TIUA students arrived!!
You can find many Japanese students on campus at Willamette University.
Maybe you surprise seeing them without knowing Willamette University has a long academic relationship with
Tokyo International University (TIU) in Japan. Every year approximately 90 Japanese students visit the United States to study English as well as diverse culture in this country. Building next to our campus is Tokyo International University of America (TIUA), where these Japanese students spend substantial amount of time to polish their English skills. Some TIUA students with proficient English skills are allowed to take some courses at Willamette University, which positively affects the academic environment in terms of cultural diversity.
This year we have more than 110 TIUA students, which is one of the largest populations our university ever had.
They will expose themselves into the college life in the U.S., which is completely different to its counterpart in Japan. TIUA students have many opportunities to join Willamette activities, such as Take a Break: Alternative Spring Break Program (TaB). I got three TIUA students in our TaB group. They will do some research about our group's objective; food sustainability, and will join entire trip happening in March. As the leader of the group, I hope they will have great experiences throughout the trip. And wish all TIUA students will spend fabulous time on campus.
Yuta