Nearly two dozen Japanese students are enjoying a taste of college life in the United States through the International Summer Program at Emporia State University.
The 20 students from the Sakae Institute arrived June 17 and will be in Emporia for six weeks in a program that lets the students learn English and take an academic course. On the weekends, students enjoy cultural immersion activities that include attending national sporting events, a rodeo and camping at Melvern Lake.
Students have both conversation partners and American friendship families who will help with their English speaking skills and learning about family cultures. At the end of the program, the students are more prepared for American culture and in the fall, the students then go on to their respective schools around the United States.
The International Summer Program, offered through the James F. and Dorine D. Harter Office of International Education at ESU, is operated by Chie Zenno, the lead program assistant, and two live-in program assistants, Lorraine Chihora and Yuki Oyama. The live-in program assistants stay in the campus residence halls with the students and guide them through their weekend cultural activities. Zenno is a recent graduate of Emporia State with her bachelor of science in psychology and will begin her masters in clinical psychology this fall.
“I think the students are excited,” Zenno said upon the students’ arrival. “I am looking forward to seeing the students improve in many things. Many of them have never shared a room or had these kinds of college experiences so I think it’s good that they’re having these experiences before the semester starts.”
The Sakae Institute is based in Tokyo, Japan, with a U.S. office in Boston. ESU alum Yukii Hoshino, who earned a master’s degree in instructional design and technology in 2015 and was a previous summer program coordinator, now works at the Boston location and helps on the other end of getting the students to Emporia.
The program runs until July 30.