Noriko Toyokawa Receives Graduate International Achievement Award

4-1-96
University Park, Pa. -- Noriko Toyokawa, a native of Japan and a master's candidate in health education at Penn State, has been awarded the 1996 Graduate Student International Achievement Award.

The award, established by Penn State's International Council, recognizes one graduate student for contributing significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University. She will be honored at the Student Awards Reception Monday, April 8, at 4:30 p.m. in the Nittany Lion Inn.

Toyokawa's impact on the State College and Penn State communities has been felt in many ways since 1993, when she first began volunteering her time in an effort to foster better international understanding. In addition to offering the Japanese perspective of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, her efforts include extensive work with University Health Services to increase health awareness among Japanese students at Penn State and to stop the spread of HIV in Japan.

After realizing that many foreign student and education abroad advisers at Penn State were either misinformed or had little accurate information about the Japanese, Toyokawa gave a presentation on the adjustments Japanese students make when entering American colleges and universities. The session was so well received that advisers for foreign students from other universities asked her to consult with them about such adjustments at their own learning institutions.

Toyokawa has also been active in the community as a hotline peer counselor for the Women's Resource Center, and has served the International Hospitality Council as a public speaker, festival organizer, newsletter editor and children's speaker. She has also implemented service activities as a member of Eta Sigma Gamma.

**jmp**

For more information contact Alan Janesch (axj12@psu.edu) or Christy Rambeau (cmr7@psu.edu) at (814)865-7517