UW’s Khasilova Receives Prestigious Award for Excellence in Community and Global Programming

Dilnoza Khasilova, an assessment/scholarship of teaching and learning specialist at the University of Wyoming, is the recipient of this year’s Hugh M. Jenkins Award for Excellence in Community Programming from NAFSA: Association of International Educators for her dedication to the international education field for the past 10 years.

The award -- the highest honor NAFSA gives to community programming -- recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting global understanding and international exchange in the local community. Specifically, it honors people who exemplify a spirit of volunteerism and a long-term dedication to international exchange.

The award also identifies individuals whose leadership encompasses outstanding skills in recruiting, training and recognizing community volunteers and rewards personal involvement with international students, scholars and dependents.

Khasilova will receive the prestigious national award later this month at the annual NAFSA Conference & Expo in New Orleans.

Khasilova has worked in and developed international and intercultural programming since 2012. She has developed UW’s World Language and Culture Program; organized cultural events; co-led an alumni and community tour; launched the WyoGlobal alumni network; and helped coordinate programming connecting exchange scholars and international students with the campus, the local community and beyond.

In the past, she also has coordinated outreach events with local K-12 schools and Laramie County Community College’s Albany County campus to bring awareness about world cultures.

“It is an honor to be selected by my field colleagues across the country through my national professional organization, NAFSA,” Khasilova says. “My passion and commitment to working with wonderful students, scholars and community members who are curious fulfill my personal goals and motivate me to create lifelong partnership programs.”

She adds that she is grateful that UW has “elevated me to bring the world to Wyoming and Wyoming to the world to celebrate belonging and build harmony between some of our countries and communities.”

As a representative of UW, Khasilova has traveled to Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan. In the past, she traveled to Andorra, Belarus, Egypt, France, Germany, Morocco, Poland and Spain as an exchange student. She also has made efforts to bring Wyoming to the world through professional and educational programs in England, Germany, her home country of Kazakhstan, Russia, Spain and Uzbekistan.

Among other awards, she has received the UW Alumni Association’s Alumni Network Leader Award; the Outstanding Student Advocate Award; NAFSA’s Region II Volunteer of the Year Award; and Almabase’s 50 under 50 national award that recognizes excellence in international education. She also was named UW’s inaugural Marvin Millgate Award recipient in 2018, recognizing an outstanding university graduate student engaged in service learning and who has made a tangible difference in the community.

Khasilova earned both her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and her doctorate in education/literacy studies from UW.

About NAFSA: Association of International Educators

Founded in 1948 and based in the U.S., NAFSA is the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. NAFSA serves the needs of more than 10,000 members and international educators worldwide at more than 4,300 institutions in over 170 countries.

NAFSA advances public policies that promote international education and is committed to supporting a broad public dialogue about the value and importance of international education. Through professional development programs, publications and networks of professionals, NAFSA provides opportunities for knowledge sharing, knowledge creation and skills building.

For more information about NAFSA, visit www.nafsa.org/.