Last week Kansas City’s down town was flooded with international educators from all over the world. The NAFSA, (Association of International Educators) conference always feels a bit like a family reunion. People from across the globe that have been working together for years finally converge and get to see each other face to face. The conference is abuzz with conversations on issues related to international education ranging in topics from tuition costs and student numbers to immigration regulations and visas.
Shirley Henderson, A.C.E.’s Enrollment Services Manager, was able to attend this year’s conference to represent A.C.E. Her week at the conference was filled with sessions on immigration issues, meetings with agents, receptions and conversations with colleagues from our partner Institute, Montana State University, and so much more.
One of the receptions she attended was the MEXT LEAPer dinner, hosted by the Office of International Programs from MSU. It was a great opportunity for the LEAP students to meet with potential mentor universities as well as mingle with staff from MSU and A.C.E., including A.C.E. board member Sam Shepard and Ms. Henderson. There was plenty of wonderful conversation and quality Japanese cuisine to go around.
Ms. Henderson also had the honor of attending the awards dinner for Dr. Zuhair Humadi, who received the Cassandra Pyle Award for Leadership and Collaboration in International Educational Exchange for his instrumental work as executive director of the Iraq Education Initiative. Dr. Humadi is the father of A.C.E. friend Joseph Humadi, the CEO of US Education group working with his sister-in-law Wassan Humadi.
Ms. Henderson also had a number of productive meetings with agents and universities, both current and prospective. The main take away from these meetings was the growing popularity of short term professional training programs, particularly in Brazil. This puts A.C.E. in a very good position given our long history of offering quality, specialized training programs.
We look forward to the outcome of Shirley’s meetings and information sessions at the 2010 NAFSA conference. Overall it was a very productive, energizing and engaging week. See you next year in Vancouver!
(You can read more about the conference on the NAFSA Blog.)
A.C.E. 