Kallan Picha lived in three states and three continents by the time she was five. She grew up mostly in Bavaria, Germany, where she learned to speak fluent German. Picha’s parents went to Moldova for the Peace Corps at 60 years old and instilled a love of travel in her, which led her to pursue traveling in her career. In total, Picha has traveled to 38 countries.
Picha officially started her position at UP as director of Studies Abroad in July and is excited to expand the programs, make studying abroad accessible to all students and add more mental health resources for students abroad.
In college, she studied abroad three times, traveling to Ireland, Austria and Germany. After graduating from Hastings College in Nebraska with an international business degree, Picha went to graduate school at Indiana University. During graduate school, she studied abroad four more times in Germany, Brussels and Prague.
Picha points out the trinket in the middle as one of her favorites. It is an "evil eye" Picha found in Turkey which, in some cultures, is supposed to ward off evil. Because the piece is also considered a bridge between Asia and Europe, Picha attached two magnets on opposite sides of the eye, one from Hong Kong and one from Switzerland.
“I really encourage people not to be anxious or afraid of going somewhere that might seem a little bit outside of your comfort zone — it’s really made me grow as a person,” Picha said. “I really considered myself as an introvert until I was about 20, and study abroad really brought out a different side of my personality and pushed me in ways that I couldn’t have even imagined.”
Picha hopes to bring more inclusion into the Studies Abroad Program at UP. Many students struggle with leaving for a whole semester or summer, so Picha is going to include more short-term options. One of her main focuses is expanding options in Latin America and Asia, including Brazil, Argentina, China and Vietnam.
“I’m here to try and give all students, no matter how much money they have, or how much time they have, something that they have access too,” Picha said. “I’m really hoping to increase access for students who maybe wouldn’t have been able to go on the Salzburg year.”
One of Picha’s goals is to expand study abroad programs to places outside of Europe. Picha was not able to travel outside of Europe much during her college years, and she wants students to be able to travel anywhere in the world.
As an experienced traveler, Picha understands the anxieties that come along with studying abroad, and she wants to do everything she can to make students feel more comfortable. She has been working with Active Minds, a club that supports mental health awareness, to increase resources for mental health while students are abroad.
Last year was the first year that Active Minds had a chapter at UP’s campus in Salzburg. This year, Picha has institutionalized it and given the program a budget with three student leaders. Picha is trying to expand this to other universities that UP students study abroad at well.
Each trinket in Picha's collection behind her desk comes from one of the 38 countries she has traveled to or lived in.
Before coming to UP, Picha was the director of global programs for the business school at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She was able to travel all over the world with students at Pepperdine including Japan, Turkey, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.
“I went to the UAE (United Arab Emirates)...two summers in a row with students and that was really fascinating. It’s like no other place on earth, almost like being on mars because we landed in a sandstorm and it was like 120 degrees in the shade and our shoes were like melting,” Picha said about one of her favorite trips.
Ana Teves-Castro, a student at Pepperdine, has traveled abroad many times. Teves-Castro said she was greatly impacted by Picha during her time at Pepperdine, and emphasized how helpful Picha was to all students.
“She (Picha) helped me in various occasions writing letters to my advisors and even the VA (Veteran Affairs) in order to make my global trip happen, advocating my global academic needs,” Teves-Castro said in an email. “Because of her advocacy skills, I was accepted in(to) a global program that was very hard to get into.”
Eduardo Contreras, assistant provost for international education, was part of the hiring committee for Picha and is excited about Picha’s focus on UP’s mission.
A corner of Picha's collection is dedicated to items she gathered from her travels through Latin American countries.
“She did a really good job during her on-campus interview of presenting the university's mission and how study abroad should fit into that mission, so she was really mindful of the importance of access to students from all majors and backgrounds to study abroad,” Contreras said
Picha hopes to use her enthusiasm for UP and her study abroad experiences to impact the campus community.
“I love UP, I love Portland…Every single student and faculty member that I have met with, you can tell that they really love being here and that they are here because they care, and they have been very supportive.” Picha said.
Fiona O'Brien is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at obrienf21@up.edu.
