Welcome to Week 6 of The OPIE Zone Newsletter. Here the important events happening during the sixth week of the semester. We hope you’ll join us for some of them.
International Conversation Hour
Tuesday, June 19, from 6-7 p.m. in Jefferson Hall, Room 160
International students and domestic students meet to talk about various topics. This is a good opportunity to make friends and meet people from all over the world. Free beverages and snacks are provided.
Letter from the Director: Pathway Program and Kyle Butler
Dear Students,
We are about to approach the summer solstice, known as the “longest” day of the year. This summer solstice occurs on June 21 this year. After the summer solstice, we will gradually lose some daylight each day, but it happens gradually. This is always my favorite time of year. I enjoy the long, bright days. If you want to learn more about the brightest time of year, check out this UK Telegraph story, which explains what happens on the summer solstice. It also explains the winter solstice.
OPIE also has some bright, shining programs going on these days. One of these is the Pathway Program, which allows students to take university academic classes with “support” OPIE classes.
That is, the content of the academic classes is previewed and reviewed in the OPIE classes. Additionally, the OPIE classes give students the language and academic skills to be successful. Last year, the average grade point average (GPA) of our Pathway students was 3.27!
Kyle Butler and his son
The OPIE faculty member who has put a lot of time and effort in organizing the Pathway Program is Kyle Butler. He is the Pathway Program Coordinator and has been working over two years to make sure this program meets the needs of our students. Great job!
Kyle has been with OPIE since 2013. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in 2006, so he was excited to come back and start working with undergraduate students here. Kyle is from Columbus, Ohio, but he has traveled in many countries, including Egypt, Thailand, China, and India. He also taught English in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Japan.
In his younger days, Kyle traveled the world with his wife Christin (who used to teach in OPIE). Now, they have two children, Nora and Remy. His family loves living in Athens because Athens has everything! It is surrounded by rolling hills and lush forests. It has a small-town lifestyle but a big city culture. And, of course, it has OHIO, the “Harvard on the Hocking!”
Have a good summer solstice!
Best regards,
Dr. Gerry Krzic
P.S. We have to correct an error that we reported last week. Ms. Kim Young’s birthday is not in June, but in August! We don’t want any “fake news” in OPIE! The first student who can email me explaining about the winter solstice will win a prize!
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