Welcome, Spring 2015 Interns
Every quarter, FIUTS is lucky enough to have student interns who help us with all kinds of tasks in our office while having an opportunity to meet people, gain work experience, and learn about international education.
Meet our three amazing interns who are joining us this spring!
Name: Stephanie Lam, “SLam”
Hometown: Mill Creek, Washington, U.S.
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology;
Minor: Dance
Hello!! Yes, my hometown is Mill Creek, which means I am not an international student. However, FIUTS has given me so many great opportunities to learn from people of many cultures. It has also helped me to explore my hometown (most of you know Seattle better than I do), sparked my interests in cultural dance/music and travels, and enriched my time at UW. I don’t actually remember how I stumbled into FIUTS, but I do treasure my experiences here and every interaction I have with you all. I became interested in an internship, firstly because Bader told me about his experiences, and secondly, because I wanted to be more involved and see FIUTS through a “behind-the-scenes” perspective.
Hm, things I enjoy doing? I love being outside – hiking, running, volunteering, etc. (except the cherry blossoms make my allergies go crazy). I also love dance and music, and I especially enjoy learning new types of dance and music. During fall quarter, I took an African dance class at UW (I TOTALLY recommend it!) and have continued that outside of school. This quarter, I’m taking 3 music classes: marimba/mbira, Gamelan, and steel drum! I also enjoy meeting new people and spending time with friends – although I I’d actually say I’m 60% introverted?
Oh, and I LOVE FOOD!!! I’m all for trying new types of foods. ^_^ So, feel free to give me some food recommendations/insights, especially in Seattle! Or your favorite recipes! So stop by the FIUTS office to sign up for events or to chat! I can’t wait to meet you!!
Name: Wakaba Uchiyama
Hometown: Chiba, Japan
Year: Sophomore
Major: International Studies
I have been interested in doing internship in the U.S. and I chose working at FIUTS. This is because I was studying International Liberal Arts as a major in my university in Japan, and would like to know more about this kind of field. Also, as an international students for one year at the UW, I have participated in several FIUTS events before. Then I realized the importance of these programs and activities and thought I want to support them. Now, I'm really excited to working at FIUTS and meeting people with different cultures!
Since I came to Seattle last September, I really like living here. I like doing sports such as tennis, badminton, and so on. Since Seattle is a nice place to do physical activities and UW has a big sports gym, IMA, I often enjoy playing these sports with my friends. I also like traveling. Seattle has a lot of nature, so it's really fun to go on a trip and explore the neighborhood. Seattle’s nice weather in this season also makes me more active and feel like going outside! I wish I could stay here longer! Since my time is limited, I would like to enjoy my life here and experience a lot of things as much as possible. I'm sure that FIUTS will help me to meet with new people and come in touch with a lot of cultures!
I will work at front desk of FIUTS office during this quarter, and also participate some events at FIUTS. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and enjoy the time together!
My name is Vorleak Sem. I am a graduate student majoring in Organizational Development. I’m from Cambodia which is a country located in the Southeast Asian. I have been in the US since September 2013 and I have heard about FIUTS from a Chinese friend. I first started to join FIUTS with a facilitator position. Being a FIUTS facilitator, I found it was fun getting to meet many people from various background, and been able to get to learn their culture. I get a chance to practice cross-cultural communication skills and management skills. I can say that I got wonderful opportunities to apply my leadership skills with FIUTS and have been able to help international students to explore new experiences and assisting them make adjustment to the new environment.
After being a facilitator for several events, I have found myself more passionate about FIUTS' mission and vision. And wanted to know more of how FIUTS work with international students. Then, I decided to apply for an internship position. By working as intern in the FIUTS office, I have chances to learn not just communication skills but organizational skills by hand, which are very important for me as an Organizational Development practitioner. I could be able to improve myself by applying the theories I have learned into real practices, and to experience working with American colleagues. To me, I believe that nothing will work out if you don’t believe it in. If you want to achieve your aspirations and goals, you have start deciding what you want tomorrow to be about and get to work manifesting your dream.
Thanks to our awesome interns for supporting FIUTS with all your hard work!