Educational and cultural exchanges between Fredonia and Aichi Prefectural University of Japan will continue, thanks to renewal of the long-standing study abroad agreement signed on Thursday, March 9, by President Virginia Horvath and Yumiko Kataoka, who serves on the faculty of the Japanese university and is also an alumna of Fredonia.
A total of 16 Japanese students, whose majors include Education, Nursing, English, Spanish, Chinese and International Relations, were enrolled in the Fredonia-Aichi study abroad program in the spring semester.
Fredonia students attend core courses in Japanese language and culture, as well as business and international relations, at Aichi.
Launched in 2005, the Fredonia-Aichi study abroad program brings Japanese students to campus each spring semester for short-term study lasting between two and four weeks. Visiting students observe classroom instruction, collaborate with Fredonia students, attend club meetings, meet Fredonia faculty members and reside in residence halls. Class time is also spent in the EC English Language Center, which is located on the Fredonia campus.
Off-campus volunteer opportunities are also provided in residential care facilities, local school districts and social service organizations. Education majors serve at three Dunkirk elementary schools, the after school program at Wheelock Elementary School and the Boys and Girls Club in Dunkirk. Nursing students volunteer at the WCA Home assisted living facility and the St. Columban’s on the Lake retirement home. Visits are also made to Brooks Memorial Hospital.
Long-term relationships for cultural exchange can easily grow out these short-term visits. Aichi students have come back to Fredonia to finish a degree and then return home and promote Fredonia, reports Naomi Baldwin, director of the Office of International Education.
That’s what Ms. Kataoka, who earned her B.A. in Music Performance at Fredonia in 1998, accomplished. She was introduced to Fredonia through a study abroad program.
Preliminary discussions have begun for a new study abroad initiative with Kobe Gakuin University. Another former Fredonia student, Yukiko Yasuda, and her dean, Dr. Ai Hirai, visited the campus to discuss a cultural exchange opportunity. Ms. Yasuda attended the Aichi program at Fredonia in 2003 and returned to earn a M.S. in TESOL in 2005.
