The Center recently hired two people to fill critically important positions that had been left vacant for a long time: our Office Services Coordinator, and our Outreach Coordinator. We got a lot of really great applications when we advertised for these open positions, and out of that search we have hired two highly-qualified, energetic and creative people, whom I would like to introduce to all of you here.

Mercedes Hollett is the Center’s new Office Services Coordinator. In this position Mercedes is responsible for managing the Center’s office functions and growing communications outlets. One result of the latter is Mercedes’s creation of our first Center Blog, which we intend to use to communicate Center news and events to members and the public who may not regularly read our website. Mercedes would like you to know this about her:

“Thanks to my multi-cultural family, I’ve always been exposed to diversity even though I lived a small northern-Indiana town. Even though I embraced (and still embrace!) my Midwestern self, the older I got, the more I wanted to get in touch with my Japanese roots. I went to IU and was drawn to many activities surrounding East Asia. I loved the cultural exchange from fellow students and campus life and am all the better for it. I graduated with a degree in Public Affairs and a minor in Japanese, though I crammed in plenty of cultural EALC courses for fun.

Later on, I was lucky enough to live in my mother’s beachside hometown in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan, on the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program. I met so many wonderful people and I cherish all the experiences from everyday living to traditional events and holidays while I was there.

Now, I’m excited to be part of the EASC team because it allows me to continue to be close to all things East Asia! These days, I’m at home with my partner, two cats, and a growing collection of houseplants. When I’m not working, I can be found at my sewing machine working on small projects or volunteering with the Bloomington Mask Drive.”

William “Bill” Rozycki is the Center’s new Outreach Coordinator. Bill’s duties are focused on coordinating and managing the Center’s various outreach activities, and especially focus on working with our many K- 16 teacher training seminars, public school events and cultural events that the Center hosts and supports. Bill would like you to know this about him:

“Bill is a native of Minnesota and attended graduate school at Indiana University in Central Eurasian Studies. He spent 20 years teaching English in Japan, and four years teaching English in Korea, two of those years as a Peace Corps volunteer. Bill also taught for four years in the English Department at IUPUI in Indianapolis. He is now back in his Bloomington home, enjoying with his wife Soren the campus and the rich cultural life that the university and the town offer to all.”