January/February 2010, Volume XXVI, No
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Office of International Services International Connection January/February 2010, Volume XXVI, No. 3 USC Continues Outreach in Asia Meeting with prospective students and educators strengthens bonds by Tony Tambascia, Executive Director and Assistant Dean of Students In this Issue It is often said that the Trojan Family extends well beyond US borders, and Being from Bahamas, 3 last Fall I experienced USC’s global reach up-close during a trip to five cities Healthcare debate, 4-5 in East Asia. LA Outdoors, 6-7 The primary purpose of the trip was Oscar predictions, 8 a series of student recruitment events called Discover USC-Asia, with stops World music scene, 9 in Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shang- hai and Beijing. Organized by USC’s The battle to save LA’s Enrollment Services Division, Discover murals, 10-11 USC-Asia receptions are held each Fall with the intent of promoting USC’s academic programs to prospective undergraduate and graduate students. Tony Tambascia with Prof. Hiwon Yoon, Dean, Office of Internation For last year’s trip, I joined about ten al Affairs, SNU; Steven Lee, Director, USC Korea Office; Jeongnam other USC staff and administrators from Hwang, Director of International Exchange and Education, SNU the Admission office, the Viterbi School USC by many years and thousands of and the time spent travelling be- of Engineering, the Marshall School miles, impressed upon me the true spirit tween locations, I was able to make of Business, the Annenberg School for of the Trojan Family. Their enthusiasm visits to some of the top universities Communication, the College of Letters, for the university, and their contin- in the region. In most cases, these Arts, and Sciences, and the School of ued involvement with USC-related were institutions that USC already Policy, Planning and Development in a activities, sent a clear message to the works with for student exchanges collaborative effort to convince some of prospective students about the lifelong and other partnership agreements. the best and brightest students in Asia to nature of a USC education. Among the highlights were visits to come to USC. Seoul National University (SNU) and The trip began with the USC Global Chinese University of Hong Kong In addition to the hundreds of interested Conference in Taipei, which brought (CUHK). At both institutions I was students and parents who showed up together over 600 people associated able to meet with colleagues who are at the events, a large number of alumni with USC for two days of meetings and responsible for providing services for greeted us in each city, demonstrat- networking. USC alumni from across incoming international students, and ing the reality of the Trojan network. Asia, as well as several members of the we had a chance to compare ideas Despite their busy schedules and com- senior administration, were on hand for about the best ways to help students mitments, many dedicated USC alumni discussions about key topics related to from abroad to make the most of their attended the receptions, spoke about education, global business, health care, university experience. their USC experiences, and answered and environmental issues. questions late into the evening. These [Contuinued on page 2] volunteers, removed from their days at Between the Discover USC events International Connection USC in Asia OIS Staff Continued from page 1 Executive Director Happily for me, I did manage to do a bit of sightseeing, and two places in Assistant Dean of Students Tony Tambascia, Ph.D. particular stand out among all the fascinating places I visited. First, while in Seoul, a few colleagues and I toured the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating South and North Korea. As part of this visit we had the opportunity to go in- Student and Scholar Services side one of the “infiltration tunnels” that have been discovered underground in Senior Associate Director the past several decades. The tunnel we visited, the Third Tunnel, is well over Judy Hartwich, M.S. 200 feet below ground and is only about 6 feet high in most places. As a per- Associate Director son who is over 6 feet tall, and who does not generally enjoy being confined in Esther Lee, M.S. small spaces, it was quite exciting to be walking bent over through hundreds International Student Advisors of yards of dark tunnel cut into the bedrock underneath the DMZ! Becky Peterson, M.A., Sarah Bang, M.A. Senior Immigration Advisor A few days later, as the trip drew to a close in Beijing, I spent part of a day at Sumaiya Mamun, M.S. the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, my first visit to this great historic site and wonder of human engineering. On the day of the visit, I awoke to cloudy Sevis Coordinator Quyen Le, M.A. skies, light rain, and very cold temperatures near freezing. This turned out to be very lucky indeed, because only a few visitors chose to tour the wall that Exchange Visitor Program Coordinator Zach Williams day due to the weather. When I arrived at the site about 90 minutes outside of Beijing, the skies had cleared and it turned out to be a perfect day to experi- Immigration Advisors Scott Turner, Anne Kaufman, M.A. ence the Great Wall, with plenty of room for a long quiet stroll—and of course Information Specialists lots of climbing steps! Trevin Barnes, Ariel Suarez File Coordinator/Immigration Aide If many of the students we met while in Asia choose to apply to USC and Gwendolyn Crowe eventually enroll, then the trip will be deemed a success. But just as impor- tantly, I came back home with a new appreciation for the strength of the global Trojan network, and a little better understanding of why USC is so highly Faculty/Staff Visa Services regarded in the Pacific Rim. During the trip, while checking email at Hong Director Kong International Airport, I saw the announcement that our President, Steven Cheryl Gilman B. Sample, will retire next year. One of my first thoughts upon hearing this Faculty/Staff Visa Specialists Iran Carranza, Joan Cerera news was that the new president will be assuming leadership of a truly global university, one that expects its participants to be interested in and knowledge- able about the world around them, and one that rewards its members with Paraprofessional Staff inclusion in a lifelong and worldwide network of friends and colleagues. English Language Program Coordinator Marisa Olson International Connection Publications Editor Oliver Riley-Smith Publications Editor Exchange Visitor Program Assistant Oliver Riley-Smith Candace Burnham International Program Assistants Editorial Advisor Ka Po Chan, Anna Feldman, Daniel Lawlor, Judy Hartwich Jocelyn Shaw Student Assistant Staff Printer Nick Porrazzo, Janet Park, Wendy Shieh Zada Graphics The University of Southern California International Connection is published Office of International Services four times per year by the Office of International Services. Student Union 300 University Park Campus Los Angeles, CA 90089-0899, MC 0899 Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please send them to: Tel. (213) 740-2666 Judy Hartwich, OIS, STU 300, MC 0899, email: [email protected]. www.usc.edu/OIS January/February 2010 2 www.usc.edu/OIS One of a Kind: Being from the Bahamas by Judy Hartwich, Senior Associate Director Last year Kevin Glinton was the only student from the Bahamas studying at USC (this year there are two more Bahamian students). Kevin grew up in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, and attended Fiske Uni- versity in Nashville, Tennessee for his undergraduate degree in chemistry. Kevin is currently pursuing a Ph.D in chemistry at USC. “Sometimes you get worn out with people’s responses when you tell them where you come from. The usual response is – oh, you’re so lucky, life must be so great coming from such a beautiful place. Don’t get me wrong, the Bahamas is a beautiful place to grow up. But what I think a lot of American students don’t really appreciate is the good fortune they have living in the US. There is so much choice, so much freedom. The US is SO BIG – Kevin Glinton, the only Bahamian at USC last year it’s like eight different countries in one. Some of the stereotypes of Los Angeles are true. It is so spread out and there are so many people. The people are In the Bahamas there is only one university. When Ba- relaxed (yes even in comparison to Bahamians). One of hamians take a vacation they usually go to US cities like the things I like about LA and USC is the multicultural- Miami or Atlanta, and sometimes to other Caribbean ism. In the Loker Hydrocarbon Lab my colleagues are countries like Jamaica. A lot of students at USC assume from Kenya, Hong Kong, France and West Africa. I’m from the US because I don’t have an accent (I can turn it on, if I want, but if I did you wouldn’t understand I like being here. I like the mindset, the lifestyle, the me). In the Bahamas there are several different accents. variety of daily life. I’m not sure yet what my career Accents are thicker on the smaller islands and much less path will be after I complete my studies, but I know I’m pronounced in the capital. glad I came to California and to Los Angeles.” My family were a little concerned that I was coming to This is the first in a series series of profiles of inter- California for advanced study. California is so far away national students who, at sometime in their study at – and when you leave a small country there is the worry USC, were the only student from their home coun- you’ll get swallowed up by a big city like Los Angeles.