ELI alum returns as UD grad student

Many international students, after completing their studies at ELI, pursue degrees at the University of Delaware. Those acquainted with the ELI community often wonder about those students. Are they achieving their dreams? One former ELI student recently shared her ongoing journey.

While still at ELI, Machiko Shimishura (Japan '96) made an appointment with UD president Dr. David Roselle. She discussed with him her desire to attend the University of Delaware. To her delight, she later entered the university and took a few courses in hotel management.

In February 1997, Shimishura returned to Kobe Shoin Women's University in Japan to complete her senior year. After graduating in 1998, she began working at the Hilton Osaka Hotel, where she used her English skills as a telephone operator and concierge. She thoroughly enjoyed this experience, meeting and mingling with executives from all over the world.

ELI grad Machiko Shimomura teaches a Japanese class while pursuing her MBA at the University of Delaware.

One day she received a phone call from Kobe Shoin University. Would she be interested in teaching Japanese at the University of Delaware? Though a difficult decision, Shimishura returned to UD as a teaching assistant. She currently teaches Japanese in the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department and is enrolled in the MBA program.

Asked if she would like to return to the hotel business after graduating from UD, Shishimura smiled.

"When I was working at the Hilton Osaka," she said, "I often looked at those executives and thought that I'd like to be on the other side someday."

After completing her MBA, Shishimura hopes to find employment in the United States.