Global Matters

Volume 2, Issue 1
September 2013
Global Education Department Newsletter
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New International Students at NTC!
Inside this issue:
Meet New Members
of the Int’l Team
2
Host Mother’s Person- 2
al Story
Get to Know Int’l
Students
3
New Student Orienta- 3
tion
October Events
4
Every year NTC hosts amazing
international students, but each year the
students get better. The reasons why
they improve are the resources at the
college, new host families, their
personal effort, and help from other
international students.
important role because she is always
asking me how I am doing and how
my classes are going.”
The Global Education Office came up
with the idea of giving the new
students a mentor to improve the
student’s transition into NTC.
According to Carlos Menjivar, one of
the mentors, this was a mutual
opportunity: “I want to keep helping
my mentee and be a good example
and friend for him. This is a process
where both can learn of this
experience and know each other
better.”
Daniel Cortez is one of the new
students who has benefited from this
mentoring program. Daniel noted,
“Since I came to Wausau my mentor
has helped me to solve my doubts. The
communication between us plays an
There are also international students
that are working along with the
mentoring program like Tomas Ruiz,
“One of my motivations for being at
the orientation was that I like to be
involved, spend time with them, and
Carlos
Tomas
get their trust even though I am not
a mentor.”
After the orientation process, the
students participated in a
multicultural picnic. Moeed Riaz,
another international student, really
enjoyed this picnic. “I had the
opportunity to enjoy different food
styles. Everyone had different
games. This opportunity was great,
and I tried new things.”
- Written by Yearbook & Newsletter
Committee: Erick Lopez, Melqui
Arias, Laura Benitez, Rosemberg
Rojas, Sandy Ochoa & Nancy
Silverio
Daniel
International Students Club Updates
Elections for the new International
Club Officers were held on Thursday, September 12. New officers
include:
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President: Antonio Peralta
Vice President: Wilfredo
Hernandez
Treasurer: Tomas Ruiz
Secretary: Kimberly Rivera
Student Government Representatives: Aracelis Perez
& Golds Mithe Joseph
The NTC International Club is a
great way for all students to get
involved in leadership opportunities, get connected with the community and offer service to the
Wausau area.
Events often include community
service activities, fundraising,
meetings & event planning. Last
year, the International Club
planned a number of fun events
including holiday parties and a trip
to Minneapolis.
This club is open to all NTC students — for those that are interested, a Welcome Party will be held
on October 4 at 5pm in room
E101. Come enjoy food from all
over the world and learn about
what’s on the agenda for International Club this year!
You can also get more information
by liking the NTC International
Club 2013-2014 page on Facebook.
Moeed
Global Matters
Coordinator Corner – New Staff in Global Education
I would like to introduce the two
new faces of the Global Education to everyone- Administrative
Assistants, Taylor Shryne and
Michelle “Shelly” Higgs. They
are both college graduates,
Wausau natives, they have traveled to exotic locations, they are
women with brown hair and they
are nice- that is where the similarities end.
Taylor has eclectic tastes, quite
literally. She has tried a wide
variety of foods, which most
people would never contemplate
eating.
Taylor loves volleyball, naps and
staying up late when the rest of
the world sleeps (thus the need
for naps). She is a PETA activist
and loves animals, but ironically
states “I dislike puppies.” Taylor’s degrees are in TEFL and
French and she is currently applying to graduate school. While
she is likely to end up in France
again, she plans on living most
of her life somewhere in Africa.
Lastly, Taylor has a good sense
of humor, so hopefully she will
like her profile; if not, she insists
she has a horrible short term
memory, so hopefully she’ll
forget what was written here.
gift basket making, puppy loving
administrative assistant who
prizes her poodle named Zigfried. Meaningful random facts
about Shelly include that she is
very particular about caricatures
of herself, loves hot baths in the
Persian Gulf and is partial to
Spanish cuisine i.e. paella, tapas
and Sangria. Shelly has fond
memories of the gold and spice
market adventures in Dubai, but
sadly has few souvenirs thanks
to sticky- fingered friends. While
her time in the Middle East was
great, she really loves Spain and
speaks Spanish (p.s. don’t tell
the students).
We hope Shelly’s health holds up
as we are aware of her heat stroke
in a mosque, almost passing out in
the running of the bulls and actually passing out while donating
blood. Rather than showing concern for her own health, Shelly
made one desperate plea on behalf
of her alma mater of the University
of Colorado, which is currently
under water. Please donate to
homeless students.
Please help us welcome our latest
additions, Taylor and Shelly to
NTC’s Global Education Department
- Written by Chris Knight
Shelly is our highly organized,
Host Mother Cheryl Falkowski
“If you are thinking
about hosting a
student but are not
sure – go for it! You
will be pleasantly
surprised.”
Cheryl’s family with former
SEED student
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Cheryl Falkowski is a widow
with one daughter and four
grandchildren. She enjoys gardening, bike riding, spending
time with her friends and family
and traveling.
How did you become a host
family?
I have been a host “mom” for
two years, hosting my first time
in 2011. I learned of the need
for host families through
an employee of a nonprofit organization I am
involved in – Good News
Project. His wife, Bonnie Bisonette, was the
former Associate Dean
for Business and International Education at
NTC. While still living
in Wausau and working
at NTC, Bonnie sent me
an email asking if I
would consider hosting. I read the email,
telling myself I would have to
give it some thought. However,
I closed the email and I com-
pletely forgot about it for a couple months. Ultimately, several
SEED students presented a little
cultural dance at my church; St.
Anne’s and expressed the need
for families. I happened to be at
that mass and remembered Bonnie’s earlier email. I went to the
back of the church after mass
and spoke with the second year
students there. Four days later,
my first student arrived.
What have you learned from
your new students?
I have learned many things, but
what stands out most is how
fortunate I am that I was born
and continue to live in the United States. Americans are afforded opportunities that many people in other countries do not
have. The students that come
here under the SEED Program
are humble and expect nothing
more than to have an opportunity
to study and learn. They are so
grateful for any little thing you
do for them or with them. I find
their unassuming attitudes re-
freshing.
What advice would you give to a
new or prospective host family?
I would say if you are thinking
about hosting a student but are
not sure – go for it! You will be
pleasantly surprised. You will
receive back tenfold what you
give. If the language difference
scares you a bit, it will not be a
barrier for long. With the help
of the second year students as
mentors, a bi-lingual dictionary
and Google Translate, the students’ English improves daily
and their vocabulary widens at
an unbelievable rate of speed.
If you are a new host family and
you’re dealing with something
you’re not sure of, don’t be
afraid to bounce your question
off another host family member. We are all here to do the
same thing – help the students
get the most out of their educational experience as they learn to
become independent young
adults. And somewhere along
the way….you will fall in
love….guaranteed!
Volume 2, Issue 1
September 2013
Orientation — A Success!
Every year the International
Office organizes a two-week
orientation to introduce the new
international students to the
American culture.
made. We had to be there before
the students arrived so we could
receive them and show them
our support.”
This year, the first group of students arrived on August 7th,and
they were welcomed by their
host families, the second year
SEED students and the International Office staff.
This year, the International Office worked with the Orientation
SEED 13’ Committee selecting
the topics for the orientation.
Some topics include: American
Culture, Wisconsin Weather,
Host Families, Culture Shock,
and Homesickness.
Kenia Carachure, one of the
students who helped to organize
the 2013 orientation and was in
the welcoming said: “We went
to the airport to receive the students with some posters we had
SEED Coordinator, Ellen Anderson, had a great experience
working in this event. She said,
“It was a new experience for
me. I had never coordinated an
Kenia
orientation before. This was a
good opportunity for me because I had a great time working with international students especially with the Orientation
Committee who helped a lot in
getting everything ready for the
incoming students.”
According to SEED Coordinator
Christopher Knight, the thematic
of the international orientation
was different this year. He said,
“What made this orientation
Ellen
Chris
different from others was that
students showed their leadership
skills right away making them
feel more comfortable and relaxed. I was more relaxed because the students helped me
during the process.”
Once again, the Global Education
Department has shown its commitment to the international students at NTC by providing them
with support and help during this
new adventure.
Student Profiles: Henning & Tatyana
H
enning Mohr comes to
us from Hamburg,
Germany – the second
biggest city in the country with
over 1.8 million people and the
ninth largest city in the European
Union. Hamburg is famous for
having one of the largest ports in
the world, the port of Rotterdam.
It also sits on one of the major
rivers of Central Europe – the
Elbe River.
Henning has one older sister
who is 27 years old. He speaks
German, English and a little bit
of Spanish. In Germany, his
pastimes include photography,
cycling, and taking frequent road
trips with friends. In the past
year, he has driven to Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Copenhagen
and Zurich. He likes to visit new
countries and enjoys meeting
people from all over the world.
Since arriving in the US one
month ago, he has acquired a
few new hobbies – watching
football, baseball and basketball.
His most memorable experience
thus far was the 20 hour train
ride from New York City to
Chicago. He enjoyed seeing all
Page 3
the countryside on the way to
Chicago and was surprised to see
how big the US is.
His strangest experience since
his arrival – he rode his bicycle
all the way from NTC to Hatley
(where his host family currently
lives). “It was a 25 mile trip on
the Mountain-Bay State Trail
and all I had was a screenshot of
a map on my iPad of to find the
way home.” Along the way, he
saw many beautiful places that
he wouldn’t have been able to
see from the street, so he is very
happy he did the trip.
His future plans include further
studies and working in the IT
scope. He likes all of his classes
at NTC so far but if he had to
choose a favorite, it would be
Introduction to American Government. It is interesting subject
matter and the teacher is a Channel 9 news anchor.
His advice to new or prospective
international students: You
should enjoy your time here and
do a lot of things. It’s a once-in-a
-lifetime opportunity. Enjoy
every minute because the time
flies!
T
atyana Malyhina is from
Turkmenistan, a country
in Central Asia between
Iran and Uzbekistan. She has
been in the US for a month now,
but actually spent a year of high
school in Oklahoma through an
exchange program. Tanya is an
only child and lives at home with
her mother and stepfather. Her
mother works for a phone company and her stepfather works at
an oil and gas company. Almost
every holiday, her family gathers
at her grandparent’s house in
Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Her grandpa works in
a factory and her grandma has
been working as a kindergarten
teacher for nearly 35 years. Back
home, one of her favorite memories was her senior year of high
school. “My school only had 500
students, so we knew almost
everyone at school and we were
like one big family doing a lot of
“Keep yourself busy
all the time, study
hard, experience new
things, make new
friends and have fun!”
- Tatyana
fun stuff together.”
Since her arrival in the US, her
most memorable experience has
Henning (left) & Tatyana
Global Matters
Volume 2, Issue 1
September 2013
Student profiles continued… been a road
trip to Illinois she took with a few other international students. They visited Six Flags,
“an amazing park with unforgettable rides
and awesome attractions.” They also spent a
day in both Chicago and Milwaukee.
holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving
and Christmas.
At NTC, she is currently enjoying all of her
classes due to the fact that almost every class
is connected to her major of Business Administration. “All of my classes here are
very instructive, fun and useful.” Her favorTanya has big plans for the future. She is
ite class so far is Ethics as it makes her think
planning on applying for another exchange
about the moral values of people and pushes
program in Spain in order to get her Master’s her to study her own beliefs.
Degree. Here in the US she would like to
visit New York and spend time volunteering Tanya’s advice to current and prospective
in different places. She is really looking
students is to keep yourself busy all the time,
forward to experiencing all the American
study hard, experience new things, make
For more information to be a host family, contact:
Ellen Anderson at
[email protected], 715.803.1061
Or
Christ Knight at
[email protected], 715-803-1038
Student Orientation Picnic Photos
FRIENDSHIP FAMILIES NEEDED!
Want to get to know the international students better? Two of our Tunisian students
are currently looking for friendship families.
Your main responsibility would be to host
these students during the holidays when the
dorms are closed. Other than that, it is up to
you! Spend time together, see a movie, go
shopping, go to dinner, share your family
life. If you are interested in spending time
with one of these students, please contact
Shelly Higgs: [email protected], 715-8031816 or Taylor Shryne: [email protected],
715-803-1040.
Upcoming Events

October 4: International Club Welcome
Party. Open to all. 5pm in room E101.
Enjoy food from all over the world and
learn about upcoming club projects/how
you can get involved!
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October 18-19: International Students
go to Camp Manitowish in Boulder
Junction, WI
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October 26: Student Halloween Party.
Location to be announced!
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October 26: Make A Difference Day
— Help your neighbors by raking
their yards! The Rake-A-Thon helps
community members who are too frail
or elderly to rake their yards and dispose of yard waste. If you can’t rake
but would love to volunteer, there are
several other ways you can help out.
Check out the United Way of Marathon
Park webpage to learn more and sign
up!
Taylor Shryne
Like us on Facebook!
NTC Global Education
Global Education Assistant
Phone: 715-803-1040
E-mail: [email protected]
1000 W. Campus Dr.
Wausau, WI 54401
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November 14: Global Fair — keep
your calendars marked! This awesome
event supports international education.
Bring the whole family and experience
cultural arts & crafts, dance, food, music, raffle prizes and more! 5pm-