My name is Jordan Cleland and I will be working as an intern for MSU’s Education Abroad Office and Japan Center for Michigan Universities until the end of April. I am in my last semester of my Master’s degree in International Education Management through the Middlebury Institute of International Studies of Monterey, California. I’m looking forward to getting to know MSU’s campus, faculty, staff, and students for these next three months and learning more about international education here on campus.

Background

I’m originally from Deckerville, Michigan, a tiny rural town of around 800 people in the thumb of Michigan. I’d never experienced life in a city (let alone international education or travel) until I did my undergraduate degrees of Political Science and Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. There I was exposed to faculty and courses that broadened my horizons to the impact studying foreign culture and languages can have. I was fortunate enough to study abroad twice in undergrad, one summer in 2018 in Hakodate, Japan, and the summer of 2019 in Kyoto, Japan. These were transformative experiences that spurred on my desire to continue a career linked with Japan and I moved to Japan in 2021 to teach English as a part of the Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) Program. After teaching in Akita City for two years, I came back to the U.S. to further my education and decided to get my Master’s degree in International Education Management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Now in my final semester, I am completing my practicum course by doing a three month internship with MSU’s Education Abroad and Japan Center for Michigan Universities offices in order to learn more about the administration of international education at the higher education level.
On a personal note, I am a lover of Japanese curry (Coco Ichibanya has a special place in my heart) and I love karaoke and onsen! I look forward to learning and serving MSU’s campus while in this position!