Graduation 2003

The ELI graduation ceremony––which marks the culmination of English language studies in the United States for most students–– also serves as a reminder to faculty and the community at large of the many gains, in addition to language, which the ELI experience

	Communication Professor Ralph Begleiter was a keynote speaker at the April graduation

provides. Six times a year, class valedictorians express their appreciation to their teachers. Just as frequently they convey their gratitude to the friends from many nations whom they have met in Newark and who have also taught them so much.

Valedictorian Marek Zardecki of Poland said in February that his experience in the United States helped to break down negative stereotypes he had previously held of African- Americans, while co-valedictorian Lillian Gonzalez of Colombia said she had learned tolerance and love for people from other cultures.

“I never thought I was going to find so many friends in Newark,” she said. “We feel like family.”

April valedictorian Marcos Filho of Brazil reported that living in the dormitory with other ELI students taught him that differences in age and nationality did not matter.

“I even learned how to speak Japanese,” he said, adding with a smile that tasting Korean kimchi was a “once in a lifetime experience.”

June valedictorian Mario Enciso Lozano from Mexico echoed Filho’s words, thanking ELI for “the opportunity of seeing reality in a different way…by knowing and understanding cultures from all over the world.”

The April graduation included a different, though parallel, message from keynote speaker Ralph Begleiter, Rosenthal professor of communication at UD and a former correspondent for CNN. Noting that the number of international students at U.S. colleges was currently diminishing, he thanked ELI students.

“[By sharing your culture,] you have made an enormously valuable contribution to American students,” he said.

“It is a travesty for America to be closing doors to people like you who want to be students here.We should be encouraging—not discouraging— contact between Americans and people from other countries.”