For Temple students, faculty, and staff this wish became reality Sept. 20 at Temple’s second annual Passport Night, a convenient one-stop way to get a passport quickly and easily.

About 35 students from a range of majors and three staff members were able to apply for a passport, have all documents verified by a U.S. passport Acceptance Agent, photos taken, and documents shipped and expedited in one effortless process.

The event was held by Temple University’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Fox School’s International Business Association.

“This is a great way to internationalize the campus and create an opportunity to learn about other cultures. Every person has the right to own a passport. This program facilitates travel and exposure to the world,” said Gloria Angel, assistant director of the Institute of Global Management Studies (IGMS)/CIBER, housed in the Fox School of Business.

With their new passports, the vast majority of students said they plan to study abroad; the most popular destinations were Rome and London, where Temple offers programs.

President Ann Weaver Hart’s program to pay for the passports of students who have proof of their future study-abroad plans gave freshmen and transfer students an extra motive for attending Passport Night.

Freshman Frances McInerney, a liberal arts major, said she had always known she wanted to study abroad in either Rome or London. “This event just made it faster and easier,” she said.

Sophomore Marcus Jones, a finance major, added that Passport Night provided him with the incentive to apply for a passport. “Honestly, if it weren’t for this event, I probably wouldn’t have even gone that extra step to apply for a passport at all.” Jones now hopes to study abroad in Rome in the near future.

The process was even less complicated this year because helping Martyn Miller, Temple’s passport agent for the past six years, was recently certified Gloria Angel. The pair’s combined effort increased the efficiency of the entire process.

“The event was faster and easier for applicants this year, with no glitches that I could see,” said Miller.

Temple’s Office of International Services and International Programs worked with Temple CIBER and the Fox School’s International Business Association Student Organization to make Passport Night possible. STA Travel offered a travel stipend of $50, which was awarded to junior communications major Elizabeth Grossman.

— Written by Rachel Knorr

For the Fox School of Business