Reston Ivy International
Reston Ivy International (RII) je exkluzivní program, který Reston připravil pro svoje studenty ve spolupráci s odborníky z USA. Hlavním cílem je vytvořit most, ukázat, kam se až může student dostat, pokud na sobě bude pracovat. Devizou jsou samozřejmě znalosti cizích jazyků – angličtina je základní kámen v globalizovaném světě.
Naši osobní přátelé nám vyšli vstříc při sestavování projektu a pomáhají s mentoringem o tom, jak směřovat výuku angličtiny pro talentované studenty Restonu. Ti nejlepší z nás dosáhnou vrcholu, chce to píli a odhodlání.
V první fázi vám představujeme tým, se kterým Reston spolupracuje. Přečtěte si rozhovory, které nám poskytli. Otázky byly kladeny a zodpovězeny anglicky.
Reston Ivy International Team
Professor Michael Kraus, PhD /Middlebury College, Vermont, USA/
Area of expertise: Politics & International Relations
Country of origin: Czechoslovakia
Current location: Middlebury College,Vermont, USA
Profile: http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/ps/faculty/node/25361
How old were you when you left your home country? 19
Which country did you relocate to? First England, then USA
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? NO! Three years of high school English—could not understand much in Birmingham, England!
What was most surprising to you in the USA/your new country? It’s continentalness-sorry, that’s not a real word but you know what I mean :-)
Which school/university did you attend and in which country? University of Colorado in Boulder & Princeton University.
What do you value the most in your career? The freedom to pursue my interests in research and teaching.
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? Universities are expensive—do your research--but as an investment in your own future, it beats the alternatives...
What message would you give to the students at Reston Language School (is it worthwhile to learn foreign languages)? Absolutely! It will expand your mind and your horizons!
Professor Raja Mazumder, PhD /George Washington University, Washington DC, USA/
Area of expertise: Bioinformatics
Country of origin: India
Current location: George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
Profile: apps.smhs.gwu.edu/smhs/facultydirectory/profile.cfm?empName=Raja%20Mazumder&FacID=2067473740
How old were you when you left your home country? 25
Which country did you relocate to? US
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? Yes
What was most surprising to you in the USA? The accent can be quite different in different parts of the country.
Which university did you attend? Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the US.
What do you value the most in your career? Ability to develop new projects, teach and conduct research.
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? Good verbal and written communication skills.
What message would you give to the students at Reston Language School? It is extremely important to learn foreign languages, especially English which is used all over the world.
Please feel free to add any additional comments: Try to do volunteer time to do projects related to your interests. For example, if you want to be a researcher then work in a lab; if you want to be an engineer then volunteer in an engineering firm.
Professor Jan Švejnar, PhD /Columbia University, New York City, USA/
Area of expertise: Economics
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Current location: Columbia University, New York City, USA
Profile: https://www.sipa.columbia.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/jan-svejnar
How old were you when you left your home country? 17
Which country did you relocate to? USA
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? Yes
What was most surprising to you in the USA? Opennes of Americans
Which university did you attend? Cornell and Princeton Universities, USA
What do you value the most in your career? Teaching and research
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? Studies at leading institutions are demanding.
What message would you give to the students at Reston Language School? Study hard, including advanced courses.
Please feel free to add any additional comments: It is better to know English really well rather than several languages not well.
Eduard Orvisky, PhD /Quiagen, Maryland, USA/
Area of expertise: Biochemistry
Country of origin: Slovak Republic
Current location: Quiagen, Maryland, USA (https://www.qiagen.com/us/)
How old were you when you left your home country? 32
Which country did you relocate to? USA
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? Yes
What was most surprising to you in the USA? Racism/White supremacy
Which university did you attend? Comenius University, Slovak Republic
What do you value the most in your career? Education
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? About half of americans are idiots who voted for Trump.
What message would you give to the students at Reston Language School - is it worthwhile to learn foreign languages? Yes
Lenka Goldman, MSE /American College of Radiology, Reston, Virginia, USA/
Area of expertise: Mathematics, Analytics
Country of origin: Czech Republic, Litomerice
Current location: American College of Radiology, Reston, Virginia, USA (https://www.acr.org/)
How old were you when you left your home country? 19
Which country did you relocate to? First to Switzerland, at 21 I relocated to the USA
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? No, it was nonexistent.
What was most surprising to you in the USA/your new country? The most surprising to me is how easily I adapted to living here.
Which university did you attend? Chatham University and Johns Hopkins University, USA
What do you value the most in your career? I most value the fact that I really enjoy my work.
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? Diversity among population, and great distances (sooner or later you will need a car).
What message would you give to the students at Reston Language School (is it worthwhile to learn foreign languages)? Absolutely. I spent my first year in the USA learning only the language. I would have been so much further ahead if I knew English beforehand. I was very lucky to stay with a host family that spoke Czech, and in an area where free English language classes were available.
Please feel free to add any additional comments: When one is interested in traveling to other countries, one quickly finds that the Czech language is very rare. It is helpful to know how to communicate in English (or other world language for that matter).
Anabela Fonseca, PhD /Jacobs Engineering Group, Reston, VA, USA/
Area of expertise: Water and wastewater engineering
Country of origin: Portugal
Current location: Jacobs Engineering Group, Reston, VA, USA (https://www.jacobs.com/)
How old were you when you left your home country? 24
Which country did you relocate to? USA
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? Yes
What was most surprising to you in the USA? Off the airport, I was shocked that there were no cacti in Tennessee - just a lot of humid heat at 11 PM in the night; the day after - I struggled to understand the southern accent of the clerk at the department of motor vehicles and the staff at car dealership, but neither was an obstacle to buying a car and getting a driving license on that same day. But it probably explains why it took me one month to find the car had A/C (and only after someone found it for me).
Which university did you attend and in which country? Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia, USA
What do you value the most in your career? The work flexibility, the challenge of working with people and improving environmental infrastructure.
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? Despite apparent differences, people are very much the same everywhere.
What message would you give to the students at Reston Language School? Learning a foreign language is a tool to learn and experience the world outside your own country. It has also taught me a lot about my own language and myself.
Professor Radoslav Goldman, PhD /Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA/
Area of expertise: Cancer research
Country of origin: Czech Republic, Český Těšín
Current location: Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Profile: https://glycoscience.georgetown.edu/people/radoslav-goldman/
How old were you when you left your home country? 23
Which country did you relocate to? USA
Was your knowledge of English language sufficient? It was sufficient to communicate.
What was most surprising to you in the USA? That the cities are ugly.
Which university did you attend? University of California Berkeley (BS), University of Michigan (MS), University of Pittsburgh (PhD)
What do you value the most in your career? Creative freedom.
What should a student from the Czech Republic know before transferring to study in the USA? Study English and be ready to work very hard.
