Biography: Jonus Cottrell recently joined the Office for Education Abroad in 2023 as a Program Coordinator and has responsibilities within both inbound and outbound programming. Jonus oversees the summer short courses for the American Semester Program and manages faculty-led programs for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he assists with faculty development and the Learning Abroad Conference. When not at work, Jonus enjoys live music, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Biography: Diana Evans works as the Business Office Assistant in the Office for Education Abroad. She processes invoices, reconciles budgets, and completes account reviews for the office. In addition, she finalizes budgets and creates cost sheets for individual programs. Diana began working in the office a year ago but has a lot of experience at MSU having worked as an usher and green coat with her son at football games and other campus events. She feels fortunate to have been able to join her daughter in Sydney, Australia when she participated in an MSU-sponsored education abroad program. During her leisure time she enjoys walking her dog, reading, practicing yoga, antiquing, and traveling.
Biography: Hope Kroll (she/her) is the Student Success Coordinator in the Office for Education Abroad and works on data analysis and reporting, including student program evaluations. Hope manages education abroad programs for the Honors College, Lyman Briggs College, and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. Additionally, she maintains the education abroad pre-departure orientation course in D2L, Spartans Abroad, and serves as the office liaison to Institutional Research, the Transfer Student Success Center (TSSC), and Spartan First-gen Leadership & Innovation (FLI). She holds a BA in Political Science from MSU and brings nearly seven years of experience in international program management at the collegiate level. In her free time, you will find Hope walking her dog, reading, and traveling.
Biography: As Assistant Director for Special Programs in the Office for Education Abroad, Erin provides leadership and direction for all functions related to the day-to-day management of domestic study away programs, study away at home programs, the American Semester Program (ASP), short courses, and new programs resulting from the implementation of the Spartan Global Learning Initiative. Erin supervises the Special Programs Team and serves as the Team’s lead liaison to the EA Business Office and Promotion and Outreach unit. Additionally, she works with the executive and Associate Director on new Spartan Global Learning Initiative program development as well as ongoing quality improvement of program management processes and procedures. Erin has more than 10 years of experience in education abroad work. She has a Bachelor of Arts in German from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and a Master of Arts in Languages, Literature and Translation from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Erin is also a Co-Founder and the current Chair of National Study Abroad Day.
Biography: Benjamin Ladd is a Program Coordinator who works with programs in the Eli Broad College of Business, James Madison College, College of Human Medicine, and College of Veterinary Medicine. Ben serves as the office liaison with Undergraduate Research and helps oversee the Research Abroad Scholarship. Prior to joining the Office for Education Abroad, Ben worked for 25 years as a high school history teacher, which gave him the opportunity to organize and lead experiential learning trips to several countries in Europe and Latin America. He studied abroad in Italy through a National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute and participated in a program in Israel and Palestine on relations between Arabs and Israelis. Ben holds a BA in History from Cornell University, an MA in History from the University of Colorado, and an MS in Global Studies and International Relations from Northeastern University. His interests include running half marathons, studying foreign languages, reading, and spending time with his family.
Biography: Sherry Martinez-Bonilla is the Office Manager and oversees all aspects of the primary office operations including answering phones, scheduling office meetings, and facilitating maintenance, telecommunication, and tech requests. She coordinates office procedures, personnel, and human resource matters including on-boarding support to all newly hired employees. Sherry also assists with the smooth and efficient operation of the First-year Seminars Abroad, including processing applications, communicating with students and parents, and assisting with the on-campus orientation coordination. Outside of MSU, Sherry enjoys spending time with family.