International News

Beyond the logistical concerns of studying abroad, like time and money, students must consider one additional factor in their decision as to whether or not to leave the country for class - their career.

According to Brooke Meisner, a career coach at the Vanderbilt Career Center, studying abroad can look very good to employers and give students an advantage in interviews.

Local government officials and Vanderbilt representatives welcome Consul-General Hiroshi Sato and Mrs. Sato at a reception in their honor this week in Kirkland Hall.

Sato opened the new consulate this fall – the first country to have a consulate in Tennessee. The consulate at 1801 West End Avenue, which moved here from New Orleans, promotes Japanese economic partnerships in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Tennessee has 155 companies with Japanese affiliations, including the new headquarters of Nissan North America Inc. in Franklin.

In November, a medical team from the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt made the first of what organizers hope will be many trips to Tenwek Hospital in Western Kenya.

“I just thought other people in the world needed our services,” said Michael Liske, M.D., unassumingly describing his desire to take the team more than 8,000 miles to perform nine heart surgeries.