The Muskie program [6] celebrates International Education Week (IEW) with the release of the 2012 Muskie Host University Application [7]. Since 1992, Muskie fellows have contributed to campuses across the United States by adding their unique perspectives to the classroom and campus life. University hosts benefit from the enthusiasm and dedication of these bright and promising Eurasian leaders. At the same time, Muskie fellows gain knowledge while building important linkages with their classmates and advisors. In many cases, alumni and professors continue to collaborate professionally after fellows return to their home countries.
Involvement On-Campus and in the Community
Central Michigan University (CMU) [8] is benefiting from the hard work and contribution of Muskie Fellow, Adam Sampiev. Mr. Sampiev, a public policy fellow from Russia, is currently working alongside fellow international students [9] to establish CMU’s first international student organization.
Through her studies at the University of Texas in Arlington [10], fellow Marianna Tanina worked with other graduate students to conduct an assessment of community participation [11] and presented recommendations for improvements to the City of Mesquite.
Muskie Fellow Svetlana Kurtova actively participated as a crewmember at ATV [12], the student-run television station at American University [13]. Her experience has exposed her to different points of view and new avenues of political expression through filming debates, conducting interviews, and covering current topics in the community.
Continuing Collaboration
Elnura Emilkanova, an education fellow at Louisiana Tech University [14], was an English teacher for blind and visually impaired students in her native country, Kyrgyzstan. During her Muskie fellowship, she learned about adaptation and integration for the blind through courses in instructional strategies, psychology of blindness, and rehabilitation systems. With help from Louisiana Tech, Ms. Emilkanova brought over the principal [15] of a school focused on visually impaired and blind children for a two week study tour.
Natalie Okolita, a law fellow, and her mentor, Dean Julie Jackson, didn’t end their collaboration when Ms. Okolita returned to her native Ukraine. Ms. Okolita applied for and received a Muskie Mentor/Advisor Exchange (MAX) award to bring Dean Jackson, an assistant dean for public interest programs at Tulane University Law School [16], to Ukraine to facilitate workshops on the process and practice of mediation [17].
Interview with an Academic Advisor
As a senior business analyst and program coordinator for the LLM in International Trade and Policy program at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, Carolyn Coolidge has served as an advisor to several Muskie law fellows. Coolidge shared her thoughts about the Muskie hosting experience in a recent interview.
Q. Why do you like hosting Muskie fellows? Because they are such well-rounded folk, excellent academians, … they are so intelligent they have the extra time to really explore the “extras” that a U.S. LLM program offers.
Q. What added value does a Muskie fellow bring to campus? The interaction with other students, and not just law! Ultimate Frisbee teams, soccer teams, musicians, and grad students from all over the university have been enriched by encountering our Muskie Fellows.
Q. What impact have you seen in the classroom? Law students are fascinated by hearing the “real world” experiences many of our Muskie Fellows have shared, and how a theory can and has gone awry. Plus, how exotic to have these super cool people sitting right there in front of you, ready and willing to talk about anything. What excitement!
Q. How do faculty members respond to Muskie fellows? The intelligence, the willingness to learn and participate—they’re a faculty’s dream student! Fearless; fascinating; polite; capable; top-performing.