Springboard to the World: Jonathan Cassidy ‘19, ‘22MEd
Jonathan Cassidy ‘19, ‘22MEd found his love of travel as a child. His passion to explore and learn from other cultures and places is what ultimately led him to Arcadia’s campus. Having graduated in 2019 from the University, he now works and teaches within the School of Global Business. He works as the Administrative Coordinator for the School of Global Business and has earned his Masters of Education in 2022.
When he was a kid, Jonathan was part of a regional choir that traveled to Portugal (once) and Spain (twice). These initial experiences, and the wonderful instruction of his history teacher Miss Miller, helped to establish his love of traveling. While in high school, he encountered some exchange students that encouraged him to seek similar experiences. It led him to contact the Rotary Organization, which helped him live and study in Milan, Italy, his junior year of high school.
Upon returning to the states, Jonathan had a shortened timeline to choose a college to attend. His newfound proficiency in the Italian language (Arcadia being one of the few schools in the area with an Italian language program), and the desire to go abroad again, enticed me to study at Arcadia. Jonathan goes on to share that his mother attended Beaver College, so he knew of the fond memories she created on and off campus.
Jonathan took full advantage of traveling during his undergraduate education. “I traveled to 14 countries on four main trips through the University. Special shoutout to Professor Rhianon Visinsky (Greece), Dr. Sheryl Smith (Peru), and Judge Christopher Cerski (Poland, Hungary, and Austria) for leading the Preview and Global Field Study courses I was privileged to be on.”
He truly believes his time spent abroad helped fuel and prepare him for the many months of the worldwide Covid pandemic. In the time since, he’s traveled throughout the United States by rail and has been to Norway a few times. All of these experiences aid in his instruction of the International Business course, as, “I can pull in from my own experience and invite guest speakers from around the country/world with unique stories to tell.”
