High and middle school students in Appalachian’s Vietnamese Summer Academy gather for a group photo atop Grandfather Mountain. Dr. Jesse Lutabingwa, associate vice chancellor in the university’s Office of International Education and Development, and Vietnamese Summer Academy student Duy Nhat Phan hold an Appalachian State University banner. Also accompanying the group are IDEA Vietnam staff member Nga Nguyen, far left, Vietnamese Summer Academy Director Maria Anastasiou, sitting in front at right, Resident Hall Supervisor Jenny Carlos, third from right, and host family member Samantha Buzan, far right. Photo by Kevin Delgado-Valentin
BOONE, N.C. — The second Vietnamese Summer Academy (VSA) at Appalachian State University — a four-week study abroad program for middle and high school Vietnamese students — has been funded by International Development for Educational Access (IDEA), an after-school English language acquisition program for students of Vietnam and Southeast Asia. IDEA was founded by Appalachian alumnus Brian Dockery ’98 and his wife, Huong Nguyen, who also direct the program.
Dr. Maria Anastasiou, executive director in Appalachian’s Office of International Education and Development (OIED), is the recipient of the $35,400 grant.
Other Appalachian faculty and staff members assisting with the VSA include Kevin Delgado-Valentin, OIED assistant; Appalachian alumna Jenny Carlos ’18, who serves as resident hall supervisor for the students during their stay on campus; and Liz Kunkel, adjunct instructor of Spanish in Appalachian’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, who provides the students with English language instruction. Additionally, Nga Nguyen, an IDEA staff member, is the students’ escort during the academy.
“The Vietnam Summer Academy started as a program to help middle and high school students from Vietnam to improve their English language skills and learn about American culture,” Anastasiou said. “This is the second year that this program is running, and so far, it has been a great success for the students and for our community at large.”
During each morning of the academy, the VSA students take an English language class, and in the afternoons, engage in social and cultural activities — including several outdoor activities — to learn about Boone and the surrounding region. The students also interact with youth in Appalachian’s Upward Bound program through various activities and spend time with their host families.
Some of these activities include Volunteering at the Appalachian’s Teaching and Research Farm in Ashe County; engaging in dance, art, yoga with students in Appalachian’s Upward Bound program; and participating in a soccer game with the 2018 Mandela Washington Fellows at Appalachian’s Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Ten middle and high school students from Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, are participating in the 2018 VSA at Appalachian from June 16–July 14.
About the Office of International Programs
Appalachian State University combines a strong liberal arts foundation with a comprehensive, pervasive and integrated commitment to global engagement. The Office of International Programs assists App State in fulfilling its global engagement mission by working to develop awareness, knowledge, appreciation and respect of cultural differences — in both domestic and international contexts — in the university’s students, faculty and staff, as well as in the surrounding communities. Learn more at https://international.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
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