Meet the Residents

HwaJung Choi

I am Ph.D. candidate in Economics at U. of Michigan (from South Korea). ECIR has been my home since January 2003, soon after I came here on a Fulbright Scholarship. I have had roommates from various countries- Azerbaijan, China, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, USA. Such international interaction is the most superb privilege of living in. Our mutual and frequent conversations improve my understanding of the cultures and issues of many countries. ECIR organizes and supports many programs that improve global interface, goodwill. I especially value the once-weekly ‘Global Village Dinner’ at which residents introduce their national dishes and share viewpoints on international affairs. Current and former residents also form networks extending beyond ECIR and beyond the here and now. What more valuable experiences than these could one possibly have?

Helen Keung

Country: Hong Kong, China
Field of Study: Second Year PhD in Economics
Why did you choose to live at ECIR?
I still remember last year, my friend who’s a ECIR resident invited me to the ECIR Christmas Party. That was my first time to be in the building. I was warmly welcomed by residents and felt very much like at home. That’s why I didn’t consider anywhere else to live and just applied to ECIR!
What do you like about living at ECIR?
ECIR is a community full of people with a great sense of multiculturalism, appreciation of other residents and fun to be with. It’s such a pleasure to see smiley faces every morning, hang out with residents in the lounge in the evening, enjoy global village dinner every week and go on trips together in every break =)

Evando Silva

Country: Brazil.
If you want to learn about living as a community and about peace in the global environment, ECIR is the place! This experience of living at ECIR has been so wonderful and so inspirational that, when I go back to the university in Brazil where I teach, I want to start a Center like this for students.

Liana Mesropyan

I was born and grew up from Armenia. I got my degree in Economics and came to the US to study in Masters Program in Public Policy. Before coming to graduate school I was working on my dissertation on the Role of Government in Forming Education market. I was also working in Educational Reform department studying European educational reforms resulting from new educational standards for a bi-level education system. Upon my graduation I will go back to Armenia and work for the Government of Armenia in designing Education Policy.
I was very happy to find a place in ECIR and live in friendly and multicultural environment. I like to travel and learn about other nations’ culture, traditions, religion and history. Global dinners that we have each week, conversations, and social events in ECIR allowed me to learn about other countries’ history, tradition and cuisine without traveling to these countries. This is a valuable experience since I benefit from it both professionally in my future career and personally as an individual.
I thank ECIR staff for creating this friendly environment which makes you feel like you are at home.

Steve Kime

Country: USA Field of Study: MBA, International Human Resources
Why did I choose to live at ECIR:
I had lived here for a few years as an undergrad and loved it here, so when I came back to school to do my Masters, this was the first place I looked into.
What do you like about living at ECIR?
Even though college is supposed to be a time of broadening ourselves, very often we end up only having contact with people from our own circle--same degree, same nationality, same religion, etc. ECIR is a great place to meet people from all different backgrounds. For me, it makes the rest of the world seem more human, because when I hear about other countries in the news, I immediately think of a current or past ECIR resident I know from that country, and I imagine how the news impacts them personally.

Tetsuya Uetake

Country: Japan
Field of Study: Master of Public Policy
I wanted to live in an international residence like ECIR since I wanted to make many friends as well as improving my English skills. Moreover, I had a friend who lived in ECIR and he strongly recommended ECIR to me. I think my decision was correct.
First of all, I have many friends from all over the world. Hanging out with them is amazing. Second, there are lots of activities for residents. We go to Chicago or camping. Every week, we have a dinner together. These are wonderful opportunities to communicate with great residents. Third, the staff are amazing. They are kind and take very good care of the residents. You can consult with them about everything. Finally, ECIR is very close to the campus and extremely convenient. I do not know of another such wonderful place to live like ECIR.

Bunmi Akintomide

Even though it’s exciting to come to a new country and start a new program, it can also get depressing sometimes. You are so far away from things familiar, family, friends… Living at ECIR has been so enriching for me in that regard. Living here with people from other cultures who are going through the same transition has really, really helped.