Hanna Pylvainen, ‘07
West Bloomfield, Michigan

Hanna Pylvainen is an English major and Music minor who spent a summer interning at the Tokyo Woman’s Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.

This internship, more than anything else, taught me how to utilize and market my skills and capabilities.  Of course, I can't discount the cultural experience in and of itself.  Tokyo is a fascinating, vibrant city that now for me is full of friends.  I can say - without qualification - that I'm looking forward to going back.

When did you go:  Summer before my senior year (Summer 2006).

Why did you intern abroad: My earlier plans to study abroad had fallen through, and I was disappointed that I hadn't yet lived abroad for a significant amount of time, because I felt that cultural immersion in a new country would be the most beneficial for my personal growth.  The MHC International Internship was a great match for my skill sets - and Tokyo definitely seemed like it would provide the international experience I was looking for. 

What language did you speak:  I spoke to everyone in English except for the occasional Japanese phrases I learned from a tutor the university provided for me when I was there. Tokyo has very little English in its public places, so to utilize the subway systems, I had students write down the Kanji characters for the prefecture I was trying to go to - then I would match the characters on the subway maps to where I needed to go. Trial and error helped me solve language problems more than anything else.

What did you do:  In general, my role at the university was to help students create strong arguments in any of their work: in speeches, presentations, and papers.

In discussion skills classes I helped students engage in thoughtful discussion with developed arguments (in English, of course).  Students were also free to come to my office and meet with me about papers, or just to say 'hi' and practice their English. I often assisted professors with their writing classes and gave many presentations about the use of creative writing techniques in academic writing.