<Outlook on Our Sister University>
- Michigan State University

This "Profile" column was published in the Nov. 21 issue of the MSU News Bulletin, a biweekly published by the Division of University Relations in MSU for Faculty and Staff of MSU....................................Ed.

NAME: Barbara Sawyer-Koch
POSITION: Trustee Emerita, MSU Board of Trustees

Kim chi and cranberries will be included in the Thanksgiving fare at the East Lansing home of Barbara Sawyer-Koch and Donald Koch.
Sawyer-Koch, a member of the MSU Board of Trustees from 1979 to 1996, and Koch, professor emeritus of philosophy, will open their home at the holidays to several international students who are friends of their house guest, Jasmine Cha, a doctoral student from Korea.
The couple is involved in the Community Volunteers for International Program's (CVIP) Friendship Family program, which provides international students and families with opportunities to get to know local and area residents.
"The CVIP program is a perfect opportunity for students on campus to learn about resources local residents can make available, form friendships and share in community events," Sawyer-Koch says. "It lets the students know how much we care. We're always looking for more families to provide support and encouragement for international individuals and families."
The couple has even shared Thanksgiving traditions with Cha's family in Korea, where the October holiday is a weeklong celebration of family and remembering ancestors. The couple received a brass bell from Cha's father, which will be rung to call the guests to the holiday dinner in their home this year.
"For us Thanksgiving has always been a family tradition," Sawyer-Koch says. "It is a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know the students and for them to experience this sense of family in this special way."

The writer is Kristin K. Anderson, a contriguting writer of MSU News Bulletin.

MSU News Bulletin  feeling9@dongguk.edu

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