LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SMILEY AWARD
The Smiley Award, which supports global educational opportunities for current School of Education (SOE) undergraduate and graduate students, has been presented to graduate students Rezvan Moradi (Department of Library, Information, and Research Sciences) and Xuelin “Linda” Sun (Department of Counseling and Educational Development). These students will represent the SOE as Global Education Ambassadors through international or local engagement and will be recognized at the upcoming Global Symposium on April 8.
Moradi is pursuing her master’s degree in informatics and analytics and serves as the president of the Iranian Student Association of Greensboro. In that role, she has led biannual cultural and community-building programs, including Nowruz (Persian New Year) and Yalda Night. These events typically allow between 150-200 students, families, and community members to come together.
Part of what Moradi has done is to develop a peer-integration system that supports new students and their families. This network provides these new community members through things like airport pickups, housing assistance, transportation, and friendship.
Moradi said, “What made this initiative especially meaningful was its sustainability. Students who once arrived as newcomers later chose to return as volunteers, offering the same care and guidance they had received. This cycle of mutual support transformed individual assistance into a lasting community structure.”
Sun is pursuing her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education after moving to the United States from China for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has chosen to help international students, who are often viewed as lacking in language skills or cultural knowledge, to be seen as students whose can use their lived experiences to “revolutionize the counseling profession.”
Sun has taken part in qualitative research on the engagement of international students and well-being within higher education in the United States, examining how different environments can foster belonging, growth, and cultural humility.
During the COVID pandemic, Sun led the Anxin Group Psychological Counseling initiative which provided mental health support for over 200 users. She also worked with China Central Television and the digital platform YangShiPin to advocate for mental health awareness and accessible resources.
At UNCG, Sun is currently working with Dr. Christian Chan to co-facilitate focus groups on the career development needs of BIPOC counseling students who are pursuing their master’s degree. She has also presented at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision conference and served as a keynote speaker for the Maryland Counselors for Social Justice Symposium.
Students were selected to receive the Smiley Award following a review of nominations. Among the criteria considered was the demonstration of leadership, innovation, and impact in both international and local settings based on both previous and proposed engagement activities.
