Welcome to Minnesota! Jit and Karen
were originally from Malaysia, and have relocated here to
make the Twin Cities their permanent home. We have been married for 18 years.
Jit graduated from the U of Minnesota with a Computer Science degree and has a
fiber optics business. Karen is a home-maker who loves to cook and bake. We
have 2 lovely teenage girls who are in high school and a little 18 months
boy.
ISO provides a great platform for us
to connect with new international students. It is such a privilege and joy to
open our home to be their host family and play a part in helping them adjust to
the new lifestyle and surrounding. We look forward to meeting you
soon!
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Parnell and Becky Mahoney
We both graduated from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus.
Parnell graduate in 1999 with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife, and
Becky graduated in 2002 with a Spanish degree. We met each other at our
church while
both attending the U of MN. We were married in September 2002 and after 5 1/2 years of trying to have children we now have an adorable daughter, Eden Joy! Parnell works
full time with Maranatha Christian Fellowship, a sister ministry to ISO, and Becky is a stay-at-home Mom. We love getting to know international students
through ISO, and enjoy being able to help them get settled into life at
the U of MN. We both feel that having guests in our home makes life rich!
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Pete and Amber Peterson
We are both graduates of the University of Minnesota. Pete graduated in May of 2001 with a bachelors
degree in Electrical Engineering, and Amber graduated in December
of 2001 with a bachelors of science degree in
Nursing. We met each other at our church while both attending the U of
MN. We were married in April of 2005 and now have four very cute and fun
children--Elijah, Naomi, Ruth, and Chloe. Pete works full time as an engineer and Amber is a
stay-at-home Mom. We both really enjoy volunteering our time with ISO and love opening up our home to host new students. It has been a
blessing for us to be able to help new international students as they make
their transition to the USA.
We look forward to meeting many more new friends too!
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Seth DeSota
I recently graduated in December of 2008 from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering. I am currently working for a small company Traffic Technologies doing Micro-controller design and testing for roadside construction. I started working with ISO in 2008. I love working with ISO helping new international students settle in and hanging out with them as they come to the University.
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Mike and Priya Bardal
We are both graduates of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. Mike
graduated in 1999 with a bachelors
degree in Mechanical Engineering
and Priya graduated in 2000 with a doctorate of
Pharmacy degree. We met each other at our church while both
attending the U of MN. We were married in 2002. Mike now works
full time as an engineer and Priya works part time with a
startup pharmaceutical company. We have no children at this time,
but are pursuing an adoption from India. We really enjoy meeting
new students and working with ISO has been a great opportunity to do
so. It has been great to open up our home to host new students
and we're glad to help new international
students as they make their transition to the USA. We
look forward to meeting many more new friends too!
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Jeff and Zandrah Kurland
We would like to welcome you to the United States of America and help you transition into a new lifestyle of an international student. Jeff is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and will be graduating in December with an MBA. Jeff is also a certified public accountant. Zandrah is an independent contractor in Graphic Design and works from home. She devotes the majority of her time raising two sons. Ethan is four years old and Drew is two. Jeff and Zandrah have been married for five years and reside in a northern suburb of Minneapolis.
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Grant and Beth Buse
We love meeting people from around the world and showing them what the Twin Cities has to offer. Grant graduated from the U of M in 2000 with a German degree and has been working on campus for 10 years. Beth is also a native Minnesotan and thinks, along with her husband, that Saint Paul is the best part of the Twin Cities, by far. She has worked as a secretary on campus and been involved with volunteer work while being a magnificent mom of 5. It is our pleasure as a family to serve you and help you get acquainted with the campus and city when you arrive.
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Bruce and Lynn Harpel
We have enjoyed providing hospitality for international students in our home and on campus at the University of Minnesota for 28 years. We are familiar with internationals from all over the world, and continue in correspondence and friendship with hundreds of former students from every continent. Our lives have been enriched by the diversity of people we have met. We look forward to meeting all the new students each year. We have raised 5 children, and enjoy their 8 grandchildren, but now as "empty-nesters" we have two of the bedrooms in our home that stand ready for hospitality when the next wave of new students arrive at the University of Minnesota. Students stay in their own private "suite" with a private bathroom, living room, cable TV, and wireless internet. We love having new students from other countries teach us how to make their favorite dishes in our kitchen. Our home is truly a peaceful and safe place to live as you transition into life in Minnesota.
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St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN
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Cole Ries
I graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2006 with a bachelors of science degree in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). I
lived on the University
of Minnesota campus for
6 years before moving to the St. CloudStateUniversity
campus in April of 2008. Since then, I have been working full
time as a GIS specialist for a company in downtown St.
Cloud and in January of 2009 I began a Graduate degree program at St. CloudStateUniversity studying GIS. I
have been very involved with university
life since 2002 and have greatly enjoyed working with International Student Outreach.
I always look forward to meeting and befriending international
students and assisting them with whatever needs they have as they
transition to campus life in the United States. Whether it be
finding a good restaurant, shopping for a winter wardrobe, or just talking and
practicing English, I look forward to many more international friendships in
the years to come!
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Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
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Johnathan and Heather Bislew
Johnathan graduated from the University of
Wisconsin, Stout with a degree in hotel/restaurant management. After
working a few years this field, he began working in campus ministry at the
University of Minnesota. He has been in ministry now for 20 years.
Heather graduated from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy in
1999. She has been teaching at the college part-time from home since her
first child was born. After meeting at church in 2000, we were married in
2002 and lived in St. Paul. We have been married for 6 years and have 4
beautiful children; Evangeline, Isabel, Faith, and Isaiah. In 2008 we
moved from St. Paul to Mankato to continue in campus ministry at Minnesota State
University, Mankato. We enjoy learning about other cultures and meeting
international students. We also enjoy helping students get settled
into the university community and hosting international students in our
home.
