In partnership with the United States-India Education Foundation in Ahmedabad and Chennai, Ohio State participated in two virtual EducationUSA student recruitment sessions for students in India in June.

Organized by the EducationUSA, Ahmedabad center on June 9, the “Plan, Pack, Prepare: Start Your U.S. University Adventure” session assisted students on topics such as packing, health check-ups, medical insurance, managing money, opening bank accounts, and more. More than 425 attendees received tips from Erik Gaarder, immigration coordinator, Office of International Affairs, and Medha Prakash ’23 to help students prepare for their arrival on campus in autumn 2022. Representatives from the University of Southern California also participated.

The second virtual session was organized by the EducationUSA Chennai center on June 28 in the Field of Study Series Architecture. The India Gateway helped identify panel members for the sessions including Andrew Cruse, associate professor of architecture, Jessica Baer-Graves, academic program specialist, Knowlton School of Architecture; and Smaran Mallesh, co-founder at Cadence Architects, and an Ohio State alumnus based in Bangalore, India. The session targeted prospective undergraduate and graduate students planning to pursue their architecture programs in the U.S.

Cruse charted the path to become a licensed architect in the U.S. and detailed what a classroom of a typical architecture school looked like in “Studying Architecture in the U.S.” Baer-Graves explained the step-by-step process to apply to the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State.

Smaran Mallesh presented his architectural work and successful projects for the clients of Cadence.