Justin Kader

As the Study Away Program Associate, I advise students on Macalester Approved Study Away programs, and I also support the planning, development, and implementation of CSA pre-departure and returnee events. I am an adherent of Appreciative Advising and strive to make the whole study away process–including engagement before and after travel–part of students’ learning and growth as global citizens. I am also very passionate about advancing sustainable practices and committed to making study away more accessible, equitable, and inclusive.

After growing up in the Chicago area, I made a big cultural adjustment attending Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa for my undergraduate degrees in International Relations, Spanish, and Communication Arts; during which I studied abroad twice in Mexico and Spain. I returned to Chicago to teach adult basic literacy before moving abroad to teach English and develop bilingual curricula at a secondary school in Spain for an academic year. I then moved back to Iowa to teach and support international students in a temporary position. I finally settled in Minneapolis where I supported inbound and outbound high school exchange students at AFS while obtaining my M.A. in International Education through SIT Graduate Institute’s low-residency program in a cohort spread around the globe. Next, I led summer abroad programs all over Spain before transitioning to higher education as a Study Away Advisor at Gustavus Adolphus College and then University of St. Thomas. I am ecstatic to have joined the CSA team at Macalester in July 2024.

In addition to my study away roles, I am a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, have taught First-Year courses, and have served on the Boards of HECUA and the Whittier Alliance. I am a proud coffee nerd and year-round bike commuter. I love to cook, play Scrabble, enjoy the outdoors, read and watch murder mysteries and science fiction, and indulge my audiophile tendencies with my vinyl record collection. Most of all, I love spending time with my wife, Jen; daughter, Irene; and three cats, Fuencisla, Dax, and Frankie.