Jeffery McNeil will give a “Colonel Perspective” on “Life, Love and Work in China” when he returns to his alma mater, Eastern Kentucky University, to speak on Monday, Feb. 19.
McNeil’s talk, at 4 p.m. in the Dick Mayo Allen Auditorium (Room 108) of the John Grant Crabbe Main Library, is presented by the EKU Asian Studies Program, and co-sponsored by the Department of English and Theatre and Department of Philosophy and Religion. Free and open to the public, the event will close with a question-and-answer session.
McNeil, a Kentucky native who earned degrees in philosophy and English from EKU in 2008, is currently the international baccalaureate head of school and academic principal at Liangfeng International School in Zhangjiagang, Jiansu Province, China.
“I’ll discuss my journey into and through Asia, the culture shock that I went through, as well as what it’s like, and how, to live, love and work in China,” McNeil said. “I’ll reflect on Chinese culture as I’ve grown to understand it, reverse culture shock each time that I returned to the United States, and how I’ve grown as a professional and as a person.”
Before and after obtaining his degrees from Eastern, McNeil worked in hospital administration and the mental health field, his work spanning personal care, educational development, and service on the Board of Ethics at Eastern State Hospital. Upon arrival in China six years ago, he used his program-building skills to help various schools in Beijing, Sichuan and Jiangsu develop competitive programs. He has helped build and manage IELTS and TOEFL language programs, American AP curriculum schools, Canadian 2+1 programs and, currently, the International Baccalaureate (IBO). Whatever the setting, McNeil sought to make students the best versions of themselves possible, globally responsive citizens and lifelong learners.
The Asian Studies Program at EKU offers a minor (18 credits) and a certificate (12 credits). For more information, contact Director Dr. Minh Nguyen at minh.nguyen@eku.edu.