My dream is to be a geologist. When I was in junior high school, I was very impressed by the volcano when traveling on the Big Island. Since then, I have longed to study about volcanoes in Hawaii. However, my English wasn’t strong enough to take classes at the University of Hawaii. This was why I decided to study English first in the Intensive English Program.

In the program, I developed basic skills for college classes: writing, reading and listening & speaking. In some activities such as the Rotary Club visit, we communicated with local people from Hilo, and not only improved in English, but also learned Hawaiian culture and history.

Also, I built good relationships with other students and conversation partners. Even after graduating from the IEP, we play tennis together and have parties on the weekend. I have lots of friends in Hilo! I really enjoyed this program, and I learned many things from the instructors and the other international students.