In May, Millersville’s International Programs and Services department sent students to Southeast Asia on a pilot mission to discover opportunities for future study abroad programs and international relations with other countries.
Headed by the department of Early, Middle, and Elementary Education’s Dr. Jason Petula and three students, Simon Domencic, Elijah Kiene, and Brogan Williams, the trip consisted of visiting seven countries in Southeast Asia to represent Millersville University abroad at different international schools and colleges, including sharing MU’s mission with students at those schools.
The student educators visited and shadowed students and faculty in institutions across Southeast Asia- such as intercultural and bilingual schools in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These visits consisted of meetings with teachers and administrators to find out what makes these schools succeed in an ever-changing early and elementary education landscape.
“I learned how to balance the role of friend and teacher,” said Williams, a senior in EMEE’s early childhood education and integrative STEM departments. “The students were very interested in our lives outside of teaching and what it’s like to live and learn in the United States.”
In Surabaya, the group was hosted by MU alumnus Josh Bishop. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from MU in 1995, Bishop continued his teaching journey abroad into India, China, and now Indonesia, where he is the Director of School Development for International School Services in the Asia Pacific region.
Although the group’s objective was to forge new relationships with potential international partners, the first stop on MU’s expedition in Asia was Stockholm, Sweden, a common location for many of MU’s study abroad programs. Twenty minutes south of Stockholm is Internationella Engelska Skolan Huddinge, a bilingual international school which teaches 600 students. Over the course of three days, Domencic, Kiene, and Williams taught how to design, build, and launch model rockets to a select group of IES’ students, including Sixten Erik-Jöst Törnqvist, a year eight student at IES.
“I thought it was very fun and a good learning experience,” said Törnqvist. “It was refreshing to have new teachers who were new to the Swedish culture.”
“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity that I had to teach kids in Sweden,” said Domencic. “I learned that communication and adaptability is the key to any kind of teaching . . . the students we taught were intelligent and personable and gave me the impression that they were very confident in both themselves and their English.”
The group’s final school visit was to Thames International, a high school and university in Manila, the Philippines, which offers bachelor’s degree programs in entrepreneurship, business administration, and communication. Here, the MU representatives spoke with Thames’ students aspiring to go to college in the United States, and learned about the process of acquiring a U.S. student visa.
“It was kind of shocking to hear about the difficulty of getting a visa, but it was also very fascinating to hear about [the students’] stories and why they want to attend college in the states,” said Domencic. “There are so many opportunities for college students in the United States in terms of both job opportunities and social life.”
The trip concluded in Seoul, South Korea, where the student explored the city and reflected on the month-long excursion before the final leg of their circumnavigation of the globe.
“This trip showed me there is so much out there in the world to see, and the only thing stopping you from going is booking a plane ticket,” said Williams. “I can now say for sure, the world is not flat.”
