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EMU International Students enroll
Program allows for educational opportunities

By Laina Shuey / Staff Writer
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2006

As students begin to prepare for the upcoming school year, Eastern Michigan welcomes two visiting students participating in a program with the International Research and Exchange Board.

The program provides fellowships to first, second and third-year undergraduate students. It is sponsored by the State Department, and it gives students the opportunity to take classes at Eastern while completing community service activities and a part-time internship.

"They get a totally different perspective of life in general," said Donelle Goerlitz, the project officer. "A lot of these students have only traveled locally around country, and there is an impact beyond the student because it impacts their family as well."

This year EMU welcomes Serhiv Kovalchuk from Lutsk, Ukraine, and Leyla Safarova from Azerbaijan.

"I am very glad to be in the United States. And in addition, I am very glad that I have been admitted to EMU," Kovalchuk said. "I can't imagine how excited I will be to discover the USA for myself and enrich my education and knowledge, which will be necessary for me in the future."

Kovalchuk is a third-year student at Volyn State University where he studies at the Department of Applied Linguistics. While at Eastern, he will be focusing on education and will be taking a variety of education classes.

He said he hopes this will help him better understand the American school system, and he can apply what he learns to the Ukraine teaching system.

"I will be taking schools in a multicultural society, which will give me a broad overview of the U.S. educational system, history and philosophy." Kovalchuck said."It is really what I need because as a future teacher I would like to influence the Ukrainian system of education which requires a lot of changes."

The IREX established this program in 1992, and its goals are to help with democratization and economic development in the countries where these students live.

Kovalchuck said he believes this program is very crucial to his development as a teacher, and his most important goal is to make an investigation of school councils.

"I hope this will enable me and other Ukrainian teachers to involve students in a variety of school activities, to bring diversity into their lives and to promote in each child a love for his country," Kovalchuck said.

An additional experience for these students will be having an American roommate. Safarova's roommate, Erin Gordon, said she is looking to one day study abroad, and she hopes this experience will allow her to learn about Safarova's country and culture while she shares her own.

"I think the exchange program is a great idea, Gordon said. "It gives students special opportunities and experiences before they get out on their own in the real world. Hosting exchange students gives the same opportunity. We get to learn about another country while showing others our part of America."

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Article originally published by Eastern Michigan University.