IEDP Alumni Spotlight: Athena Louise Lao, Senior Program Manager at Ted-Ed

This month, I am excited to kick off the IEDP Alumni Spotlight series. In this series, you will get to hear directly from IEDP alums about their journey at Penn GSE, their adventures since graduating, and a few pieces of advice for current students.  Without further ado, let me introduce you to Athena Louise Lao, who graduated from the IEDP in 2017. Following graduation, she … Continue reading IEDP Alumni Spotlight: Athena Louise Lao, Senior Program Manager at Ted-Ed

Top 10 Tips for Navigating the Graduate School Application Process

Happy New Year! As the IEDP priority application deadline of February 1 quickly approaches (although rolling admissions remain open as space permits), I wanted to share ten tips for navigating the application process. For first-gen applicants, international applicants, and those from other marginalized communities, the process of applying for graduate school can be incredibly daunting. Being first-gen myself, I can vividly remember my own sleepless … Continue reading Top 10 Tips for Navigating the Graduate School Application Process

From Blantyre, Malawi to the IEDP: Juston Vizyalona’s Journey in International Educational Development

This week, I am excited to introduce you to my friend and IEDP student, Juston Vizyalona. Originally from the city of Blantyre in Southern Malawi, Juston brings over a decade of experience in international educational development and most recently, joined the IEDP this year on a prestigious scholarship. Throughout the fall semester, I have learned so much from Juston and hope you do too through … Continue reading From Blantyre, Malawi to the IEDP: Juston Vizyalona’s Journey in International Educational Development

Stretching, Relationship-building, and Adventure: Joy Kim on her UNICEF Internship in Istanbul, Turkey

Recently, I sat down with IEDP second year student, Joy Kim to learn more about her internship experience as the Technical Intern for the Early Childhood Education and Care team with the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) in Istanbul, Turkey this past summer. This was a particularly special interview, as Joy was one of the first students I had the opportunity … Continue reading Stretching, Relationship-building, and Adventure: Joy Kim on her UNICEF Internship in Istanbul, Turkey

Introducing the 2025-2026 IEDP Cohort & Greetings from the Program Graduate Assistants

Hello everyone! My name is Anny, a first year IEDP student and one of the five graduate assistants for the program. Throughout this year, you will be frequently hearing my voice, alongside the voices of many guests, in this blog.  Today, I am absolutely thrilled to introduce you to …drum roll, please… the 2025-2026 IEDP cohort. We are tied to be the largest cohort in … Continue reading Introducing the 2025-2026 IEDP Cohort & Greetings from the Program Graduate Assistants

Farewell, IEDP Blog!

The spring semester is over, all assignments are written and graded, the 2nd years, including a few from my cohort, have already graduated. Our last semester was filled with firsts and lasts, and this photo dump will take you on a little memory tour through our spring semester over Valentine’s Day, the Super Bowl, CIES, concerts, half-marathons, Easter, in-class presentations, the spring gala, work sessions, … Continue reading Farewell, IEDP Blog!

Steady Progress

One of the disadvantages of interning from home is that, well, it’s not very photogenic or blog-worthy.  I have no pictures of an exciting and unfamiliar desk, break room or training event to share.  No fun anecdotes of discovering new-to-me cultural quirks in a different country.  So, for that I apologize to the reader and humbly offer two photographs of the Manhattan skyline I’ve taken … Continue reading Steady Progress