From left to right: Madison Nowlin, Casey Mallon and Connor Kilgore

Three CIB executive officers are among eight students who will represent Coastal Carolina University at the world’s largest thematic student festival in Norway. Madison Nowlin, Casey Mallon and Connor Kilgore will participate in the International Student Festival in Trondheim (ISFiT) from February 9 to 19, 2017. All three students have received funding from the government of Norway to attend the event, and will be led by CCU professors Richard Aidoo and Mariam Dekanozishvili.

Past ISFiT gatherings have included keynote speeches from world-renowned figures, including the Dalai Lama and the Reverend Desmond Tutu. Former US President Bill Clinton addressed the gathering in 2009. This year’s ISFiT theme is discrimination, with dozens of workshops and lectures on this important topic. The CIB officers hope to bring issues around security to the table during discussions on discrimination, on both the national and international levels. Participants from more than 100 countries are expected to be present during the proceedings.

All three CIB officers shared their excitement about their upcoming international trip. Connor Kilgore is the CIB’s Recruitment Officer, having been in the organization’s Executive Team for over a year. “I am excited to have the privilege to attend and participate in the 2017 ISFIT”, he said, adding that he hoped “to gain insight on foreign cultures from fellow peers around the globe, and share that informed perspective with CCU and the US Intelligence Community”. Madison Nowlin, the CIB’s Records Officer, said: “I am excited to attend ISFiT 2017 because I have never been outside the United States. Being exposed to different cultures is essential to my education”. Casey Mallon, who serves as the CIB’s Financial Officer spoke of her excitement “to visit Norway and get to know other students from around the world. American politics have been so hectic the past few days and it is all my friends have been able to talk about”, said Mallon, and continued: “I cannot wait to hear what students from other countries have to say about the recent events” in the United States.

Nowlin, who has selected to participate in the workshop on Family, said she was looking forward to “get to know people with different world views and perspectives”. Kilgore will be attending the workshop on science, which he described as “highly important due to the prominent place of science and technology in the modern world”. Mallon chose to take part in the workshop on religion, which directly ties in to her current research, she said. “My current research goal is to identify trends between religious discrimination and religious extremism, but this may change over the course of the festival”, added the CIB Financial Officer.

The CIB wishes to thank the Government of Norway and Professors Richard Aidoo and Mariam Dekanozishvili for their support and leadership.