From Country Roads to Campus Collaboration Lessons in International Partnershipvon Jill Deschner-Warner,29. Oktober 2025Title picture: HSMW Student Ilian Zalomai overlooking the Shenandoah River, WVWhen I first began exploring the idea of an international partnership, I imagined it as a series of formal meetings, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), and structured exchanges. What I didn’t expect was how transformative the process would be—not just for the students, but for me personally. Partnerships, I have come to realize, are less about documents and more about people: the conversations, perspectives, and connections that grow when we step beyond the familiar.The Beginning The Search is OnIn 2020, I was asked to explore whether HSMW could develop a partnership with a U.S. university. I started by reaching out to several institutions, hoping for a quick “yes.” Instead, I met polite declines: some universities already had German partners; others lacked the manpower to maintain another collaboration. After months of minimal progress, I decided to follow my instinct. In the end, I returned to the thought that struck me on my very first visit to HSMW’s campus—that it reminded me so strongly of Shepherd University. There is a saying that resonates deeply with this experience: “We often look …