U.S. student ambassadors welcome visitors to the USA Pavilion at the 2012 World Expo in Yeosu, South Korea. (Photo courtesy of The State Department)English education graduate student Sarah Slagle, alumna Anne Clay and 38 other U.S. students traveled to Yeosu, off the coast of South Korea in May to work at the Pavilion, where they connected with visitors from other countries.
Along with the overall theme of the expo, “The Living Ocean and Coast,” the ambassadors talked about their national conservation policies and their efforts to keep coasts clean.
At the World Expo, President Barack Obama and Pavilion spokesman Philippe Cousteau spoke in videos, educating visitors on efforts to keep American coasts clean.
Student ambassadors’ perspectives and experiences help bring the U.S. alive for international visitors, Cousteau said in a press release.
Slagle said the Pavilion delegation did a good job focusing on the expo’s theme, and not just tourism.
“The presentations stunned our viewers,” she said.
Slagle has been learning Korean for the past four years and traveled to South Korea in 2009 to teach English through the Fulbright Scholars Program.
“I liked meeting people from other countries interested in (South) Korea,” she said. “It made for a more global family.”
Slagle was most excited to meet U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Sung Kim.
“(Kim) is Korean-American and very inspirational in the sense that he has found a balance between being both Korean and American while representing our country,” Slagle said.
When she graduates in May, Slagle plans to return to South Korea to teach English.
Slagle and Clay knew each other before the trip because they both spent a lot of time with Korean exchange students who were learning English.
Clay said her work experience at the World Expo was vastly different from her study abroad experience last year.
“I realized that there are so many people who were actually touched by the American Pavilion because of our patience (and) our attempts to talk, serve and befriend our visitors as student ambassadors,” Clay said.
She remained in Korea after the World Expo to visit ASU international students and other friends she met while studying abroad.
Some of the 40 ambassadors plan to reunite because they hope to end up in Korea again.
Slagle said students should take advantage of international experiences.
“It really can lead to more in the future,” Slagle said.
While she did not attend the World Expo, nursing sophomore Christine Song, who came to ASU from South Korea last year, said she was home this summer and she heard a lot about the event.
Song’s brother, David, who still lives in South Korea, attended the Expo and said it was a good experience.
“They did quite a great job of keeping the awareness of the theme of saving the environment,” David said.
Reach the reporter at hblawren@asu.edu
Correction: An earlier version of this story's caption misidentified one of the people in the picture. This has since been updated.
