By Marykate Torley ’11

Sayaka Minami is one of nine participants in this year’s Long-term Educational Administrators Program (LEAP) for International Exchange, a yearlong professional development sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) and managed by the Montana State University Office of International Programs.

The goals of the program are to help the participants improve their English skills, learn about the United States higher education system, and gain the skills and knowledge to promote internalization of the participants’ universities.

While at Arcadia, Minami is researching The College of Global Studies because of her interest in the unique study abroad programs that Arcadia offers.  She is studying the programs, recruitment, and the operating systems.

Minami chose to intern at Arcadia not just for The College of Global Studies, but also for the change in pace. Having been at Montana State University for six months, she thought that having experiences at both a public university and private university would make for a better internship. The other reasons she chose Arcadia was “the former LEAP-ers’ reports. Both of them, Emino and Hiro, said they had a very good time here.”

Though she misses Japanese food and her friends, traveling and taking photos are what Minami has enjoyed most about her experience so far.  She has visited many places, including Chicago, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Seattle, Quebec, and Montreal, and plans on traveling even more now that she is on the East Coast.  Minami will be returning to Japan in March.

A two-year program, all participants intern at MEXT for a year, then move to Montana for six months to intern and study. The last six months are spent interning at a different practicum site in the United States.