As head of global engagement, Rogers helps students get out of their comfort zone

by Chuck Gordon

At a previous career stop, Dr. Moira Rogers spent several semesters chaperoning study-abroad programs, serving as teacher, nurse, mother and mentor. Every time, when she returned to the University she read the essays the students were required to write and realized that it was worth all the effort.

"I thought, This is why we did it," she says.

Rogers continues to open students' eyes to the world, now as the executive director of global engagement at Wingate. She started in her new position last month, bringing with her nearly 20 years of experience working with international students and sending American students abroad to study.

At Wingate, in addition to arranging study-abroad experiences for the University, she leads a department that works closely with a growing contingent of international students. Since 2020, the number of international students at Wingate has grown nearly 200%, from 127 to more than 350.

Rogers and Danielle Nook, assistant director of international programs, assist international students with any manner of issues: paperwork problems, academic questions, cultural adjustment, and much more. Some students stop by simply to have a conversation in Spanish with Rogers, who is fluent in English, Spanish, German and French.

Rogers relishes the opportunity to help students. "I love students," she says. "One thing I love about this job is that it's not just administrative. It has a lot of interaction."

Rogers brings to the job a certain amount of empathy, having once been a foreign student herself. She grew up and earned her bachelor's degree in Argentina before moving to the U.S. in the late '80s to go to graduate school. After earning a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, she taught for several years before leading study-abroad programs at universities around the country, including the University of Maryland and, most recently, Gonzaga University.

Rogers' specialty is study abroad, and she's seen the effect that international travel has had on students in the past. One time in Berlin, Rogers accompanied a terrified student on the U-Bahn (underground railway). The Germans she was working with thought she should have had him tackle the problem on his own.

"Sometimes you have to meet people where they are," she says. The student ultimately overcame his fear and learned to navigate the subway system.

"Getting out of your comfort zone is growth," she says, "but getting into a danger zone, that is pushing it too hard. The balance of when you go from one to another is different for every person, and it depends on their experience, on how they were raised at home, if they had stability, if they can handle uncertainty or not. I like to make sure I know how to support them, no matter what it is."

Wingate's signature study-abroad program, W'International, started with trips to London in the late 1970s. It has expanded over the years to include seminars focused on countries around the world, from Southeast Asia to Russia to South America, but European destinations remain the most popular. Rogers envisions new heritage-based programs, such as Latino students connecting with Mexico or African American students exploring Ghana.

"Programs should resonate personally with students," she says. "It's not just about travel. It's about meaning."

Affordability remains a top priority. Nearly half of Wingate students are Pell-eligible, and Rogers is committed to connecting them with scholarships so study abroad is within reach.

Rogers says that Wingate's "Lab of Difference-Making" ethos aligns directly with her vision.

"International engagement is difference-making," she says. "It brings people together, fosters resilience, and helps students discover parts of themselves they didn't know existed. That's the power of global education."

Learn moreabout international programs at Wingate.

Sept. 21, 2025