IMAGES OF MIAA ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES AND GRADUATE STUDENTS AT MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
To be sure, the MIAA program is preparing students for careers in an era of globalization. The images below show just a few of many academic activities in which students enrolled in the Graduate program in International Affairs at Missouri State University frequently participate. Images are being added to the site as they are contributed by students and staff. We hope that you enjoy this page and invite you to return often to see updates!
THIS IMAGE SHOWS THREE 2006 GRADUATES FROM THE MIAA PROGRAM AND ONE 2006 GRADUATE FROM THE MPA PROGRAM. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, WE SEE MR. STRADER PAYTON (MIAA), MS. BROOK TRANCHINA (MIAA), MS NEHA JHA (MIAA) AND MR. CHARLIE LIU (MPA).
MS. LILLY KELAN LU, GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE MIAA PROGRAM, PRESENTS HER PAPER COMPARING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CHINA AND TAIWAN LOBBIES AT THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION MEETING IN ST LOUIS IN NOVEMBER 2006.
NO OTHER PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI
MAINTAINS AS MANY LINKAGES WITH CHINA AND EAST ASIA AS MISSOURI STATE
UNIVERSITY. HERE WE SEE PRESIDENT MICHAEL NIETZEL LEADING STUDENTS ACROSS
CAMPUS DURING MSU PUBLIC AFFAIRS WEEK. BRENT MAXWELL, MIAA GRADUATE
STUDENT, IS CARRYING THE UN FLAG. BEHIND HIM MS. LILLY KELAN LU, MIAA
GRADUATE STUDENT (FROM CHINA) HOLDS THE PRC FLAG, WHILE HENRY LIU, MIAA EXCHANGE
STUDENT (FROM TAIWAN), WALKS NEXT TO HER HOLDING THE ROC (TAIWAN) FLAG.
GRADUATE STUDENTS AT MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY PARTICIPATE IN ACADEMIC CONFERENCES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. HERE WE SEE MS. KIM WILSON, GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE MIAA PROGRAM, SHARING A LAUGH WITH THE AUDIENCE (AND DR. DENNIS HICKEY) AT THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION'S REGIONAL MEETING IN ST. LOUIS IN 2006. MS. WILSON PRESENTED A PAPER COMPARING WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN CHINA AND TAIWAN AT THE MEETING.
PRESIDENT NIETZEL (LEFT) IS PRESENTED WITH A GIFT BY MS. VLADY PETROVA, MSU LECTURER AND MIAA GRADUATE AND DR. BEAT KERNEN, HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. THE GIFT IS FROM THOSE WHO ATTENDED THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, "EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE AT THE CROSS ROADS." TO VIEW THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM, CLICK HERE.
IN APRIL, 2006, THE MIAA PROGRAM HOSTED AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ENTITLED "TAIWAN AND THE WORLD." THE SYMPOSIUM BROUGHT TOGETHER ACADEMICS AND OFFICIALS FROM THE US, CHINA AND TAIWAN TO EXAMINE TAIWAN'S ROLE IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY. NUMEROUS GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE MIAA PROGRAM ATTENDED THE EVENT AND VARIOUS DINNERS AND RECEPTIONS. TO VIEW THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
THE TAIWAN CONFERENCE PROVIDED MIAA STUDENTS WTIH AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH OFFICIALS, SCHOLARS AND OTHERS FROM CHINA, THE US AND TAIWAN (AND ENJOY SOME GOOD FOOD!).
THE MIAA PROGRAM HAS AN EXCHANGE PROGRAM WITH THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT NATIONAL SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY IN TAIWAN. STRADER PAYTON, THEN A MIAA GRADUATE STUDENT, SPENT THE FALL SEMESTER OF 2005 STUDYING IN TAIWAN. THE IMAGE ABOVE SHOWS MR. PAYTON POSING WITH DR. DENNIS HICKEY IN LATE 2005 AT SHIHLIN IN TAIPEI. SHIHLIN WAS CHIANG KAI-SHEK'S FORMER RESIDENCE AND IS NOW A TOURIST ATTRACTION.
DURING THE SUMMER OF 2006, DR. KEN RUTHERFORD (RIGHT) LED A CONTINGENT OF MSU STUDENTS--INCLUDING GRADUATE STUDENTS FROM THE MIAA PROGRAM--TO CHINA AS PART OF A STUDY TOUR. HERE DR. RUTHERFORD POSES ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WITH BRENT MAXWELL, MIAA GRADUATE STUDENT (AND COMPUTER GENIUS).
TWO MIAA GRADUATE STUDENTS (BRENT MAXWELL AND ANTHONY BUTTACY) TAKE A MINUTE TO REST OUTSIDE OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY IN BEIJING, CHINA DURING THE STUDY TOUR OF 2006. NO OTHER PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI MAINTAINS AS MANY LINKAGES WITH CHINA AS MSU!
THIS IS JACK YI-CHUN LO, THE 2007 EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM NATIONAL SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY IN THE ROC ON TAIWAN, POSING IN FRONT OF THE MSU BEAR AND PLASTER STUDENT UNION. LIKE ALL OTHER STUDENTS AT MSU, JACK IS PROUD TO BE A BEAR!!!
MR. BRAD BODENHAUSEN (SECOND FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN IN THE BACK ROW) IS THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF SPRINGFIELD'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND A GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE MIAA PROGRAM. AS PART OF HIS JOB HE HAS TRAVELED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN THIS CAPACITY. THE IMAGE ABOVE SHOWS MR. BODENHAUSEN WITH SPRINGFIELD'S PARTNER ROTARY CLUB IN TLAQUEPAQUE, MEXICO IN MARCH 2007.
IN THE IMAGE ABOVE, BEKZAT BAMENOV, MIAA GRADUATE STUDENT, PRESENTS A PAPER AT MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY'S GRADUATE COLLEGE INTERDISCIPLINARY FORUM. ALL MIAA STUDENTS MAKE AT LEAST ONE PRESENTATION AT THE FORUM WHILE ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM.
IN DECEMBER 2006, DR. OLIMAT, A FACULTY MEMBER IN THE MIAA PROGRAM, ORGANIZED A STUDY TRIP TO KUWAIT FOR A SELECT GROUP OF MIAA GRADUATE STUDENTS AND UNDERGRADUATES. THE GOVERNMENT OF KUWAIT GRACIOUSLY COVERED ALL EXPENSES. THIS IMAGE SHOWS SOME OF THE MIAA GRADUATE STUDENTS, UNDERGRADUATE POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS AND DEAN LORENE STONE (THIRD FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN) IN KUWAIT
MS. CHRISTINE BIONDO, MIAA GRADUATE STUDENT, POSES FOR A PHOTO IN KUWAIT. ALL OF THE STUDENTS ENJOYED THE TRIP!
ANOTHER IMAGE FROM THE STUDY TOUR OF KUWAIT.
THE MIAA PROGRAM CONTINUES TO GROW IN SIZE. MORE AND MORE STUDENTS HOPE TO JOIN THE PROGRAM AND GAIN THE SKILLS REQUIRED TO SUCCEED IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. WHETHER STUDENTS HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST, CHINA, TAIWAN, EUROPE OR SOME OTHER AREA OF THE WORLD, THEY PROFIT FROM THE PROGRAM!
THIS IS AN IMAGE OF WES MILLER, MIKO McFARLAND AND JASON KNAPP DURING DR. JAMES KAATZ"S STUDY TOUR OF AMSTERDAM. SEEMS THE WINDMILLS WERE JUST TOO MUCH FOR MIKO!
MR. RYAN OVERFIELD, MIAA GRADUATE STUDENT, IS PRESENTLY WORKING AS AN INTERN AT THE LANDMINE SURVIVORS NETWORK (LSN) IN WASHINGTON, DC. DR. KEN RUTHERFORD, ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST ACTIVISTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES, HAS PLACED MANY MIAA STUDENTS IN SUCH INTERNSHIPS IN WASHINGTON AND ELSEWHERE.
IN ADDITION TO STUDY ABROAD TOURS, INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND MANY OTHER ACTIVITIES, STUDENTS DO TAKE EXAMS. ABOVE WE SEE MS. MIKO McFARLAND PREPARING TO TAKE AN EXAM IN ASIAN POLITICS. TWO ROWS BEHIND HER, WE SEE MS. CYRENA RATLIFF AND MS. CARY DORSEY ALSO PREPARING TO TAKE THE EXAM.
THE IMAGE SHOWS MIKO AS MAIKO IN JAPAN. AN INTERESTING CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO IMAGES!
MR. JACK LO, EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM TAIWAN, DOES NOT LOOK TOO NERVOUS ABOUT HIS EXAM IN ASIAN POLITICS (MUCH OF THIS PARTICULAR TEST FOCUSED ON TAIWAN!).
THREE MIAA STUDENTS (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, MR. KEN HALLOCK, MR. MARTI CAMPISTOL AND MR. IVAN MUNOZ-BARAJAS) FACE THE PROSPECT OF AN EXAM IN ASIAN POLITICS WITH CONFIDENCE AND BRAVERY!
LIFE AFTER THE M.I.A.A. PROGRAM
LIFE AFTER THE M.I.A.A. PROGRAM
THE IMAGES BELOW SHOW THAT SOMEHOW LIFE DOES GO ON AFTER GRADUATING FROM MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY!!!
FOLLOWING HER INTERNSHIP AS A RESEARCH FELLOW IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY DEPARTMENT OF THE LSN, MS. ZHANNA SON, MIAA GRADUATE, BECAME A SPECIAL PROGRAM ASSOCIATE IN THE LSN'S INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM DEPARTMENT. MS. SON'S JOB RESPONSIBILITIES TAKE HER ALL OVER THE WORLD.
WHILE EARNING HIS MIAA DEGREE, STRADER PAYTON SERVED AS AN INTERN IN JAPAN AND SPENT A SEMESTER IN THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM AT NATIONAL SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY IN TAIWAN. TODAY, STRADER IS A PRODUCER FOR TELEVISION TOKYO AND HE IS BASED IN WASHINGTON, DC. THIS IMAGE SHOWS STRADER AT THE WHITE HOUSE PRACTICING FOR HIS FUTURE JOB (PRESIDENT OF THE US).
WHILE EARNING HIS MIAA DEGREE AT MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, MIKE WELKEN (ABOVE) SPECIALIZED IN EAST ASIAN POLITICS WITH A FOCUS ON CHINA. THE IMAGE ABOVE SHOWS MR. WELKEN IN HIS CURRENT POSITION AS AN INTERAGENCY RESEARCH AND PROGRAM ASSISTANT AT THE NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, DC.
AFTER EARNING HIS MIAA DEGREE AT MSU, MR YITAN LI (ABOVE) DECIDED TO PURSUE HIS DOCTORATE. HE IS PRESENTLY ENROLLED IN THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (USC). THIS IMAGE SHOWS MR. LI AT USC.
MR. KAMRAN BOKHARI, WAS ONE OF THE FIRST STUDENTS TO EARN HIS MIAA DEGREE AT MSU. HE IS PRESENTLY THE SENIOR ANALYST FOR THE MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH ASIA AT STRATEGIC FORECASTING, INC (A PRIVATE US INTELLIGENCE FIRM). THIS IMAGE SHOWS SHOW MR. BOKHARI IN A RECENT MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF OF PAKISTAN.
ENDORSEMENTS BY THE FAMOUS
ENDORSEMENTS BY FAMOUS PERSONALITIES ARE PROVIDED BELOW
NOT ALL GRADUATE STUDENT ACTIVITIES ARE ASSOCIATED
STRICTLY WITH ACADEMICS. HERE WE SEE MS. LILLY KELAN LU POSING WITH ELVIS
AT A SMALL TOWN FESTIVAL IN RURAL MISSOURI. ALTHOUGH ELVIS IS NOT ENROLLED
IN THE PROGRAM, HE ENCOURAGES YOU TO APPLY!!!
MS. NEHA JHA, PRESENTLY AN ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ALSO MINGLES WITH THE RICH AND FAMOUS. HERE WE SEE NEHA AND HER HUSBAND DURING A RECENT MEETING WITH MICHAEL JACKSON!!! NEHA INFORMS US THAT "JACKO" ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO OBTAIN AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND ADMINISTRATION AT MSU AS THE PROGRAM IS A REAL "THRILLER."
DR. KERNEN (ABOVE), HEAD OF THE POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT AT MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, IS ALSO A CORE MEMBER OF THE MIAA FACULTY. LIKE ELVIS, HE URGES EVERYONE TO APPLY FOR THE MIAA PROGRAM (OR ELSE!).
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
MORE COMING SOON!
Strong Hall, Home of the MIAA Program