As Assistant Director of International Student Initiatives, Kamelia Turcotte helps support the University’s efforts to ensure the successful academic and personal experience of all international students at BU. She partners with academic and administrative units on Boston University’s Charles River and Medical Campuses to help facilitate student interactions and engagement, ensuring they are successfully navigating and thriving in multicultural classrooms. Kamelia serves as a lead cultural mentor on campus and helps identify, develop, and oversee new program opportunities that further the efforts of Global Programs to support and promote BU’s global engagement.

She brings 10 years of higher education experience as a researcher, consultant, and student advisor. Prior to joining BU Global Programs, Kamelia spearheaded support activities for more than 11,000 international students and scholars at Northeastern University, including advising, regulatory compliance, and intercultural programming.

Prior to Northeastern, she worked as a consultant at a higher education advisory firm, where she led research and analysis efforts focused on topics such as institutional brand strength, program and market assessment, and international student recruitment.

Kamelia holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Suffolk University and a Master of Business Administration from Bentley University. She is originally from Bulgaria, one of Europe’s oldest countries and the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet. Kamelia studied abroad in Beijing, China during college, and she enjoys travelling globally, as well as exploring the beaches and the trails of New England.