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Center for International Studies

WIU Hosts Alumni Event in Korea

To continue Western Illinois University's internationalization efforts, and to celebrate one of the University's largest organized alumni groups, two former WIU faculty recently hosted a series of alumni events in Korea.

Patti Jones, former assistant director of the University Advising and Academic Support Center, interim director of Western's English as a Second Language (WESL) program and WESL faculty member, and Siyoung Park, geography professor emerita, met earlier this month in Korea, where Park is currently teaching at Gwangju University, to visit with former students and friends of Western. The pair visited WIU Alumnus Dr. Hyuk-Jong Kim, president of Gwangju University and International Alumni Award recipient, at his office, and also later visited with four WIU alumni who are on faculty at Gwangju University.

Dr. Kim has a long-standing relationship with Western: his son, Dong-jin is currently a graduate student at Western, his wife Sook-nam took print-making classes at WIU during their time in Macomb, and his father, In-Kon Kim, received an honorary doctorate from Western in 1983. In addition to visiting Kim and Gwangju faculty, Park and Jones met with Gwangju students who had attended Western for five weeks earlier this year as part of an exchange program between the two institutions. The finale to the trip was a formal alumni event in Seoul, with graduates from as long ago as 1973 to as recent as May 2012 in attendance.

Jones' contact with Korea extends back to 1981 when she was teaching English as a Second Language classes in Seoul. That experience, coupled with her years of working with international students at Western, and Park's many connections from her time at Western, has kept the Korea alumni relationship thriving.

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Study Abroad Scholarship Recipients

The Office of Study Abroad would like to congratulate its recent scholarship recipients!  Currently, three students have been awarded scholarships to participate in study abroad programs for Spring 2013.

Mitchell Riley, a junior majoring in supply chain management with a minor in computer science, received a $3,000 scholarship to study abroad at Anglo American University in the Czech Republic, a program offered through Cultural Experiences Abroad (CEA).

Josephlyn Mendoza, a junior studying bilingual/bicultural education, received the James F. and Sydney M. Conger Study Abroad Award for $500 to participate in the Western Illinois Spanish Experience (WISE) program in Spain.

Lindsey Posmanick, a women’s studies major with minors in political science and pre-law, also received a $500 Conger Study Abroad Award to participate in the Spring 2013 voyage offered through Semester at Sea.
Congratulations, Mitchell, Josephlyn, and Lindsey! We hope you enjoy your time abroad, and we can’t wait to hear all about your study abroad experiences!

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