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International Students

Are you interested in attending university in America? Carthage is situated on the bank of Lake Michigan halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee, two major metropolitan cities.

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Carthage has been a home to students from countries all over the world including Tanzania, France, Serbia, Japan, Italy, South Africa, Bulgaria, Rwanda and more.

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Meet International Carthage Students

Sandra Khalayi Masibayi ’21

Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya

Majors: Computer Science, Math 

Sandra Khalayi Masibayi applied to 16 colleges. After careful consideration, she chose Carthage because of all the opportunities available here. Since coming to Carthage in September 2017, Sandra has been extremely active on campus through employment opportunities, participation in clubs and organizations, and volunteer work as a math and computer science double major.

Sandra received a full academic four-year Zawadi Merit scholarship through the Zawadi Africa Education Fund. The fund works to encourage and support young women in Africa toward collegiate studies and leadership roles. 

Torn between a career in either software or aerospace engineering, Carthage’s Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium program with NASA was one of Sandra’s main reasons for choosing Carthage.

“I call it ‘my bridge to NASA,’” Sandra said. “The program gives me an opportunity to explore a dream career that I wasn’t sure about before coming to Carthage.”

Sandra has connected with the Carthage community through various clubs and organizations that she enjoys immensely. She is the secretary of the United Women of Color and a member of the Black Student Union and Carthage Woods and Waters Club.

Through her involvement in the Woods and Waters Club, Sandra was able to experience skiing for the first time at Cascade Mountain, a ski resort in Portage, Wisconsin.  

“That was my first time skiing and I loved it,” she said. “Though I fell so many times while learning, I have grown to love skiing.”


John Nykyforuk ’21

Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Major: Biology (Pre-med) 

International Student

Traveling from the mountains, trails, and parklands of his home in Alberta, Canada, John Nykyforuk was instantly attracted to the lakeviews and arboretum that make up Carthage’s campus. Back home, John spends a large amount of his time outside and is no stranger to cold winters.

“I love spending time in the mountains hiking through nature,” he said. 

The temperature regularly drops below -20 during winters in Calgary, leaving him with no worries for the icy weather in Kenosha come December.

In his academic career at Carthage, John has immersed himself in the Biology Department. Through a unique SEA Phages course offered at Carthage, John and other selected freshman biology majors were able to study bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses, found in Lake Michigan. Because of their great work, John was able to travel Ashburn, Virginia, to present their research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He plans to go into the medical field after graduation. 

John is also an avid tennis player on the Carthage men’s team and back home in Canada. Throughout the season, John made some of his favorite Carthage memories while practicing and competing with the team. During the summer, John continues to play while also working as a tennis coach back home.

Magdalene Odhiambo ’16

Hometown: Kisumu, Kenya
Major: International Political Economy

Magdalene OdhiamboBesides the climate, Magdalene Odhiambo ’16 notices one clear difference between Carthage and the schools in which she has studied: class size. At the high school she attended in the Western part of Kenya, classes normally had approximately 70 students. At Carthage, where the average class size is 17, she has been impressed by the small class sizes that allow one-on-one interaction with professors and classmates.

“It was even better than I expected,” Magdalene said. “This is a luxury enjoyed back home, mainly by private-school students.”

With plans to major in International Political Economy, Magdalene is taking advantage of the liberal arts education offered at Carthage to study everything from religion to microeconomics to yoga. For the summer, she hopes to pursue internship opportunities.

She is a member of Carthage Model United Nations and the International Friendship Society. She was a delegate in the annual American Model United Nations conference in Chicago and was involved in the Model UN high school conference at Carthage.

In high school, Magdalene was an ardent badminton player, which earned her a place on the school team. During her gap year after high school, she took up volunteering at a home for orphans and children with AIDS.

“You could feel that affected a child’s life positively,” she said.

Magdalene received a full academic scholarship to Carthage through the Zawadi Africa Education Fund, Kenya. She is eloquent in English, thanks to the strong emphasis on the importance of education in her homeland, but family conversation can bounce among four tribal languages.

She shared some of that cultural knowledge by teaching basic Swahili to those who attended the annual International Dinner. It gives her a sense of satisfaction to hear people around campus try to greet her in Swahili — even when those greetings are mispronounced.

 

  • Quick Facts

    • Carthage is named a Best Midwestern College by The Princeton Review (2019), a designation given to only 25 percent of four-year schools.

    • The Tower, Carthage’s newest residence hall, provides some of the best views on campus — if not in the Midwest! In addition to #carthageviews of the lake from seven stories up, residents enjoy suite-style living and two floors of shared campus spaces for gaming, cooking, group meetings, or quiet studying. Learn more about all housing options.

    • You’re going to need brain fuel. Grab a morning coffee and a snack and Starbucks or Einstein Bros. Bagels. Later, meet friends at “The Caf,” where the specials change daily but the staples are constant, or swing through “The Stu” for wings, a burrito, or a sub. A new option, Carthage Cash, even covers some off-campus meals.

    • 96% of Carthage alumni report that they have secured a job or are continuing their studies six months after graduation. Visit Career Services.

    • 91% of employers say critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills matter more than your major when it comes to career success. Learn more about how the liberal arts prepare you for a successful career.

    • Lots of schools wear the four-year label. Carthage stands behind it. 95% of Carthage graduates earn their degrees in four years. Learn more

    • Oscars. Emmys. Tonys. Golden Globes. The playwrights we’ve brought in have them. Each year, the Carthage Theatre Department commissions an original script by a renowned playwright for its New Play Initiative. Carthage students then work with the writer to stage it. 

    • Carthage has been named a top producer of Fulbright Fellows three years running: 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018. Read about Carthage Fulbright winners.

    • Things look new at Carthage because they are. Our science center, student union, athletic and recreation center, and numerous residence halls have all been constructed or newly renovated in the last 15 years.

    • Carthage offers majors, minors and concentrations in more than 50 areas of study, from archaeology to neuroscience, nursing to music theatre.

    • Our Summer Undergraduate Research Experience offers select students a research budget, one-on-one mentoring with a professor, and 10 weeks of analyzing, deciphering — and getting paid.

    • So the lake is kind of a focal point, but there’s a lot more to love about our campus — like the fact that our more than 80-acre campus is also an arboretum and wildlife sanctuary. Focused on keeping campus lush forever, we plant between 50 and 75 new trees every year from a variety of species.

    • Carthage was founded in 1847. That’s more than 170 years of leaders, makers, and go-getters going out and going forth. Read more about Carthage’s rich history.

    • More than 90 percent of students receive financial aid. Carthage awards more than $20 million in scholarship and grant assistance. That includes $5.5 million in competitive scholarships in business, mathematics, science, languages, the fine arts, leadership, and overall academic strength. Learn what’s available.

    • Abraham Lincoln was an early Trustee of the College, and U.S. Secretary of State John Hay was a Carthage alum. The two still have a proud place on our campus. Spend some time with them in our Sesquicentennial Plaza. On warm days you’ll find professors leading their classes here.

    • Come to Carthage; hear yourself think — think … think …
      Legend has it that Sesquicentennial Plaza holds a perfect echo. Just stand with both your feet on the “1847,” face Straz, and start talking. “You’re the only one who can hear you, but you’ll be crystal clear,” promises English and theatre alumna Mikaley Osley.

    • Our Great Lake provides Carthage students with some amazing views. Think classes on the beach, lake views from the lab, and sunrises from your dorm room. “I love waking up in the morning with the sun shining off the lake. Nothing compares to the view in the morning,” recalls biology and neuroscience major Ann O’Leary.

    • Carthage awards up to 35 Presidential Scholarships each year, which range from 75% tuition up to full tuition, room, and board. Learn more.

    • For a full decade, NASA has selected Carthage students to conduct research aboard its zero-gravity aircraft. Lately, the stakes have risen. A team of underclassmen is grinding to prepare a tiny but powerful Earth-imaging satellite for launch to the International Space Station. Learn more about the space sciences at Carthage

    • Carthage is the only college or university in the Midwest where every freshman takes a full-year sequence of foundational texts of the Western intellectual tradition. Learn about the Carthage core.

    • With a student-faculty ratio of 12:1, your professors will know who you are. They will also know who you want to be — and how to get you there. Meet our faculty.

    • There are more than 120 student organizations on campus, from Amnesty International to Fencing to Frisbee, Chem Club to Stand Up Comedy. See how easy it is to get involved.

    • True story: There are more than 27 art galleries, a dozen museums, and nine theatres within 25 miles of Carthage. Some highlights: The nationally recognized Racine Art Museum, the world-renowned Art Institute of Chicago, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Learn more about our location.

    • What’s better than one professor? Two professors. What’s better than two professors? Two professors from totally different fields teaching a single class. There’s debate. Discussion. Differing perspectives. This is where the magic happens. That’s why every student takes a Carthage Symposium.

    • You can’t hide here — not with only 17 other students in the classroom with you. That’s going to be rough some mornings. But later, when you’re able to argue your point of view thoughtfully, express your opinions succinctly, and meet challenges head-on, without fear … Yep, you’ll thank us.

    • Carthage is ranked No. 5 in the country for student participation in short-term study abroad. Every J-Term, hundreds of students travel all over the world on faculty-led study tours. Imagine a month in Sweden, Rome, Cuba, Senegal, India, Japan …

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