Whitney Tudor Sarver, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Intensive English Program
The University of Mississippi 

What inspired you to work in this field?
My love for international education really developed when I was studying linguistics as an undergraduate student. I began working with different languages and different people, and I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my work life. 

What are the challenges you've faced?
The biggest challenge I’ve had to face in my career is the covid-19 pandemic. The shutting down of the world caused a lot of stress in international education that we’re still working through today. 

What do you hope to achieve in the future?
I want to continue to encourage students all over the world to study all over the world. Studying and living in another country and culture really expands your understanding of, well, everything. 

I also want to continue advocating for equal and fair access to educational opportunities for anyone who wants to study in higher education. We should all get a chance to follow our dreams. 

If you can give 1 or 2 pieces of advice to our prospective international students, what would it be?
Just give it a try — living somewhere else, speaking a different language, trying new food, etc. You might be scared, but as long as you are not in danger, do it anyway.