Tag: Alumni

Love and thanks: Yung Hae Chun’s lifelong pursuit of the piano

Before Yung Hae Chun had a piano, she had a piece of paper. Her mother drew a keyboard across it so her young daughter could practice even when no instrument was available. In the years following the Korean War, a piano was a rarity where Chun lived. She recalled an entire city having one or …

WISLI Alumni Show How Language Studies Open Global Doors

Wrapping up the first week of this year’s Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI), a series of five “Global Professionals” panel sessions on June 19 showed current students how their language pursuits could turn into globally connected careers. Leaders from fields in public service, research, and international development shared honest stories about how language skills …

The Peace Corps Advantage: How the Peace Corps Forged a Badger’s Career in Diplomacy

For Michael Cavey, a proud alumnus of UW–Madison, the path from a lecture hall on Bascom Hill to a prestigious diplomatic role in Tokyo wasn’t a straight line—it was a journey that took him to the heart of Central Asia and back again, driven by a desire for international service. His initial interest in international …

“International Career Conversations” Series Connects Students with Global Alumni

The International Studies (IS) Major at UW–Madison recently hosted its International Career Conversations series, connecting students directly with alumni in high-impact global careers. The events featured three distinguished IS alumni—Matthew Conway, Jessica Lyga, and Jacob Kushner—all of whom have forged paths in international development, humanitarian and human rights work, and journalism. Students were excited to …

For the Love of Vanilla

Think about the products you’ve used since you woke up this morning: the toothpaste on your toothbrush; the yogurt with your breakfast; the fragrance on your dresser; the pills in your medicine cabinet. The taste that lingers on your tongue long after you’ve rinsed and spit and the note that scents your skin well into …

Alum Rattavut Teerakapibal uses his passion and wealth of technical knowledge for formulation and process development to improve HIV therapies

Chronic diseases account for $3.8 trillion in annual health care spending in the United States. Patients’ lives are interrupted with recurring medical attention and burden. Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is one such chronic disease that requires lifelong treatment. Globally, more than 1 million people are diagnosed each year with HIV. As recently as …

Alum Mohamed Amin empowers clinicians and patients with culturally relevant care

One of the largest annual religious observances for the world’s nearly 2 billion Muslims is Ramadan, which lasts for an entire month and means that participants refrain from eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset while focusing on prayer and reflection. As a pharmacist native to Alexandria, Egypt — where more than 90 percent of …

Six Badgers recognized in list of Wisconsin’s most influential Latino leaders for 2021

Six UW–Madison alumni were recognized by Madison365 last week as being among the “Most Influential Latino Leaders” list for 2021. A nonprofit online news publication, Madison365 has published annual power lists recognizing Wisconsin leaders from different racial and ethnic groups since 2015. The purpose of the lists is to “highlight the beauty of the diversity …

UW Alum Aaron Williams to deliver keynote speech at International Education Week

Growing up in the 1950s in a segregated neighborhood on Chicago’s southside, UW alumnus Aaron Williams, MBA ’73 was influenced early on to consider possibilities beyond his working-class neighborhood and even the borders of the U.S. However, even the imagination of a young boy could not have dreamed up the path he would travel, ultimately …

Memoir by UW–Madison alumnus Lor recounts journey from Laos to U.S.

UW–Madison alumnus Pao Lor is the author of a new memoir, titled “Modern Jungles: A Hmong Refugee’s Childhood Story of Survival,” published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Lor earned his doctorate from the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, and currently holds the Patricia Wood Baer Professorship in Education at …