Kent State and Brazil’s American Academy aims to provide an educational pathway for international students

Kent State and Brazil’s Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) have been changing the lives of many international students and have continued to make education the leading contributor in the development of society. 

What started as a conversation between Kent State’s Global Education Vice President Marcello Fantoni, the American Academy’s director at PUCPR Paulo Mussi and the director of international affairs at PUCPR Marcelo Mira, the vision and inspiration of giving students in Brazil the opportunity to further their education in countries like the United States came to fruition.

Under a partnership started in 2018 between Kent State University and the (PUCPR), located in the capital city of Curitiba in Paraná, Brazil, the American Academy was established.

“I really think this program is setting the tone for Kent State growing their international efforts. We have always been a university that is committed to growing its global education, whether that’s through recruitment or study abroad programs,” said Office of Global Education Global Programs Advisor Bruno Beidacki. “I think the American Academy takes this all to the next level.”

Beidacki, who graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Multimedia Journalism in 2018 and a Master’s of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2020 from Kent State said he has a passion for helping international students further their academic careers. Not only is he a native Brazilian, Beidacki helped the program get started while he was a student at Kent.

There are currently about 160 students in the American Academy program who are studying in Brazil. About 50 of those finished their two-year degrees and came to the Kent State campus to finish their bachelor’s degrees in a more focused field of study.

“Over the past four years, we have seen such success with the growth of the program. When I was a student here, there were seven students from Brazil, now look at it,” said Beidacki. 

For the first two years of undergraduate study at the American Academy, students are taught in English by Kent State professors at the PUCPR campus in Brazil.

While earning academic credit from both universities, concurrently, this dual enrollment program only offers a liberal arts based curriculum. At the end of those two years, students will earn a Kent State Associate of Science degree and then have the choice to stay in Brazil at the PUCPR campus or the Kent State campus.

With only 60 undergraduate degree programs offered from PUCPR, students have a variety of 200 programs at Kent State to chose from if they move to the United States and finish their studies towards earing their bachelor’s degree.

The Voices of American Academy Students

Rafael Guedes Bonacin, a native of Curitiba and junior advertising major at Kent State, enrolled in American Academy in Fall 2019.

Months after joining the program, the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm, which meant Bonacin and his fellow Brazilian schoolmates had to move into virtual classroom settings.

During this time, Kent State stopped flying professors overseas to teach at the Academy, but that did not stop Bonacin from continuing his studies.

In July 2021, Bonacin received his Associate of Science degree from Kent State after two years of undergraduate study at the American Academy in Brazil at the PUCPR campus.

“Having the opportunity to study here at Kent State is an enrichment of knowledge. In Brazil if I were to still be studying advertising it might be the same, but it has its perks to be here on the Kent campus. Learning a different perspective is very enriching,” said Bonacin.

Being on track to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in May 2023, Bonacin feels he would not have been opened to such an opportunity and new lifestyle that he receives in America, if he were to have stayed in Brazil for college.

The same remark remains true for Kent State senior Daniella de Castro, a fashion merchandising major and marketing minor, who joined the American Academy in August 2018.

In summer 2023, when de Castro is set to graduate, she hopes to return to hometown in Brazil and work for a major fashion brand, crediting Kent State and PUCPR’s American Academy for her aspired success.

“I am able to gain knowledge in my field of interest here at Kent because there are only limited majors to study at the Academy in Brazil. This is a huge opportunity and I have found my purpose here,” said de Castro. 

Although they all miss one another, de Castro said her family has seen a tremendous amount of growth and are very proud of her for taking on the adventure of studying in the United States and by following her dreams.

Kent State’s American Academy graduated its first Brazilian student, Alvacir Wesley Kalatai Alberti, this spring.

“Due to the amount of success in Brazil over the years, we hope to expand the American Academy to other countries in the future, giving more students the opportunity to thrive here at Kent State,” Beidacki said.