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Thanks to the ingenuity of Marshall student Jessica Cox, The Center for International Programs (CIP) now has a successful tool for recruiting prospective students from Japan and keeping in touch with alumni from that country.
"Developing
this site and program was part of my senior project for the Yeager
Scholars program," said Jessica. "I came up with the idea after
talking with Dr. Clark Egnor about the needs of the CIP and after
interviewing students about their interests and wants. I’m "This site gives Marshall students a chance to build their own space and create a dialogue of exchange," added Jessica. "The best part of the virtual element of it is that participation is not limited to students who are physically at Marshall – potential, current or former students can meet up online in this space and share a bit of each other’s lives and perspectives no matter what their physical location in the world." "This is an example of how a student Capstone Project can be very practical to our needs," said Dr. Clark Egnor, director of the Center for International Programs. "Jessica approached us and said she would like to do something useful for the university. Since it is always a challenge to communicate with prospective students in Japan, and they always want more contact with us, this was an ideal situation for us. There have been more than 500 students from Japan in the past 10 years, and it is our Number 1 country of origin of international students. Our students can do some remarkable things, and this is a prime example. "Japanese has become a very popular language around here, with four teachers in area high schools from Marshall's partner school in Japan, Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka," said Egnor. "Marshall's Department of Modern Languages is searching for a full professor of Japanese to begin this fall, with the goal of offering a major. Also, Marshall sends 10 to 15 students a year to Japan to study, so there is a huge interest." For more information on this story, please see The Herald-Dispatch story below and visit the web site at Hiroba. Japanese alumni, students have chance to share through Web portal by
Cara Bailey
Japanese alumni and current and potential students now have the opportunity to converse about culture, food, even music, for free, due to the creation of a new Web portal. Hiroba, created by Marshall senior Jessica Cox, is an online meeting place for any current, former or prospective Marshall student. The figurative meaning of the word is "open public square" which symbolizes the openness of the forum. Visitors are free to share pictures, create discussions, post recipes, and more, by using the portal. Clark Egnor, the director of the Center for International Programs, said he had not seen a forum similar to Hiroba, but said it will be a useful tool. "It's a really good concept that helps to connect the perspective student from Japan with Japanese students here, and American students that want to go to Japan with students in Japan," he said. "It also helps to develop an alumni connection with former students." Japanese students are the largest group of international students studying at Marshall, with more than 500 coming in the past 10 years, Egnor said. Due to the number of students, Cox took the opportunity to create something useful for the students and the university. Cox, a Yeager Scholar, cam up with the idea while trying to fulfill her senior project for the Yeager fellowship. She said she knew the CIP, like many offices on campus, needed additional help, so she sat down with Egnor and met with several international students to find out what needed to be done. After almost a year of meeting with focus groups and Japanese students, as well as students in Japanese language classes, Hiroba was unveiled. "Hopefully kids can use it to meet other kids," Cox said. "It's similar to Facebook. You can start conversations, create travel blogs, post photos. You can meet online and exchange messages, exchange tips for travel, things like that." The site can be used as a way to make new friends, learn about Japanese culture or find more resources about Japan and Marshall. "It serves the immediate needs of future students and developing Japanese and American communication," Egnor said. "In general, it's a good example of how online technology can be used to integrate culture on a college campus." One of Egnor's hopes of the site will attract Japanese alumni. He said most of the emphasis the CIP has is placed on current students, so there is not a lot of time or resources for alumni. "There is no alumni club overseas," Egnor said, speaking of the alumni organizations Marshall has located in America. "Japan would be a good place to start. They are still very close to Marshall. The site could be the way to cultivate that alumni connection." There is a link on the site for Japanese alumni to register with the CIP, something difficult and expensive to do most other ways. Being online allows them the freedom to register when they like, and it does not cost anything. "It's expensive to go (overseas) and communicate with them," Egnor said. "That's what excites me about this. It has the potential to attract and inform about studies and cultivate an alumni connection with Japan." One thing everyone interested in the portal will be able to do is add to it. Cox said she has made the template, but it is her hope the site is never complete. "Kids can make it what they want it to be. I made the structure, but tried not to make too much content," Cox said. "I hope kids keep going on it and students keep posting and adding new ideas, so it is theirs. If something isn't there they want on there, they can add it." Egnor said he hopes to see a site like Hiroba develop for more students from different countries. "I think I could see if this portal is successful in building this community, maybe we could do one for Korea, China and Spanish-speaking countries," he said. Access to the site can be made by going to
www.marshall.edu/cip/japan. |
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