Alumni in Korea Help Explain MIIS Programs

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Rob Horgan

Translation and Interpretation (T&I) Professor Miryoung Sohn and nearly ten MIIS alumni met in Korea earlier this month to host a Monterey Institute Information Session.  The event, held on July 4th at a meeting room in the Coex complex in downtown Seoul, was attended by 45 prospective students and ten alumni.  “This is the second event that we have held in Seoul this year.  Our alumni have helped us to promote MIIS to over 100 individuals who might not have known about the programs offered in Monterey,” explained Enrollment Manager Rob Horgan.  The Recruiting Department wants to sincerely thank Prof. Sohn and the MIIS alumni in Korea for taking the time on a Sunday afternoon to tell the MIIS story to prospective students.

Alumni Director Leah Gowron has explained that these kinds of alumni hosted information sessions are excellent examples of the call to service that so many MIIS alumni feel.  “Our alumni give back in many ways.  For some it is a financial contribution.  For others, it is a willingness to give back with their time or expertise.  These information sessions are a good example of the latter. Our graduates seem particularly willing to help the next generation of MIIS scholars with job opportunities, internships and career guidance at informational events.”

Thank you alumni in Korea! We really appreciate all of your help!

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Coffee Chat” Volunteers Needed

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Rob Horgan

During the summer months, the MIIS campus empties out as students and faculty leave Monterey for destinations around the world.  Summer plans for many include work, research, internships or just some well deserved rest.

The Recruiting Department is looking for a few volunteers to help us meet with prospective students.  If you are traveling this summer and have time at your destination to have a cup of coffee with a few prospective students, would you please let us know?

The recruiting department will pick up the pay for the beverages during your Coffee Chats and you’ll be giving back to MIIS in a meaningful way by sharing your expertise with others!

You choose the coffee shop and we will invite prospective students in that area to meet with you to talk about graduate school, the programs at MIIS and life in Monterey.

Contact Alice Villemaire in the Recruiting department to volunteer! alice.villemaire@miis.edu (831) 647-3503

Posted in news | 2 Comments

A Big Thank You

Posted on April 7, 2010 by

photo

The Recruiting Department wants to extend a big Thank You to Toni Thomas, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of International Policy and Management, Regina Garner, Director of the Office of Student Financial Planning, Thomas Halvorsen (MPA ’10) and Jung Han (T&I ’11) for their efforts last month while traveling.

Each Spring, the Recruiting Department asks any faculty, staff or students traveling to conferences or on business to meet with prospective students who have been offered admission to the Monterey Institute. Personal contact from MIIS representatives often persuades prospective students to commit to coming to Monterey.

Toni, who was in France at a professional development conference, took two prospective students out for coffee to talk about the programs at MIIS.  Regina, who was in San Diego on business, got together with several students to explain the new Master’s in Nonproliferation and Terrorism (MANPTS) degree.  Jung was back home in Seoul and sat down with 4 incoming students to help them prepare for their moves to Monterey.  And Thomas…..wow!…Thomas met with several prospective students in Hong Kong while he was on his honeymoon with his wife! MIIS supporters truly go out of their way to help our unique community thrive.

Thank you Toni, Regina, Jung, and Thomas for your generous help!

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Alum at Education USA talks about MIIS

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Rob Horgan

Yumi Coffee
Japanese alumna Yumi Nishikawa, who graduated with her degree in International Trade Policy in 2006, has enjoyed exceptional career mobility over the years thanks to her Master’s from the Monterey Institute.  Before coming to MIIS, Yumi was working as an city office administrator in a small town in Japan.  After earning her degree in Monterey, she joined a Bay area start-up and acquired the latest international business and professional skills.

[youtube KHGLpfpnr0M&feature=player_embedded]

She returned to Tokyo last year and accepted a position as a project manager with Education USA, in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.  Yumi works out of an office at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and her mission is to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Japan by marketing higher education opportunities to students abroad.

[youtube eVPzbp8G8RU&feature=player_embedded]

Yumi also helped us last November at the QS Graduate School Fair in Tokyo by sitting at the Monterey Institute’s information table answering questions from prospective students.  Thank you, Yumi, for your generous assistance!

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Faculty Reach out to Prospective Students

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Rob Horgan

Prof Akaha in Seoul
Prof. Tsuneo Akaha and MIIS alumna Katie Klemsen visit with four prospective students in Seoul, Korea last week. Spring is traditionally yield season, a time when the Recruiting Department asks faculty who may be traveling to meet with admitted students who are considering coming to MIIS.

Posted in news | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nihongo at MIIS

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Rob Horgan

[youtube XM7uIDIu_QU&feature=player_embedded]

The Japanese language program at MIIS is being promoted heavily this month as many current Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program participants weigh their options for life after Japan. The JET program is a Japanese government initiative that began in the mid 1980s to bring university graduates, mostly native speakers of English, to Japan to promote English education and internationalization.  Most of the JET program participants teach English in the country’s elementary, junior or senior high schools for at least a year and up to five years.  Participants with a good degree of Japanese proficiency can also work in municipal or city offices as Coordinators for International Relations.

“Over the years, the Monterey Institute has welcomed many former JETs to all of our professional degree programs. The largest number of JET alumni on the MIIS campus tend to study in the International Policy Program (IPS), however there are also JETs in the Translation & Interpretation, MBA and TESOL programs,” explained Prof. Naoko Matsuo, coordinator of the Japanese program at MIIS.  Many JETs have found the curriculum and worldly student body at MIIS to be a perfect fit with their own international experiences and future global career plans.  Each Spring, Leah Gowron, a former IPS career advisor and current MIIS Director of Alumni Relations, travels to Tokyo to attend the Conference for Returning JETs.   This year, in addition to hosting an alumni event in Tokyo, Leah will again be participating in the annual conference for those JETs planning to return to their home countries. JETs can meet with Leah, both at the MIIS information table or at the international career planning panel discussions, March 9th – 11th. (FYI – Leah, herself is a former JET!)

The Recruiting Department has also been busy promoting the Japanese program at MIIS through several online initiatives.  This month, the department’s social media coordinator, Rob Horgan, met with three current students studying Japanese at MIIS to record their impressions of the program and to talk about the level of Japanese proficiency necessary to enter MIIS.  The video interview, which was conducted in both Japanese and English, can be seen on the MIIS YouTube channel and the MIIS community on the Japanese social networking site MIXI. Japanese study at MIIS has also been mentioned on several Facebook communities, including the Japan Center for Michigan Universities group and the Middlebury Summer Language Schools page.

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New Facebook Group for Incoming Students

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Rob Horgan

Facebook screen shot

Admitted students who are planning to come to the Monterey Institute in September have begun to receive invitations to join the exclusive Incoming MIIS Student Group on Facebook.  The group is a closed community, available only to students preparing to come for programs in the Fall.  In addition to all of the incoming members of the Fall 2010 class, select current students, faculty, and staff are also part of the group.  Started two years ago, the Incoming MIIS Student Groups have become the first step in community building efforts for each new term at the Monterey Institute.

“By joining the Facebook group before they arrive in Monterey, many students have been able to make friends with their future classmates, find prospective roommates and ask questions about campus life,” explained Enrollment Manager Rob Horgan.  “There are discussion threads available so that the incoming class can ask questions about anything they want more information about – housing, what to bring to campus, where to stay while looking for an apartment, what to pack for life in Monterey.” Incoming students also can get advice from staff members and current students about what life is like as a graduate student at MIIS.

Discussion threads
“The most popular discussion thread is usually the one where students introduce themselves.  The incoming students share their short biographies and this seems to be a great way for everyone to make friends before they even get to Monterey,” said Kelly Cole, of the Student Affairs Office.    The discussion threads relating to housing and roommate searches, as well as the general Q&A discussions, also yield significant participation. The threads help to create a community long before students arrive on campus.

Invitations are sent out once a week to incoming students who have paid their deposits.  “We have about 50 new students in the group now.  40 current students and staff are acting as mentors by answering questions,” explained Horgan.  “There will be several hundred participants by early summer.” If you would like to participate in the group to welcome the incoming class, contact Rob Horgan on Facebook or send him an email in the Recruiting Office at robert.horgan@miis.edu

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

10 Questions for a Japanese/English Interpreter

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Rob Horgan

Yoko Owatari Kudo, an Japanese alumus of the Monterey Institute‘s prestigious Conference Interpretation (CI) program, never planned on becoming an interpreter. “I graduated from Sophia University (in Tokyo) with a Master’s in International Relations and went to work as a Junior Regional Analyst at the Ministry of Defense.” Later, her Ministry colleagues asked her to get professional training in interpretation so that she could help facilitate visits by defense officials from around the world. Yoko was successfully admitted to MIIS as an advanced entry student and completed her degree in Conference Interpretation.

[youtube n_341V7WGeo&feature=player_embedded]

Enrollment Manager, Rob Horgan, of the MIIS Recruiting Department, sat down with Yoko in her office at the Japanese Ministry of Defense in Tokyo recently.  The two talked about the challenges of interpreting for global leaders.

The interview, conducted in both Japanese and English, is helpful for students considering a career in translation or interpretation. Yoko offers practical tips on how to best prepare for graduate school and which newspapers and magazines every Japanese interpreter must read everyday.  In addition, Yoko carefully explains the advantages and disadvantages of studying interpretation outside of Japan.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Nonproliferation and Terrorism Degree Promoted

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Rob Horgan

hires_090610-N-8392D-8132a

This month, the Recruiting Department begins a campaign to promote the new Master’s in Nonproliferation and Terrorism (MANPTS) degree at the Monterey Institute. Devin Lueddeke and Carol Johnson spend an entire day last week at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) talking about the world’s first degree to combine the knowledge and skills needed to control weapons of mass destruction. Rob Horgan leaves for Brigham Young University this week to meet with key faculty and staff and to talk with prospective candidates about the new program.  The Recruiting department’s team will also be promoting the program in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seoul, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Beijing later in the year.

3000985182_c9538fbca4_b

The new degree combines the strengths of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) and the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education (MonTREP) program.  On the reputation of these two world-class institutions alone, the Admissions office has already begun to receive applications for the Fall 2010 cohort of students.

“The global reputation that CNS has cultivated, thanks to research and educational initiatives at both offices in Washington D.C. and Monterey, CA, means that there is a population of scholars and specialists to whom this degree is perfectly tailored,” explained Jill Stoffers, Director of Admissions at MIIS. “But we are also seeing interest from young professionals who may have done their undergraduate work in more general degrees such as international relations, global studies or area studies. They recognize that careers in anti-terrorism, nonproliferation and security issues are going to continue to be in demand in the future.”

HMD_SkedAction03

The degree also has an appeal to students within the traditional hard sciences as well.  “We would like to see a broad cohort of students; not just those with policy experience.  We are very interested in receiving applications from candidates who may have majored in chemistry, physics, biology or other science concentrations,” explained Dr. Fred Wehling, Director of Education at CNS and a Senior Research Associate at MonTREP.  Many of the career tracks in the field draw upon expertise and understanding of biologicaal agents, chemical compositions, and practical concerns related to nuclear engineering, propulsion, and technology. The first cohort of students will begin their coursework in September.  Complete information on the new degree can be found on the MIIS website.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Veterans Transition to New Careers at MIIS

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Rob Horgan

[youtube mvuD8x_EfAQ&feature=player_embedded]

Noticed some different faces in your classes recently?  That guy in your Global Politics who class seems particularly informed about international conflicts?  That woman in your Arabic class who has such remarkable communicative competence? Monterey Institute students all have pretty sophisticated international backgrounds, but you may start to notice that a few of your peers are speaking with the knowing voice of experience.  The veterans are coming; and MIIS is very happy to welcome them.

Veterans of the US armed forces who served in Iraq and Afghanistan began arriving on campus last Fall as part of an agreement signed by MIIS and the Veterans Administration.  More will be arriving for Spring and Fall 2010 terms.  The Veterans Administration’s Yellow Ribbon Program provides soldiers who served after 9/11 with opportunities to earn their degrees and transition into new civilian careers.

Last Spring, President Ramaswamy and Student Financial Services Director Regina Lomboy, inked the agreement with the VA to provide full tuition coverage for veterans who choose the Monterey Institute of International Studies for their professional degrees.  MIIS was the only private institution in California to offer this generous opportunity.  Last Fall, we welcomed 10 veterans or spouses of veterans, both of whom are eligible for the benefits, and expect 15 more in the coming months.

Rebecca Allen

Because of the reputations of the Defense Language Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey is considered a very desirable place to study among veterans.

“Monterey is a very military friendly community.  It makes the transition into civilian life easier for the vets,” said MIIS Enrollment Manager Rob Horgan.  “Many of the veterans are also looking for civilian careers in policy, nonproliferation, terrorism, foreign languages or international business – areas where many already have experience and competence.”

Keep an eye out for profiles of our Yellow Ribbon veterans on both the MIIS website and the MIIS YouTube Channel in the future!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment