Dr. Lee Vartanian, Teacher Education
Tienanmen Square in Beijing, China
REPORT ON 2012 ASIA SUMMER STUDY PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
The Asia Summer Study Program is a once in a lifetime experience for any faculty member. For me, this trip expanded my world view in ways that I am still processing. I learned more about Asian culture and history than I could ever imagine. I feel that it has begun a new chapter in my life and I look forward to more opportunities for connecting with students, universities, and communities in Asia.
That being said, the focus of this report is to highlight some of the successes as well as areas of growth and improvement for next year’s program.
SUCCESSES
First of all, Ms. Boyoung Roh did an outstanding job facilitating our pre-trip orientation sessions. These sessions helped familiarize us with the countries and cultures we would be visiting. Most importantly, it allowed us to get to know each other before we embarked on such a long journey. My only suggestion is that next year, these sessions should begin at the beginning of the spring semester, instead of being at the end of the semester, when everyone is tired (both faculty, staff, and students).
I thought the make-up of students within the group was outstanding. Although understandably tired at times, I thought they did a great job of “putting on their game face” when they needed to. They were natural at connecting with local students and did a great job of connecting with their student buddies. I anticipate that they will be excellent recruiters for next years trip.
Our hosts at each institution treated us so well. The accommodations were comfortable at each destination and the food was always generous and delicious. Although I think we did a good job of showing our hosts our appreciation, I encourage future group leaders to repeatedly emphasize the importance of this with student participants.
I’d also like to highlight the excellent leadership of Boyoung. In addition to being a liaison with our host institutions, Boyoung brought positive energy and enthusiasm to each of our activities. In addition to exhibiting a strong sense of professionalism, she showed a natural ability to connect with each of our students. Three of our students were freshman and new to international travel. Boyoung showed great intuition and understanding in helping keep those students motivated and engaged in the trip. She also demonstrated professionalism and patience in dealing with one of our more needy participants. Her buoyant spirit never waivered and kept us all on track and focused throughout the trip. She was a pleasure to travel and work with.
AREAS OF GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT - RECRUITMENT
It seems to me that the central purpose of this trip is to strengthen our ties with our sister universities, as well as recruit students to Lander, while providing a powerful cultural experience for our students. Informal and formal recruitment opportunities were available throughout the trip. Each university provided “buddies” for each person in our delegation. For me, and many of the students, this was a highlight and allowed for a true cultural exchange and interaction. I believe our students’ friendliness and enthusiasm helped go a long way in recruiting interested future foreign students. Our group was eager to meet with local students and were natural at creating ties of friendship with students at our sister universities. These connections have continued through facebook and email and will continue when these international students decide to study at Lander.
At each university, we were given an opportunity to make a presentation about Lander and our community. Our students gave short (5-10 min) powerpoint presentations focused on different aspects of southern culture, university life, activities in Greenwood, etc. Boyoung shared the video that the Korean students made for the farewell dinner and spoke about opportunities for international students at Lander. I spoke about Lander, using a standard recruitment powerpoint that Boyoung had. Although these presentations were received well, I have the following suggestions for improvement:
1) Share up-to-date video about Lander - I think Boyoung’s video was the most powerful aspect of our presentation. It shows international students at Lander having a dynamic experience (visiting places, eating with host families, performing at Lander’s Got Talent, etc.). It allows viewers to “see” themselves at Lander. I understand that University Relations & Publications is working on a new video about Lander. I’m not sure about the content of that video, but I think it would be great to show as well.
2) Add more relevant details to Lander Presentation - the recruitment powerpoint I shared with the students gave an overview of the make-up, majors, extracurricular activities, etc. at Lander. I think the information was relevant for interested students. However, more information could be added to make it more helpful and convincing:
a. Include caveats of exemplary Lander students who have gone on to graduate school and/or interesting jobs. The powerpoint show highlighted Lisa Brodhacker. I used that opportunity to talk about the large grant she’s received from NASA. I also talked about on of my honor students, Andrew La Croix, who just graduated from Lander with a degree in Chemistry. He worked with Dr. Brodhacker on her projects and was recently offered a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University to pursue his doctorate in chemistry. For a future presentation, I would include a picture of Andrew and more information about Dr. Brodhacker’s grant. I would also look for other personal examples of exemplary Lander students, particularly former international students who are now in graduate school or working.
b. Add relevant data that highlights Lander’s success – I had a talk with a staff member at Shanghai Normal (English name, Poem) who shared with me about the importance of Chinese students and families seeing data that demonstrates the impact from a degree at American universities. Our presentation was a bit light on quantitative examples of the excellence of Lander and our students. We may wish to include:
i. rates of acceptance into grad school
ii. job rates for graduates
iii. college rankings
iv. accreditation
v. student awards
vi. or anything else we can brag about
Perhaps that SACS interim report will have some up-to-date information to draw from with this report.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FACULTY LEADERS
1) Carry plenty of business cards – I passed out more business cards on this trip than I have in my six years at Lander, and that still wasn’t enough. Bring a stack two inches think.
2) Bring your laptop – In order to pack lightly, I brought my iPad, which relies exclusively on wireless networks to connect to the internet. Wireless networks are either unavailable or extremely hard to join in Korea and China. When asked about connecting wirelessly, our host universities always seemed a bit puzzled. So, bring your laptop and prepare to connect manually through an Ethernet chord.
3) Pack light and encourage students to do the same – I packed pretty light, but not all of the students did. By the end of the trip, students had accumulated a lot of souvenirs and their bags multiplied. This made getting from one place to another difficult.
GIFTS FOR UNIVERSITIES
We felt a bit bashful about the level of gifts we received from our sister universities in comparison with what we gave them. For example, the vice president of Shanghai Normal gave us a beautifully-adorned Chinese antique box. All we had to give him was a tie. I don’t think that represents our university in the best light. I know that increasing our gifts requires extra funding and that may be difficult in these times. Perhaps, the Office of International Programs could host a fundraiser?
CONCLUSION
I am indebted to everyone who took part in organizing this fantastic trip. Thanks for allowing me to represent Lander in the capacity of faculty leader. I am confident that our trip was a success and that our Lander group represented our university and community in the highest respect.
For any and all of the suggestions above, I offer my assistance and enthusiastic support. After being the recipient of such a wonderful experience, I feel a happy obligation to return the favor to future international students and visiting professors.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Vartanian, Ph.D.
Faculty Leader, Asia Summer Study Program 2012
Assistant Professor of Education
OVERVIEW
The Asia Summer Study Program is a once in a lifetime experience for any faculty member. For me, this trip expanded my world view in ways that I am still processing. I learned more about Asian culture and history than I could ever imagine. I feel that it has begun a new chapter in my life and I look forward to more opportunities for connecting with students, universities, and communities in Asia.
That being said, the focus of this report is to highlight some of the successes as well as areas of growth and improvement for next year’s program.
SUCCESSES
First of all, Ms. Boyoung Roh did an outstanding job facilitating our pre-trip orientation sessions. These sessions helped familiarize us with the countries and cultures we would be visiting. Most importantly, it allowed us to get to know each other before we embarked on such a long journey. My only suggestion is that next year, these sessions should begin at the beginning of the spring semester, instead of being at the end of the semester, when everyone is tired (both faculty, staff, and students).
I thought the make-up of students within the group was outstanding. Although understandably tired at times, I thought they did a great job of “putting on their game face” when they needed to. They were natural at connecting with local students and did a great job of connecting with their student buddies. I anticipate that they will be excellent recruiters for next years trip.
Our hosts at each institution treated us so well. The accommodations were comfortable at each destination and the food was always generous and delicious. Although I think we did a good job of showing our hosts our appreciation, I encourage future group leaders to repeatedly emphasize the importance of this with student participants.
I’d also like to highlight the excellent leadership of Boyoung. In addition to being a liaison with our host institutions, Boyoung brought positive energy and enthusiasm to each of our activities. In addition to exhibiting a strong sense of professionalism, she showed a natural ability to connect with each of our students. Three of our students were freshman and new to international travel. Boyoung showed great intuition and understanding in helping keep those students motivated and engaged in the trip. She also demonstrated professionalism and patience in dealing with one of our more needy participants. Her buoyant spirit never waivered and kept us all on track and focused throughout the trip. She was a pleasure to travel and work with.
AREAS OF GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT - RECRUITMENT
It seems to me that the central purpose of this trip is to strengthen our ties with our sister universities, as well as recruit students to Lander, while providing a powerful cultural experience for our students. Informal and formal recruitment opportunities were available throughout the trip. Each university provided “buddies” for each person in our delegation. For me, and many of the students, this was a highlight and allowed for a true cultural exchange and interaction. I believe our students’ friendliness and enthusiasm helped go a long way in recruiting interested future foreign students. Our group was eager to meet with local students and were natural at creating ties of friendship with students at our sister universities. These connections have continued through facebook and email and will continue when these international students decide to study at Lander.
At each university, we were given an opportunity to make a presentation about Lander and our community. Our students gave short (5-10 min) powerpoint presentations focused on different aspects of southern culture, university life, activities in Greenwood, etc. Boyoung shared the video that the Korean students made for the farewell dinner and spoke about opportunities for international students at Lander. I spoke about Lander, using a standard recruitment powerpoint that Boyoung had. Although these presentations were received well, I have the following suggestions for improvement:
1) Share up-to-date video about Lander - I think Boyoung’s video was the most powerful aspect of our presentation. It shows international students at Lander having a dynamic experience (visiting places, eating with host families, performing at Lander’s Got Talent, etc.). It allows viewers to “see” themselves at Lander. I understand that University Relations & Publications is working on a new video about Lander. I’m not sure about the content of that video, but I think it would be great to show as well.
2) Add more relevant details to Lander Presentation - the recruitment powerpoint I shared with the students gave an overview of the make-up, majors, extracurricular activities, etc. at Lander. I think the information was relevant for interested students. However, more information could be added to make it more helpful and convincing:
a. Include caveats of exemplary Lander students who have gone on to graduate school and/or interesting jobs. The powerpoint show highlighted Lisa Brodhacker. I used that opportunity to talk about the large grant she’s received from NASA. I also talked about on of my honor students, Andrew La Croix, who just graduated from Lander with a degree in Chemistry. He worked with Dr. Brodhacker on her projects and was recently offered a full scholarship to Vanderbilt University to pursue his doctorate in chemistry. For a future presentation, I would include a picture of Andrew and more information about Dr. Brodhacker’s grant. I would also look for other personal examples of exemplary Lander students, particularly former international students who are now in graduate school or working.
b. Add relevant data that highlights Lander’s success – I had a talk with a staff member at Shanghai Normal (English name, Poem) who shared with me about the importance of Chinese students and families seeing data that demonstrates the impact from a degree at American universities. Our presentation was a bit light on quantitative examples of the excellence of Lander and our students. We may wish to include:
i. rates of acceptance into grad school
ii. job rates for graduates
iii. college rankings
iv. accreditation
v. student awards
vi. or anything else we can brag about
Perhaps that SACS interim report will have some up-to-date information to draw from with this report.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FACULTY LEADERS
1) Carry plenty of business cards – I passed out more business cards on this trip than I have in my six years at Lander, and that still wasn’t enough. Bring a stack two inches think.
2) Bring your laptop – In order to pack lightly, I brought my iPad, which relies exclusively on wireless networks to connect to the internet. Wireless networks are either unavailable or extremely hard to join in Korea and China. When asked about connecting wirelessly, our host universities always seemed a bit puzzled. So, bring your laptop and prepare to connect manually through an Ethernet chord.
3) Pack light and encourage students to do the same – I packed pretty light, but not all of the students did. By the end of the trip, students had accumulated a lot of souvenirs and their bags multiplied. This made getting from one place to another difficult.
GIFTS FOR UNIVERSITIES
We felt a bit bashful about the level of gifts we received from our sister universities in comparison with what we gave them. For example, the vice president of Shanghai Normal gave us a beautifully-adorned Chinese antique box. All we had to give him was a tie. I don’t think that represents our university in the best light. I know that increasing our gifts requires extra funding and that may be difficult in these times. Perhaps, the Office of International Programs could host a fundraiser?
CONCLUSION
I am indebted to everyone who took part in organizing this fantastic trip. Thanks for allowing me to represent Lander in the capacity of faculty leader. I am confident that our trip was a success and that our Lander group represented our university and community in the highest respect.
For any and all of the suggestions above, I offer my assistance and enthusiastic support. After being the recipient of such a wonderful experience, I feel a happy obligation to return the favor to future international students and visiting professors.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Vartanian, Ph.D.
Faculty Leader, Asia Summer Study Program 2012
Assistant Professor of Education
Professor Ivy Vartanian
Asia Summer Study Tour ~ April 28-May 30, 2012
K. Ivy Vartanian
Overview
As soon as I signed up for this trip, I became very excited about the cultural experiences offered to learn more about both South Korean and Chinese ways of life, history and art. As I learned of the planned events, such as visiting the Great Wall as well as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, I was very interested and eager to head off.
In South Korea the people were extremely nice and the cityscape was beautifully designed. The most unforgettable experience in South Korea was attending a host family dinner. Jeuin Kim, who also goes by ‘jenny’, is a student at the University of Incheon. She and her family hosted Paizley Ballenger and me for a dinner at their home. After eating the most amazing meal yet in South Korea, Jeuin’s friend offered to play us a few songs. It was so lovely.
China was unforgettable. The traffic was so busy and markets were so full of people that is definitely gave me an idea of how many people populate the country. My favorite was the visit to the Shanghai Museum. I loved the furniture and fashions on display!! My least favorite was haggling while shopping. It can be a little overwhelming. It was also quite smoggy in areas within China, which made it difficult to be outside for long periods of time compared to South Carolina. Even though I wasn’t used to it, I appreciated the haggling and area because it allowed me a new experience from one I was used to. This is the exact reason I wanted to join this study tour, to truly learn and experience a new place. The visit of ancient temples, the great wall, the terracotta warriors, and the sites of people and markets were spectacular and unforgettable.
This has been a trip of a lifetime and I would recommend this trip to anyone!!!!
The main suggestions I would make for future trips:
-Consider preparing university gifts ahead of time, as opposed to having students buy many different things. The gifts that we brought for helpers and officials were more casual than the gifts that they offered for us.
-Encourage all travelers to bring laptops, and inform them that many places have only land-line access to the internet and not wi-fi. (It was helpful to have computer science majors with us, to help make connections on laptops, but that was pure luck)
-Build in blog update time into the schedule, most nights did not allow much time to truly update blog, journal as well as wash clothes…
-Bring many business cards to trade
-Add to the Lander presentation: statistics of what are future prospects for Lander students. Make sure that the group understands the objectives for presentations, I feel that university and student presentations could have been more informative toward the objectives of the trip if they would have been more informative of the goal of the trip.
-The group needed a free-day perhaps the third weekend. I believe energy became very low the last week of the trip, and a free day each weekend would have helped.
-Make sure that everyone knows that what luggage you bring, there may be times throughout the trip that you will have to move it up and down stairs, as well as sleep with it on a train if needed.
University of Incheon:
The students and faculty as well as administration were very friendly and welcoming at the University of Incheon. The guesthouse was extremely comfortable and it was a nice convenience to have a washing machine for clothes. The student presentations by the Korean students were informative and helpful. It was nice hearing from them, it made it possible to warm up to them and get to know them better.
The visit around the Songdo area was nice, but we were a bit rushed on the tour of the City Museum. There was a lot to read and see in order to understand the development of the area.
I really appreciated the Hyundai Steel tour, however it was my least favorite of the IU stay. It was amazing to watch the glowing steel be flattened into a long spool of steel.
The visit to the DMZ was neat. I thought that our tour guide on the bus was very polite and informative about where we were going and what significance it has had on the relationship and culture of the areas of North and South Korea.
Temple Stay:
The temple stay was one of my favorite experiences. We learned meditation techniques, a formal eating ceremony, and we completed 108 bows after waking up at the crack of dawn to a tapping rhythm outside. We had an unforgettable climb up a path on the mountain to take in the spectacular view.
Sungsoo High School, Chuncheon:
The welcome dinner was spectacular, held at a local restaurant and organized in such as way that we could easily relax and get to know administration, teachers and students from the school.
My and Lee’s host was ‘Mike’ (Osik Kong), an English teacher at the high school. He was very polite and upbeat during our stay with him. My favorite part of our stay with Mike was a visit to his parents’ house about 20 minutes from the city of Chuncheon. They are retired school teachers and have built a cottage with a large garden by a stream. It was quite peaceful.
Sanda University:
The student helpers were splendid during the stay at Sanda. Claire and Lily were mine and Lees student guides and were very sweet and helpful. They even showed us their dorm rooms and played guitar in the park with us.
The most disconnected from us was the tour guide/international office staff person. She took us to the Cruise as well as medical museum. Both were stressful on her I believe, she seemed preoccupied with her phone a good bit, but she was friendly.
Shanghai Normal University:
The campus and programs at this school were very impressive. I enjoyed the presentations on student unions and what all they are involved in within the community and the school. I loved meeting Lu Chi (‘Crystal’) and her family and look forward to her coming to Greenwood. Qing Qing was also very friendly and upbeat, it was impossible not to like her.
The first night ‘welcome’ dinner at Shanghai Normal was a bit awkward, having all of the university personal talking in Chinese the entire dinner, therefore it was difficult to insert anything into the conversation.
I loved the seal cutting, the kung fu lessons and the puppet show. Those were so much fun and we met some great students with wonderfully positive energy!
Ivy Vartanian
K. Ivy Vartanian
Overview
As soon as I signed up for this trip, I became very excited about the cultural experiences offered to learn more about both South Korean and Chinese ways of life, history and art. As I learned of the planned events, such as visiting the Great Wall as well as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, I was very interested and eager to head off.
In South Korea the people were extremely nice and the cityscape was beautifully designed. The most unforgettable experience in South Korea was attending a host family dinner. Jeuin Kim, who also goes by ‘jenny’, is a student at the University of Incheon. She and her family hosted Paizley Ballenger and me for a dinner at their home. After eating the most amazing meal yet in South Korea, Jeuin’s friend offered to play us a few songs. It was so lovely.
China was unforgettable. The traffic was so busy and markets were so full of people that is definitely gave me an idea of how many people populate the country. My favorite was the visit to the Shanghai Museum. I loved the furniture and fashions on display!! My least favorite was haggling while shopping. It can be a little overwhelming. It was also quite smoggy in areas within China, which made it difficult to be outside for long periods of time compared to South Carolina. Even though I wasn’t used to it, I appreciated the haggling and area because it allowed me a new experience from one I was used to. This is the exact reason I wanted to join this study tour, to truly learn and experience a new place. The visit of ancient temples, the great wall, the terracotta warriors, and the sites of people and markets were spectacular and unforgettable.
This has been a trip of a lifetime and I would recommend this trip to anyone!!!!
The main suggestions I would make for future trips:
-Consider preparing university gifts ahead of time, as opposed to having students buy many different things. The gifts that we brought for helpers and officials were more casual than the gifts that they offered for us.
-Encourage all travelers to bring laptops, and inform them that many places have only land-line access to the internet and not wi-fi. (It was helpful to have computer science majors with us, to help make connections on laptops, but that was pure luck)
-Build in blog update time into the schedule, most nights did not allow much time to truly update blog, journal as well as wash clothes…
-Bring many business cards to trade
-Add to the Lander presentation: statistics of what are future prospects for Lander students. Make sure that the group understands the objectives for presentations, I feel that university and student presentations could have been more informative toward the objectives of the trip if they would have been more informative of the goal of the trip.
-The group needed a free-day perhaps the third weekend. I believe energy became very low the last week of the trip, and a free day each weekend would have helped.
-Make sure that everyone knows that what luggage you bring, there may be times throughout the trip that you will have to move it up and down stairs, as well as sleep with it on a train if needed.
University of Incheon:
The students and faculty as well as administration were very friendly and welcoming at the University of Incheon. The guesthouse was extremely comfortable and it was a nice convenience to have a washing machine for clothes. The student presentations by the Korean students were informative and helpful. It was nice hearing from them, it made it possible to warm up to them and get to know them better.
The visit around the Songdo area was nice, but we were a bit rushed on the tour of the City Museum. There was a lot to read and see in order to understand the development of the area.
I really appreciated the Hyundai Steel tour, however it was my least favorite of the IU stay. It was amazing to watch the glowing steel be flattened into a long spool of steel.
The visit to the DMZ was neat. I thought that our tour guide on the bus was very polite and informative about where we were going and what significance it has had on the relationship and culture of the areas of North and South Korea.
Temple Stay:
The temple stay was one of my favorite experiences. We learned meditation techniques, a formal eating ceremony, and we completed 108 bows after waking up at the crack of dawn to a tapping rhythm outside. We had an unforgettable climb up a path on the mountain to take in the spectacular view.
Sungsoo High School, Chuncheon:
The welcome dinner was spectacular, held at a local restaurant and organized in such as way that we could easily relax and get to know administration, teachers and students from the school.
My and Lee’s host was ‘Mike’ (Osik Kong), an English teacher at the high school. He was very polite and upbeat during our stay with him. My favorite part of our stay with Mike was a visit to his parents’ house about 20 minutes from the city of Chuncheon. They are retired school teachers and have built a cottage with a large garden by a stream. It was quite peaceful.
Sanda University:
The student helpers were splendid during the stay at Sanda. Claire and Lily were mine and Lees student guides and were very sweet and helpful. They even showed us their dorm rooms and played guitar in the park with us.
The most disconnected from us was the tour guide/international office staff person. She took us to the Cruise as well as medical museum. Both were stressful on her I believe, she seemed preoccupied with her phone a good bit, but she was friendly.
Shanghai Normal University:
The campus and programs at this school were very impressive. I enjoyed the presentations on student unions and what all they are involved in within the community and the school. I loved meeting Lu Chi (‘Crystal’) and her family and look forward to her coming to Greenwood. Qing Qing was also very friendly and upbeat, it was impossible not to like her.
The first night ‘welcome’ dinner at Shanghai Normal was a bit awkward, having all of the university personal talking in Chinese the entire dinner, therefore it was difficult to insert anything into the conversation.
I loved the seal cutting, the kung fu lessons and the puppet show. Those were so much fun and we met some great students with wonderfully positive energy!
Ivy Vartanian
