angeles students spend an evening ‘Inside the Writer’s Room’

Brad Lemack — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:53:22 +0000

A group of �þ�� Los Angeles spring students spent March 18 “Inside the Writer’s Room” in a unique, creative learning experience led by television and film writer Matthew Antonelli.

This new, customized workshop also presented an opportunity for Elon LA students to learn from and share the creative process with a group of students from other study-away LA colleges and universities, who, along with �þ�� Los Angeles, are members of a coalition of nearly 20 schools that offer semester-in-LA programs. Each semester, Elon LA and these other schools share professional development opportunities for students, allowing them to mix, mingle, network and learn together.

Television and film writer Matthew Antonelli introduced �þ�� Los Angeles students to the life of a working writer in a special professional development workshop opportunity.

Each semester, Elon students explore and discover Los Angeles and the diversity of professional career opportunities that await them through academic classes with professors who work in the industries that align with their courses, immersive, site-based experiential learning, alumni engagement and community service.

Applications for the Study USA Los Angeles spring 2027 Creative Industries & Community Experience open on April 1. �þ�� can visit the to learn more and to begin the application process.

Study USA | Today at Elon | �þ���