Interviewing for a Panel

Here's a brief snippet on interviewing for a panel. This may consist of an alum on the program or organization, a specialist in the area and a scholar or a combination of the three.

1. If the application required an essay, remember what you wrote!

2. Spend time practicing answers to possible questions. Interviewers usually ask questions that will help them understand whether or not you're a good fit for the program. Tell the panel about your adaptability, how would you handle certain challenging situations, what qualities make you stand apart from others, etc. Be prepared for some curve ball questions too. Get friends to ask questions and to really grill you!

3. When answering, be concise but also elaborate so they can get the best picture of who you are.

4. Dress in your best business attire. This may seem obvious, but often is not followed correctly.

5. Show up early. Bring something calming to occupy your time while you wait. Practice beforehand but don't practice immediately before. We all have different styles, but you want to be genuine and not over polished or too stressed when the interviewers meet you.

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(C) 2009

Life Coach

Since going from out of the country to out in the country, I've been fortunate to hear a local product who gained success at the pinnacle speak in person.

Sam Wyche, a graduate from Furman University in the Upstate of South Carolina was participant in the Super Bowl as a player for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s, as Joe Montana's quarterback coach for the San Fransisco 49ers in the early 1980s and as a head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals in the late 1980s. Wyche was an innovator of the "no huddle" offense since was their normal offensive play strategy the entire game not for certain situations. Here is an excerpt of the speech I heard:

Courtesy of the Greater Greer News

During the years since his tenure as an NFL coach, Sam Wyche developed into a life coach.

As a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Wyche shared the sideline and a Super Bowl victory with Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. As the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, he shared a terrific turnaround season and another Super Bowl appearance with Ickey Woods and Anthony Munoz.

Now, as a motivational speaker, Wyche shares stories of perseverance, persistence and preparation, translating his triumphs and letdowns into universal life lessons.

On Friday afternoon, he shared with nearly 125 Greer area business leaders, serving as the keynote speaker at the Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce First Friday luncheon.

"I enjoy speaking. I've done it all my life," said Wyche, who earned a business administration degree from Furman University.

"When you go to a chamber meeting," he said, "you are speaking to people who are the foundation of what's going to keep this country strong or not. The free enterprise system has to work for every other of part of our society to work."

In his address, Wyche shared what legendary NFL coach Paul Brown and a lethargic service station attendant taught him about energy and enthusiasm. He shared what former Washington Redskins coach George Allen taught him about persistent, focused effort. He shared what Walsh taught him about being decisive and specific in all phases of life. He shared what former Bengals running back Stanley Wilson's struggle with drug addiction taught him about keeping one's guard up and protecting the higher cause.

Revealing those life lessons, Wyche charged the businessmen and women to serve their customers and their community with energy, persistence and focus.


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(C) 2009

Ten Suggestions to Deal with Reverse Culture Shock

More from The JET Programme's After JET Guide, 2007:
What is Culture Shock? It is the experience one feels when spending considerable amount of time in one culture and then breaking in to a culture quite different. Reverse culture shock is when that person returns to their first culture after spending a considerable amount of time in their adopted culture. Here's a list of suggestions to beat the odds while experiencing the transition back into your main culture:

1. Be prepared: remember that reverse culture shock is both real and common.
2. Acknowledge your feelings, denial will only prolong the situation.
3. Remember some of your favorite stories will be out of context for your friends.
4. Be patient with your friends and with yourself.
5. Let your friends fill you in on what's "in" at home: TV shows, music, gadgets
6. Build a new community and find people who have had similar experiences.
7. Volunteer or find work that connects you to Japan.
8. Stay in contact with fellow JET alumni; share your re-entry experiences.
9. Keep up your Japanese, take a class or do a language exchange.
10. And don't forget, you can always go back to Japan even just to visit.


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(C) 2009

Japanese New Year Gathering in the Heartland

Clemson, SC- Me with my wife and language learners on January 23rd.

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(C) 2009

Clash of the Cultures- A Work in Progress for Man and the World- Lessons Learned

Written on Saturday, November 10, 2007

I can remember back when I was nine years old going to the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee with my father, grandfather and cousin. It was one of those summers when my younger sister and mother opted out and made their annual trek to my maternal grandmother’s home in Arizona. With our home becoming a bachelor’s pad of sorts, my father and I met up with my grandfather and my cousin in Georgia with a trek of our own-a taste of imported culture being brought to our neck of the woods. Twenty-five years later, I was wrapping up a three-year stay in Japan where I experienced differences in opinion, attitude and an overall approach to things and remembering from time to time the lessons learned with their beginnings going as far back as 1982.

The trip to Knoxville was a memorable experience in a lot of ways mainly because the summers back in those days had us going on family outings to Myrtle Beach, SC. It seems that the lessons learned from those beach outing were to:
a) never keep your back to the ocean too long or a big wave will catch you off guard and send you tumbling to the shore;
b) the long lines and pricey dishes for good quality seafood were worth the time and money since you couldn’t get the quality back home even though we resided in the Upstate and
c) it is not wise to ride the centripetal-force spin ride at the main amusement park located along the main drag in Myrtle Beach after a sitting of all-you-can-eat Calabash shrimp since you may be eating it twice as my sister did once by letting the ride get the best of her.

It seemed that this trip to Knoxville was a bonus trip since in addition to visiting the beach; we were now driving through the Smokey Mountains but with my sister and mother being substituted by my grandfather and cousin. The only mishap that I can recall from this trip is me becoming exhausted. The exhaust could have been caused by the heat, drinking too many sodas or the by the trip itself. After our first night in Knoxville, my cousin looked at me while eating dinner at a local steakhouse chain and saying, “Danny, are you OK?!?!? You look awful!” It was one of those rare things in my childhood when I found myself to be the youngest and smallest since my sister wasn’t with us. “I have to be tough.” I told myself since I didn’t have my mother around to look after me. I shrugged it off and gave my best tough look that I could muster and replied, “I’m OK. I was only yawning.”

The following day, we made our way to the main pavilion area where makeshift tent after tent were categorized by geographical location. Tents featuring European countries were to the left, South American countries were in the back, Asian countries were to the right and so on. As we visited each tent, I remember entering the tent called “Saudi Arabia” and becoming a bit scared as if I was entering a haunted house, unable to comprehend the unknown and only going off of what I did know about this mysterious culture which was the latest from NBC Nightly News and seeing pictures of people dressed as the man in the front of the room in our children’s Bible that my dad would read to my sister and I most mornings before leaving for school.

As the Arabic man dressed in traditional dress spoke to the visitors in the room mainly consisting of Southerners who probably have been outside of the Southeast US and may have been outside of the US if they were old enough to serve in the military during one of the conflicts of their generation which in general, seems to be the case when it comes to international travel with Americans. Afterwards, my cousin and I spoke to the man wearing a long white robe, goatee and turban and looking back on that time, I was as curious of him as my Japanese elementary students were of me when they would try to communicate with me. After entertaining us with the need to be somewhere else, the Arab man asked, “Would you like to take a picture?” As my cousin and I posed with the Arab man’s arms around our shoulders, he stops my father for a brief moment and says, “It is impolite to take a picture with your hats on.” and gently removes my cousin’s Atlanta Braves cap and my Olympics cap in time for the picture. At that moment, I felt awkward since I did not mean to be impolite to this grown-up and later realized that he too was wearing a hat but it wasn’t a cap like ours but a traditional turban.

My cousin (far left) and I with our Saudi Arabian exhibitor,

World's Fair, Knoxville, TN, 1982.

Later that day, we went to the tents featuring the countries from the Far East, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Each time we went, my grandfather would tease us and say, “Ask for Bruce Lee.” Some of the Asian people that my cousin and I would ask would smile at us since they knew that we were being silly asking for the fallen martial arts legend while others would stop what they were doing in their busy schedule and look around for a man with a last name “Lee”. While the person was looking for “Lee” my cousin and I would run off thinking to ourselves, “Oh my God! What have we done!” not expecting this person to fetch a couple of schoolboys a person as famous as Bruce Lee.

After finding my father and grandfather and bursting at the seams with laughter at our mischievous escapades we continued on with our tour of the World’s Fair. Later on in that trip, I had a group of older boys pass by my cousin and I as we entertained ourselves in a arcade area. These boys were a few years older than my cousin and I and were lost. They approached us and one of the boys began speaking rapidly to us in a language that we could not understand. After repeating himself again and getting the same blank look on our faces, he then asked us in slow words spoken deliberately in broken English, “Where’s the food court?” I pointed in the direction of the food court and the two boys went on their way.

As I look back at that trip, I recall learning the lessons that what may seem OK to you may not be OK to someone else, as well as, what may be common knowledge to me may be breaking news to someone else and lastly, not everyone speaks English in the US as a first language. In addition, what I may find as humorous, someone else may find as an insult.

Twenty-five years since that time, the facts are:

 Soon, the number of people who speak English as a Second Language (those whose mother tongue is anything other than English) will overtake Native English speakers. This trend is known as “Borderless Societies”.
 People belonging to a certain group such as sex, race, elderly, handicapped, etc. Everyone is in some sort of minority. This trend is known as Inclusion.
 Lifestyle- Old patterns from work no longer exist. Personal freedom has an uncertain future. We must find new patterns of accomplishing tasks and adjusting our freedoms to fit into that uncertainty.
 Taking the approach by having the “Make a Difference” mentality. More and more people are focus on mending what is terribly wrong. Just this past week, the NBC's “Today” Show had people broadcasting from the Artic Circle, the Equator and the South Pole in an effort to bring attention to the global warming epidemic.
 "Big Brother, Hold My hand” mentality. As we saw first-hand with the fall out of the hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the government in only capable of doing so much. We must live within our means weather it is finances or culture boundaries.
 The aging population is making a significant contribution to society. More and more 60-somethings are hard at work and are valued employees since they are reliable and have the poise to handle testy situations in a professional manner. The gimmick of outsourcing jobs due to the use of technology and sacrificing the quality of service needs to stop. In the US, 1 in 10 jobs to move overseas.
 Change careers several times. Swapping careers in becoming more common.

As the world evolved to take on these changes it is important to step back to reflect on our progress. If we were to honestly give ourselves a progress report, I’d have to say that there is much more room for improvement in the areas of cultural sensitivity. The early 2007 incident of the Islamic teacher in the UK refusing to remove her headscarf and how the authorities dealt with the issue coupled by the 2006 incident of the Dutch cartoons that offended Arabs are the same as the my cousin and I attempting to wear our hats in a picture with the Arab man in Tennessee as well as us causing havoc and being mischievous at the expense of satisfying our petty quest to find the great Bruce Lee, but only on a much larger scale.

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(C) 2009

Learning English: New partnership brings English as a Second Language program to Clemson,...

... will draw more international students to continue their studies as Tigers.

Instructor, Daniel Stone explains a grammar point to a group of beginner-level students.

Published: December 21, 2009

Clemson University Official Website

When a university has a diverse culture, it opens the door for discussion, collaboration and great ideas. Students’ college experiences — and their lives — are enhanced by a diverse atmosphere.
Clemson University wants nothing less. One of the University’s 10-year goals is to increase its diversity while also strengthening the campus’ sense of community.

To help cultivate this culture and bring more great international students onto campus, Clemson has partnered with ELS Language Centers, an English as a Second Language program with a strong academic focus. By attending this new ELS center, students will come to Clemson to study and learn English, and many of them will finish and move into many of the University’s graduate programs.

Because ELS has global reach, Clemson will be able to expand its recruiting efforts to more students.

“This partnership allows us to get the world’s best students,” said Sean Williams, Graduate School associate dean. The Graduate School was integral in setting up this partnership.

To help pursue the vision to be a top-20 school, the University needed the language program as a resource for its international students, Williams said. More than 25 percent of the Graduate School’s 3,750 students are from another country. But cost and the amount of work it would
take to build a program from the ground up were just too much. Partnering with ELS allows the University not only to retain international students on campus but also to recruit more students from more countries than before.

“Our curriculum is academically focused,” said Tara Kelley, director of the Clemson ELS center. “We really focus on getting students ready to use English in an academic setting. Our goal is to get them ready for college or graduate school and get them to a university.”

Learning English specifically to be used in an academic setting appeals to universities and can be accepted in place of a TOEFL English competency exam, which international students take.
Increasing the diversity of students, and reaching the University’s 10-year goal, will enhance everyone’s knowledge by creating an atmosphere of question and discovery.

“When everybody looks the same, has been brought up the same, has had similar experiences, they are likely to approach problems in the same ways,” Williams said. “When you have students from different educational and cultural backgrounds working together, they look at problems in different ways because they literally see things differently and value things differently. The differences that people see create a climate where individuals begin to question each other and build understandings about the complexity of problems.”

One of the best ways to do this is to bring students in from other countries. Many of these students live on campus while others live with community and University staff members. All have the chance to participate in campus organizations, and many take advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s a tribute to the vision of Clemson University that they are looking for international scholars to enrich their experience here,” said Mark Harris, president and CEO of ELS Language Centers, during the center’s grand opening in November.

Clemson’s ELS center began with 16 students this fall. Next school year there will be 50 to 65 students enrolled. That number could double by 2011, Kelley said.

Many students in Clemson’s ELS center have ties to the Clemson area, which is why they chose to come here. Several students also have conditional admittance into the University’s graduate programs; they will be fully accepted as soon as they can speak English. There are also two visiting scholars studying with ELS while working under professors and researchers on campus, Kelley said.

The ELS program is intensive. Students come in at all levels of English knowledge, Kelley said. Classes run four weeks at a time with 13 sessions a year. On students’ first day, they are tested and placed in the appropriate level. As they pass each level, they move up until they graduate.
Core classes are taken in the mornings, and intensive students take additional skill enhancement classes in the afternoon. For example, an afternoon class might be power reading, listening and note taking, American culture, and idioms or vocabulary.

“I know my students and what they need,” Kelley said. “I choose the enhancement classes by looking at who my students are and what their goals are.”

Having the center on campus allows the teachers more opportunities to get the students out into an environment where they can interact with other people and improve their conversational English, Kelley said. Teachers have taken students to the campus dairy farm, conducted learning activities in downtown Clemson and more.

Experiences like these are priceless for everyone. Being on campus is a great advantage to ELS students and is just part of what this partnership brings to the table.

“We want the world's best students,” Williams said. “In order to attract and retain them, we have to have an environment that supports them. Having a robust English as a Second Language presence is one of the key services for ensuring that international students both feel welcome here and succeed.”

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(C) 2009

American Culture Exchange

Essential components needed for exchanging your culture to a group that comes from another culture are confidence, a broad view, enthusiasum and the ability to make light of the situation.

As a group of hard working Americans and even one South African put our best foot forward to explain the meaning of Halloween to a group of Asian, Middle Eastern and European language learners, I wondered if the older students would think that our festivities were lame or that some would not be able to connect. I was pleased as the younger students really enjoyed their first Halloween experience and pleasantly surprised to see older students in costume and even volunteering to be wrapped in toilet paper for the mummy activity.

Looking back at this time last year, when I was at a local municipality where the high school attitude of ignoring somebody because you simply don't like that person was taking place, fast forward to now, and I am pleased at my decision making process that has allowed me to be in the place I need to be despite the distance between where my wife and I life and the opportunity is located. Where there is a will, there's a way.

Today's picture is of me wearing a jinbei (men's summer kimono worn in Japan) and a samurai wig.

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(C) 2009