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Pictured, in the back row, from left, are Fetene Gebrewold, Kyle Messer, Mayor Mike Inman, Devin Johnson, Jeffrey Young and Valencia Pettigrew. In the front row, from left, are Azat Jumayev (guest speaker), Shyan Edwards and Eva Fisher. Kristin Conklen is not pictured.
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Phi Beta Delta Inducts Eight New Members

April 10, 2015

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MACOMB, IL - The Eta Epsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Delta at Western Illinois University inducted eight new members April 6.

The purpose of the Eta Epsilon chapter is to recognize, and encourage, high professional, intellectual, academic and personal achievements in the field of international education. Applications are accepted yearround and an induction ceremony is held each spring.

Phi Beta Delta, founded at California State University, Long Beach, was established as an organization in 1987. It is the first honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education.

This year's inductees are:

Kristin Michelle Conklen is a graduate student in educational leadership, of Kirkwood, IL, seeking an education administration certificate. In Spring 2007, she studied in Spain as part of the Western Illinois Spanish Experience (WISE) program. She studied at universities in Salamanca and in Castellon de la Plana.

Her professional work includes teaching English as a second language to Galesburg and Monmouth-Roseville elementary students. She is seeking her certification to meet requirements for the director of grants position she has been working in for the past year.

Conklen has used her skills in language to be a conversation mentor for Western's English as a Second Language program and to be a volunteer English teacher to international students at Spoon River College.

Shyan Rochell Edwards is a graduate sociology major from Jamaica. Edwards said she had firsthand encounters with culture shock, but she has overcome these experiences with the help of inclusive people in her residence hall and her program of study.

The work of the WIU International Programs office has also helped her engage in her cross-cultural experience in the community and on campus. Her campus activities have included being selected to make a podium presentation for the WIU Graduate Research Conference, which was held in March, and this in turn has led her to select a thesis topic related to the LGBT community in Jamaica.

Eva J. Fisher, of Macomb, currently serves as chief clerk of the general studies program of the School of Distance Learning, International Studies, and Outreach. Fisher is an active member of the International Neighbors Program and has worked closely with graduate students in the tutoring program offered through the University Advising Center in Memorial Hall.

She has assisted students entering the university with the math placement test (COMPASS) for a number of years, and many of those students have been international.

Fisher said through her international neighbors program she is "grateful to have the opportunity to influence international students from all around the world in a positive way and to learn from them as well."

Professor Fetene Gebrewold, of the WIU Department of Health Sciences and Social Work, has been active in international activities since he began at WIU.

In 2005, he led a month-long Fulbright study abroad program to Ethiopia.

In 2009, he worked on an agreement with Haramaya University in Ethiopia and WIU to collaborate on curriculum development, foster academic research and facilitate learning through faculty and student exchanges between the two institutions. In 2012, he received a Rotary Club grant for university teachers, and served as an Ambassador of Goodwill to complete a project with Harewa Elementary School to improve the safe and adequate supply of water to the school and to help reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases in that area.

Devin J. Johnson is a sophomore pre-business management major from Alexandria, VA. Johnson attended East China Normal University in Shanghai, China last fall, which is considered one of the top 20 universities in China. Johnson said his experience taught him that real learning experiences also take place outside the classroom.

He felt he not only learned about another culture, but learned to appreciate his own country and university more.

"I am looking forward to additional opportunities to travel and experience new cultures," Johnson said.

Kyle Bryan Messer is a senior management major from Argyle, IA. He studied in Florianopolis, the capital city of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, during the Fall 2014 semester.

According to Messer, "Studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life. I learned how to accept different cultures and be more observant of my own."

He feels his experience has fueled the desire to either work internationally or to have a job that will allow him to travel extensively.

Valencia Renee Pettigrew is a graduate student in recreation, park, and tourism administration (RPTA) from Macomb. As a retired member of the U.S. Navy, she has seen service in Iceland, the Philippines, Japan and Bahrain either as a member of the Navy and as a spouse of a naval personnel. She worked for a semester as a volunteer conversation partner with a woman from Japan.

She is intentional when learning about people from other lands and their culture. She said that overseas living and learning about the host nation's culture has taught her greater independence.

Jeffrey Allen Young is a graduate student in the Master of Fine Arts Theatre Performance (acting) program from Macomb. Young has lived and worked in South Korea, Zimbabwe and India. Additionally, he has worked on missions in a variety of places including a Native American reservation in South Dakota.

He hopes to share what he has learned about the various cultures in an academic setting.

More information about membership is available at wiu.edu/international_studies/phi_beta_delta/Membership.php.


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