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| Lee Jong-yul, fourth from right in the front row, chairman of the International Education Exchange Association (IEEA) Global Campus, poses with students who have embarked on a one-year course with the institution and guests during the institution's 2017 entrance ceremony at COEX, southern Seoul, March 2. Other participants are Mark Canning, cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy, and Martyn Miller, interim assistant vice president of Temple University. / Courtesy of IEEA Global Campus |
By Chung Hyun-chae
Over 110 high school graduates and university students have joined the International Education Exchange Association (IEEA) Global Campus program in preparation for studying at U.S. universities next year.
They attended the program's 2017 entrance ceremony at COEX, southern Seoul, Thursday.
"I recognize the one-year course will be tough," Korea Times President-Publisher Lee Chang-sup said during the ceremony. "I can guarantee all of you will become global talents after successfully finishing the English program and going to American universities next year."
The IEEA Global Campus is an educational institution working with the IEEA, a nonprofit corporation that received accreditation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008.
With the help of the association, all students have already been accepted to one of the institution's 20 partner universities in the United States.
They include Temple, Georgia State, Washington State, Central Washington, Utah State and Southern Utah universities, the State University of New York and California State University, San Marcos.
The students will attend one of the American universities after completing the program.
So far, about 2,000 students have completed the institution's English training course called Proficiency of English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) and been admitted to U.S. universities.
"One of the benefits of studying abroad is exposure to English. If you are going to be a global citizen and work internationally, English is essential. Studying in the U.S. gives students a chance to really polish up their English," said Mark Canning, cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.
Canning took part in the event to congratulate the students embarking on the English program.
Young Hee Koo, commercial specialist of the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy, also participated in the event.
Besides them, four school officials from three of the universities attended the event to welcome the new students.
They are: Martyn Miller, interim assistant vice president at Temple University; Jacob NK Ng, executive director of global affairs at Southern Utah University (SUU); Sean Heiner, chair of the Aviation Sciences Department at SUU; and Mary Sasso, director of the International Center at the College of Southern Nevada.
"It is pleasure to be able to welcome Korean students to Temple University," Miller said during the event. "You will find everything that you need there."
The students in the pilot program will have flight training as exchange students at Hanseo University's flight training facility located at Chino, California.
"Korea's airline industry has a big demand for qualified professional pilots with fluent English communication skills and this pilot program will be an ideal program to produce needed highly qualified professional pilots for the industry," said Mathew Kim, external affairs director of the association.
Lee Gun-in, 25, who was accepted to SUU's pilot program, has a dream of becoming a police officer working for the airlines.
"During my service with the Air Force, I developed a desire to join the aviation police," Lee said. He said he wants to work for Chinese or Arabian airlines.
"I am a little older than the other students because I already served in the military. I am so excited that I am one step closer to my dream."
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