UScampus Guide Spring 2016 is now live!

The Spring Edition of UScampus Guide is now live! This was my first season taking over for the magazine and I am so pleased that it has finally come to fruition. We have made so many upgrades to the magazine interface and are so proud of the improved look of USCG. Away with the outdated, non user friendly PDF version, and in with the new, modern, and very user friendly design. The pages are now flippable, and links are now clickable.

This season’s USCG features 15 new articles that discuss finance, living in the U.S., studying tips, career, and visa advice. The magazine spotlights writers such as Jessica Peyton Roberts of Aim High Writing College Consulting and Anum Yoon of Current on Currency. USCG also introduces our readers to Go Overseas, an excellent resource for finding study, intern, and volunteer abroad programs, along with ratings, reviews, and resources. We also couldn’t wait to share with our students the services of Flywire by peertransfer, an incredibly effective way to make international payments.

In February, AIEF launched its biannual USCG cover photo contest. Schools from across the nation sent in their submissions in hopes of winning a featured section in the magazine and their photo on the cover. This season’s theme was “Favorite Class in Action” and Peralta Community College District won with the most votes! Shout out to Mr. Drew Gephart for his impressive social media outreach! Schools that didn’t win will have a chance to enter again in the Fall or future editions.

This issue has so many amazing resources for all of our readers that we are so excited to share with you all on our new and improved online magazine! Go check it out now! 

www.aief-usa.org/uscg

By Frances Wu

Intern Spotlight: Megan Wu

AIEF has been fortunate enough to have had hardworking dedicated interns work for us over the years. Our latest intern was no exception to this.  Megan Wu offered her time to AIEF starting this past summer. It wouldn’t be long before all of us at AIEF realized how much Megan would become an integral part of the team. That is why we want to share our appreciation for her efforts.

Aside from being an incredible intern for AIEF, Megan already has had much success outside of our office. Not only has Megan demonstrated her potential for future success through her amazing achievements academically, but she was recently voted Homecoming Queen at her high school. I guess we aren’t the only ones who think she is great.

Her ambition marries well with her ability to succeed. Megan hopes to take her studies to UCLA after she graduates high school next year. It is her plan to major in business due to the variety of career options that will be available to her (call it a hunch, but we think she will do just fine in business). To be a bit more specific she is interested in the marketing side of operations, but is eager to learn of all the possible opportunities business has to offer.

Being the social person she is, the type that attracts Homecoming Queen titles, she often spends her free time with friends and family exploring new things in the L.A. area or visiting siblings in college. She also has a knack for ice skating and indoor rock climbing.

So you may be wondering, what is it that she actually did at to help out AIEF. Megan was ready to help out the team every time she showed up, but most of her efforts were utilized for UScampus Guide. USCG is our magazine we publish bi-annually to help offer information and insight to students looking to come to the US. Our previous issue was the first to be a purely digital release. That meant not only were we sourcing the articles but we were going to have to design and edit the magazine as well. This is where Megan came in. Thanks to her amazing skill set she was the one to develop the design of the magazine and teach our colleagues how to do the same.

It’s safe to say Megan has been a huge help to AIEF. I can confidently say on behalf of everyone here that we thank her for all her efforts. We couldn’t have done it without you Megan!

Fall 2015 Seoul Fair

I'd worked for AIEF before taking a year long maternity leave to be a stay at home mother. Now that I am back working for AIEF, I had the opportunity to travel for them for the first time. I remembered a lot of the school representatives I used to be in contact with and was excited to meet them face to face. This was my first time traveling to South Korea, and I couldn't have been more thrilled to explore a new city, culture, and meet new people.

View of Seoul from the Oakwood Hotel

Arriving in Seoul was surreal. What a beautiful city! How fortunate we were to have the opportunity to host Education Fairs here twice a year! AIEF stays at the Oakwood Premier Hotel each visit to Seoul, and upon check-in, I knew right away why we chose Oakwood each time. My boss introduced me to some of the staff she recognized, and we were taken care of with immense hospitality. A lot of our schools chose to stay at the Oakwood as well and we did happen to run into some of them at the hotel before the day of the fairs.

Saturday came quickly and I learned firsthand how the fairs are run each season. Since it was my first time, my boss and coworker, led me through everything from the fine details of booth furniture to making sure the presentation sessions ran smoothly.

I was the designated photographer for the American Education Fair, and it was a pleasure to capture the event for the foundation. Walking around the fair and documenting the day gave me opportunities to visit with each school representative and each booth, all the while ensuring they were all taken care of. Watching each exhibitor engage and recruit students reminded me of why I loved working for AIEF. To see the process firsthand of our fairs giving U.S. schools a platform to give international students opportunities to study in the U.S. really warmed my heart.

The first day of the fair was coming to an end and best part of the trip soon arrived. KTF (Korea Trade Fairs), our partners in Seoul, treated us and our school representatives out to dinner. This gave us an opportunity to get to know our school representatives on a more personal level. What an honor it was to network with people from all over the country.

Another personal favorite of mine during this trip, was the opportunity to meet our interpreters, local students we hired to come to the fairs and translate for us and our representatives. They were such a delight to work with and put so much effort into helping our event be a success.

All in all, I can say that this trip was a success, not just for me personally but for AIEF and all of our schools.

By Frances Wu

Jam Packed July and the HOBY WLC

International Students and Fernando Rojas at CSUF

A couple weeks ago AIEF had the pleasure of hosting 70+ students from China and Taiwan for the first leg of the HOBY WLC. These students were specially selected to be HOBY delegates from their respective countries. The students had the opportunity to experience a little bit of US college life as they were housed for a week on the CSU, Fullerton campus.

The week was BUSY. From the moment they landed to taking off for Chicago the students were partaking in activates and listening to some wonderful guest speakers. Adrian Hightower seemed to be quite popular with the students. Dr. Hightower was a member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the board of directors at Aid Africa.

Fernando Rojas was a big hit as well considering he is somewhat of a local celebrity now for making it into ALL 8 IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS! And of course we were honored to have our keynote speaker Michael Woo who was the first Asian American elected member of the Los Angles city council and current Dean of the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University.

Students Shopping at Ontario Mills Outlet

Aside from all the talks and listening the kids had a change to have some fun. During the week they headed to a favorite of the California locals, Santa Monica where they soaked up some sun. AIEF even gave them a little time to do some shopping over at Ontario Mills mall, which may or may not have been a good idea considering some of them couldn’t resist the temptation and may have over indulged. Some of their suitcases may be a little heavier returning home.

All in all it was a very fun week, and the kids did quite well considering the jet lag that plagued them most of the week. Here at AIEF we can safely say HOBY WLC 2015 was a success!

Summer is Here, and AIEF is Gettin Busy

There is a lot going on around the office here in Pasadena, California. We thought we would just keep you informed with some of the things AIEF has planned for the coming months.

HOBY – AIEF will be hosting 70 student delegates from China and Taiwan for the HOBY Youth Leadership Congress this July. The students will be with AIEF from July 12-19. Lucky for them they will have the opportunity to see what its like to live on a US college campus for the week as they will be spending the week on Cal-State University, Fullerton. Throughout the week the students will engage in leadership building activities as well as guest lectures and speeches from a wide range of professionals. The keynote speaker will be Michael Woo, Dean of the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. When the week is up they head to Chicago for the HOBY World Leadership Conference.

New Website – The AIEF marketing staff is currently building a brand new website for the foundation. This website will look to give a new and modern face to AIEF on the web. Needless to say it has been a much welcomed update by the AIEF staff.

AIEF fair in Taiwan! – This fall AIEF USA is headed back to Taipei, Taiwan for a two day education and recruitment fair on October 17th and 18th. Everyone here at AIEF is very excited to be back in Taiwan. For more information and to register visit here: http://aief-usa.org/services/fairs/fair_index.htm

Stay tuned for more updates. In the meantime enjoy the summer!

Busy as a Bee

The 2015 spring education fairs in Korea may have only passed a month ago, but things are already getting busy at the AIEF office. The AIEF team is setting up for a busy summer and fall schedule with a number of events in the works.

AIEF will be hosting a number of elite high school students who were chosen to be HOBY delegates from Taiwan and China. These students will arrive to the LA area mid July where they will spend a week at California State University Fullerton. The HOBY delegates will receive training and education in leadership by AIEF staff and special guest speakers. After that week the students along with AIEF staff will head to Chicago for HOBY’s annual World Leadership Conference (HOBY WLC).

In August another group of Chinese students will arrive in Southern California. This group will get a two week trip that will take them from sunny Southern California up the coast to the Golden Gate and beautiful San Francisco. The idea is to immerse these Chinese students into the English language while keeping them engaged in fun and exciting activities.

Not only is AIEF going to be kept busy with visitors from China and Taiwan, but AIEF is in the process of ramping up its fair portfolio. AIEF is looking to re-enter the Taiwan market fairs along with Brazil and Vietnam! It is our aim to have one if not all of these fairs up and ready for the fall recruiting season.

The AIEF team should have their hands full for the next few months. Stay tuned for updates!

The American Education Fair: My First Experience

       Seoul, South Korea. It was my task to engage with as many US institutions, invite them, and ultimately sign them up to participate at the AIEF Education Fair in Seoul. Much to my relief I and my coworker’s hard work paid off.

View from the hotel room

  It has been four months in the making. From the day I started work at AIEF I knew the work I had been given to carry out would ultimately lead me to the fairs.

            As I was boarding the plane I couldn't help but feel proud that my coworker and I managed to sign up 43 institutions, an increase of about 100% from the previous fair. It was my first time traveling to any Asian nation so as I exited the plane I could not help but feel the excitement overcome the weary tiredness left from jetlag. From there I headed to the Oakwood Premier hotel where I would be staying for the next week. I am one who loves nothing more than to travel so anything and everything I came across the next couple days was nothing short of amazing. However two short days passed, it was time for the fair to begin, and hard long hours to be had.

            I awoke the morning of the fair still accompanied by my companion for the trip, jetlag. But again the excitement broke through. Today was the day that months of work would finally come to fruition. A couple of hours before the AIEF fair I had the pleasure of meeting some of the school representatives while giving a brief orientation. After that concluded it was time to head to the COEX center where the AIEF education fair would be held. The fair was soon underway, and exhibitors began their weekend long task of recruiting students. Throughout the day I had the absolute delight of meeting all those with whom I made countless faceless interactions through email and telephone. It was beyond rewarding to meet the incredible people who decided to partake in the AIEF education fair.

Presentation at the fair

            The first day of the fair started off a little slow, but towards mid afternoon traffic began to pick up at the COEX and booths became busy with inquiring students. Seeing that was a big relief let me tell you. The first day eventually came to a close, and it couldn’t have come any sooner. To say I was tired would be a gross understatement. Luckily (note sarcasm*), I would have little time to rest and had a planned dinner with most of the school representatives, the KTF staff (the organization who put on the fair) and AIEF. Little did I know that would be one of the highlights of the trip. Around 50 of us made our way into a small Korean BBQ restaurant where we all took our seats and everyone began to mingle. It was a great feeling to have everyone together interacting and swapping stories. The dinner concluded with full stomachs and tired eyes and many retired to recoup for the next days work.     

         Korea? I apparently didn’t and so I concluded my night with some time on the town with friends and colleagues and used the next day to see the sights and sounds of Seoul. Six days was all it took, I love Seoul and Korea, and certainly cannot wait to return for round two in October for the AIEF Education Fair.

   The second day of the fair went over much like the first all though slightly smoother as everyone was settled in. The routine of a slower morning and a busier afternoon began to take hold. Toward the end of the day I could not help but feel proud of all the work we had put in. The school representatives seemed to be happy and so did we. At that point there wasn’t too much I could ask for that was in my control except for a good night sleep. But then again, who needs sleep when you are in Seoul.

Students Interpreters & AIEF team

 By Max Frederick