Photo by: Charles Ng
DU’s Office of Internationalization hosted its annual fall reception on Wednesday evening honoring those at DU and in the community who devote themselves to supporting international relations.
The event featured an award ceremony and an update on DU’s international opportunities and achievements.
Vice Provost of Internationalization Ved Nanda conducted the awards ceremony.
Amidst joking and personal anecdotes, Nanda proclaimed the attendees’ importance to DU and Denver’s international community and thanked them for providing an open window to the rest of the world.
He especially commended those individuals receiving awards for their excellent global citizenship and their intercultural relationships.
The Study Abroad Award was jointly presented to Michael Dietz and C-L Schutz. Though the Study Abroad Board typically recognizes only one student at the award ceremony, presenter Carol Fairweather noted that both Dietz and Schutz had accomplished so much for the Study Abroad Office that both deserved acknowledgement.
Schutz, who studied at the University of Queensland, founded the club ABA (Anywhere But Antarctica) upon her return. ABA involves over one hundred students in activities promoting study abroad, international culture and interactions with exchange students.
Dietz, a peer advisor at the Study Abroad Office, spent a year studying in China before graduating from DU and moving to China.
After peer advising for the Study Abroad Office last year, enrollment in students studying in China jumped from three to 13.
Roscoe Hill and Glen Fee received the International Service Learning Award for their leadership within Project Dharmsala. Hill, a DU philosophy professor and director of the Social Justice LLC, and Fee, associate director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, are the first leaders to be honored for international service learning.
In addition to their work abroad, Hill and Fee frequently sponsor Tibetan artists, musicians and politicians at DU.
Idie (Cheuk Yu) Si received the International Student Award for her work on the Festival of Nations, which is the largest student-organized event at DU, and was also recognized for her efforts with the 2006 Diversity Summit and International Student Orientation. As she is studying abroad this quarter, Tiffany Tan accepted the award on her behalf.
Jeanann Johnson, the director of Immanuel Methodist Church preschool program, received the Community Award for her work with the spouses of international students at DU. Nanda also mentioned that Johnson has hosted exchange students for sixteen years, often housing four students at a time.
After the award ceremony professors, diplomats, students and other members of Denver’s international community enjoyed international fare provided by DU area restaurants. Spanky’s Roadhouse, Chipotle, Jerusalem’s, Little India, Isle of Singapore, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Pita Jungle and Trompeau Bakery donated entrees, beverages and desserts for the event.
Members from the Colorado Consular Corps represented 16 countries at the reception. While honorary consuls are not paid, they are authorized to provide advice to citizens of the countries they represent while they visit in the US.
Ranging from business and cultural advice to helping citizens with documentation during legal troubles or injuries, honorary diplomats also assist students and professors.
Donald Peterson, the honorary consul of Sweden, attended DU for both his undergraduate and law degree. His father and grandfather also were consuls to Sweden; all three were appointed by the King of Sweden.
Despite the importance and acclaim associated with his position, Gregory Fasing, the honorary consul of the Slovak Republic and the secretary of the Colorado Consular Corps, turned the attention back to DU Internationalization.
He credited Nanda for putting Denver on the map in worldwide education.
“Ved Nanda is superman when it comes to promoting student experience in the international arena,” Fasing said.
Though Nanda introduced the award ceremony and did not receive any awards on Wednesday, his promotion of international study and global relationships garnered acclaim from many attendees that evening.
