Lodi High School, November 15, 2007

Current UW-Madison students Tifanny Iliadis and Marissa Mastrangeli along with Language Institute Outreach Coordinator Wendy Johnson traveled to Lodi High to be part of their International Education Week Speakers Festival.

As part of a presentation entitled "One World: Language Learning and Global Competence," Wendy Johnson spoke about the need for today's Americans to be well-versed in international issues and to have proficiency in at least one second language. Tiffany Iliadis then spoke about her experiences learning Chinese and studying and working in China. Marissa Mastrangeli wrapped up the presentation with a discussion on her pre-college language learning experiences, travel in Mexico and Italy, and her decision to come to the UW-Madison because of its strong international focus. She also highlighted some UW Madison programs and organizations in which a student can pursue international interests.

Pilot Presentation at James Madison Memorial High School, Madison.

On May 3, 2007 UW-Madison students Tom Boman, Paulina Bugembe and BethAnne Freund shared their international experiences with over 1,000 students from James Madison Memorial High School. The students were joined by Dianna Murphy, Language Institute Associate Director, who talked about the importance of global competence -- knowledge of world cultures, religions, histories, political systems, economies; and proficiency in at least two languages -- for all citizens today.

Tom Boman, a junior majoring in Linguistics with certificates in South Asian Studies and Religious Studies, draws the connection between studying languages and cultures with social activism and community service.

Paulina Bugembe, a senior majoring in Computer Engineering and Japanese, talks with Memorial students after the panel discussion. Paulina emphasized the professional opportunities that studying in Japan and learning Japanese have opened for her.

BethAnne Freund, a senior majoring in Anthropology and German with certificates in Global Cultures and European Studies, talked about the life-changing experience of student exchange and study abroad. Having studied and lived in many European countries, BethAnne elaborated on the resources available to UW students to make the globe their campus.