Inspire, Summer 2008

facul ty voi ce Recently, I met with an international businessperson who lamented the fact that American companies were forced to hire non- American citizens. “American college graduates just don’t have the linguistic or intercultural skills needed in today’s world,” he said. To make his point, he related a story in which a recent college graduate took his first business trip to Japan to meet a group of upper-level management from Honda. The stoic Japanese businessmen were horrified as the young man greeted the senior vice president for operations with a handshake, backslap, and a “How ya doin’?” — all cultural taboos in Japanese business culture. Created, in part, to help students avoid such unfortunate miscues, the office of international programs offers study abroad opportunities for all Cedarville students, no matter the major or career plan. Our goal is to provide direct exposure to foreign languages and other aspects of cultures through a meaningful, academic study abroad experience. On campus, students can choose from a wide array of courses in Spanish, German, French, Chinese, and Arabic. They can then further their language and culture studies with a holistic trip to another country, which prepares them to engage the world. Circling the Globe One of our most popular programs is located in the bustling city of Seville, Spain. Students attend classes at the prestigious Universidad de Seville and live with host families, while learning and serving among the Spanish people. Kyle Barnett ’05 (marketing and Spanish) interned and studied for a summer in Seville, completing an international marketing project that led to his current position as regional sales manager for J.Cobo in Central America and the Caribbean. In spring 2008, nine Cedarville students studied in Seville, one of whom was Laura Miller ’08 (individualized studies). Laura interned at an orphanage there, planning to use the experience as a springboard to work with children in the future. The intensive academic program in Oxford, England, is another popular choice for Cedarville students. They are inducted into an Oxford college and complete one- on-one tutorials with distinguished Oxford faculty. Megan (Waters) Lynch ’08 (international studies) studied in Oxford during fall semester 2006 and spent spring semester 2007 with Debbie Strutton ’08 (international studies) at the Russian Studies Program in Nizhni Novgorod. Megan will attend New York University this fall to begin graduate school in Russian studies, while Debbie will be the resident assistant of the Russian Studies Program. Europe isn’t the only destination for Cedarville students. Joel Lagan ’08 (international studies) studied and served at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, Around the World in Many Days by Dr. Andrew Wiseman 26 SUMMER 2008