April 28, 2010
For Immediate Release
By Ashley Zsedenyi, staff writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University students Whitney Smyser of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and Anastasiia “Nastya” Oliinyk of Ternopil, Ukraine, are taking the opportunity to study abroad this summer at Ternopil National Pedagogical University (TNPU) in Ukraine where they will study for three weeks.
They will take the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) methods and materials course and will complete 30 hours of on-site teaching practice to 15 and 16 year olds.
Erin Holmes, ESL endorsement specialist at CU, said the program was set up through CU’s partnership with TNPU and “will be run like a mini language camp.”
“This practicum is a great way for students in our TESL Endorsement/Certificate program to get hands-on experience putting into immediate practice the topics covered in the course,” she said.
She said TNPU is an “impressive school” located in a very historic region of Ukraine and she also hopes the students will have the opportunity to do some travel in the region.
Oliinyk is a student from TNPU and purposefully came on exchange to CU to get a TESL certificate in addition to taking some business courses.
Oliinyk said she has really enjoyed her time in the United States.
“I like Campbellsville very much,” she said. “It is a good place to study and make friends.”
She said she and Smyser will stay at her home in Ternopil during the summer program. Oliinyk will receive her degree from TNPU this year.
Smyser said she learned about the Ukraine program last year from an e-mail blast sent to all students.
“I wanted to participate because I’ve always wanted to study abroad, and it will also fulfill the last requirement for my TESL endorsement,” she said.
Smyser said her trip is funded through a scholarship from the Center for International Education at CU and also through money she has saved on her own.
“I hope that studying in Ukraine will help me to appreciate other cultures even more, help me to learn another language by first-hand experience and give me a lifetime of amazing memories.”
Smyser will graduate from CU in May 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
After learning about CU at a college fair a little more than four years ago, she visited campus and decided it was the place for her.
She said her four years at CU has been “awesome!”
“I’ve made some of my best friends, had some fun teachers and will be getting a degree that will have me doing what I want to do the rest of my life.”
Smyser is the daughter of Keith and Teresa Smyser and is a 2006 graduate of Mt. Juliet High School.
Bill Holmes, director of international education at CU, said study abroad has grown from four participants when he first arrived at CU to over 20 participants last summer.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 3,006 students who represent 97 Kentucky counties, 30 states and 37 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2010 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South, tied for fifth in “most international students” and fourth in “up-and-coming” schools in baccalaureate colleges in the South. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges® and to G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.
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