UF African Choir sets mood as 90 attend International Education Week event

Posted Nov. 19, 2010

  

Duncan Wambugu and his UF African Choir (pictured above) set the mood for the College of Education's 5th annual Comparative and International Education Week event Nov. 15, opening the half-day function with native music and dance from the people of the world's second largest continent.

Ninety students, faculty and staff from the college and across campus attended the drop-in-when-you-can affair, enjoying international cuisine for lunch, provided by local restaurants, along with three panel discussions. Ester de Jong, associate professor of ESOL and bilingual education, facilitated the event, with presentations and discussions following the theme of transforming education through global engagement.

The first panel featured international education students (Ya-Yus Cloudia Ho, Nikke Kernaghan and Hongwei Yu) speaking on mediating UF and U.S. experiences with future aspirations. A COE faculty panel then discussed how their international research or consulting has changed their work. Panel members were Linda Jones (science and environmental education), Mary Ann Clark (counselor education), Griff Jones (UFTeach and science education) and Diane Ryndak (special education, pictured right).

3 student panel members at COE's International Education Week event. Closing out the day was a panel of study-abroad students (Ciara Rodgers, Caitlin Martin and Hannah Miller, pictured right, L to R) who described how their international experiences have impacted their learning at UF, their future goals and how they view teaching.

COE Student Affairs sponsors the yearly International Education Week event. The college’s participation, based on a joint initiative of the U.S. departments of State and Education, honors a worldwide celebration of Comparative and International Education Week, also honored campuswide at UF.

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CONTACTS

    SOURCE: Matt Goff, undergraduate adviser and event coordinator in COE Student Services, (352) 273-4378; mgoff@coe.ufl.edu   

    WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, (352) 273-4137; llansford@coe.ufl.edu

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