TUC-FIU welcomed four new oversea students and two new

professors from the Miami, Florida, campus.

Two-Thousand and Eight A.D. has been a crucial and special year for Chinese people across the globe. This is the year that the world sent their best to the capital of China, Beijing to celebrate the Games of the Summer Olympics. The theme of Beijing’s Olympic was, “One World, One Dream.”

We here at Tianjin University of Commerce & Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, also share the Olympic spirit. The university sent most of their junior and senior class to the summer games. The students were able to work with U.S. based company Armark. TUC-FIU’s students worked in the International Broadcasting Center as well as the Media and Press Center’s fine dining facilities. TUC-FIU is very proud of the hard work the students put into the Beijing Olympics Games.

Although the Olympic flame has been extinguished, TUC-FIU keeps the Olympic theme alive this year at the university. TUC welcomed four new students and two new professors from the Miami, Florida, campus. These six people represent six different countries. Their goal is to embrace the culture of the Chinese people and learn more about the history of this ever growing country. It is the hope of the university that these few students will able to continue to diversify and promote continued learning of knowledge in all areas to all of its students.

We would to take an opportunity to introduce you to our newest faculty and students here at TUC-FIU. Form the island of the fastest man on earth, we have Professor Suzanne Smatt. Professor Smatt teaches Introduction to Cooking and International Cuisine. We are happy to announce that Professor Smatt will be with the university for two semesters. Professor Alex Kuk was born in Florida, and his parents are from Hong Kong. Professor Kuk teaches Cooking and Introduction to Cooking. Jouvens Jean comes to university from Bahamas. Jouvens is assisting in the culinary labs as well as taking class at TUC. He hopes to be able to have a culinary experience of a lifetime. Marilou Gantier is here all the way from France. Marilou is taking classes as well as teaching an English Club. Marilou hopes to see all the great wonders of China. Sebastian Garicia is from the island which is 90 miles south of Florida. Sebastian brings his Cuban flare to the group as a student and hopes to travel all around this great country. We then have Shane Gray, who is from the west coast of the United States; he comes to China from the state of Washington. Shane love to make videos and hopes to be able to record all of China.

As the theme song to the Atlanta Olympic goes, “Deep within each heart, there lies a magic spark, and lights the fire of our imagination.” We at TUC-FIU believe that through diversity we may promote our fire of knowledge to burn brightly for the world to see. Therefore all of us may have, “One World, One Dream.”

By Alex Kuk

Sep.1st, 2008