The first lady of Mongolia, Tsolmon Onon Enkhbayar, spoke about the importance of education to Mongolia’s future at the UCLA Faculty Center Monday.
Enkhbayar is visiting the U.S. along with her husband because President Bush signed a Millennium Challenge grant on Oct. 22, which gives Mongolia $285 million in aid for infrastructure and business projects that promote sustainable economic growth.
In his opening remarks, Nick Entrikin, acting vice provost of the UCLA International Institute, said that there are about 2,000 Mongolians living in California, and about 20,000 in the U.S. There are few ““ if any ““ Mongolian students at UCLA, though there are some enrolled in UCLA Extension.
Part of the reason Enkhbayar visited UCLA was to thank the university for a textbook donation from UCLA Extension. Instructors at UCLA Extension’s American Language Center collected about 300 secondary school textbooks for Mongolian schools, said Tara Neuwirth, associate director of international programs and the Ameri-
can Language Center at UCLA Extension.
The UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars is exploring ways that it can help Mongolian students study at UCLA, said center director Bob Erickson.
Like the Dashew Center, UCLA Extension is also open to helping Mongolian students study in the U.S., Neuwirth said.
“(Enkhbayar) is interested in long- term education for Mongolians and sees that as a very important step in the development of their country,” Neuwirth said, adding that UCLA Extension can help international students develop skills ““ including English language skills ““ that they can then take back to their home country or use in the U.S.
Andrew Freund, an instructor at UCLA Extension, said he would like to see UCLA reach out to Mongolians interested in studying in the U.S since they face particularly difficult challenges entering the country and financing a college education.
“Because of visa challenges and economic challenges, most Mongolians find it difficult to get admitted into a university like UCLA,” he said. “I hope that UCLA will work with Mongolian scholars so they can start to come and be part of the academic community.”
Also present was Byambajav Ulambayar, a 22-year old Mongolian-born world heavyweight sumo wrestling champion who was brought to campus by Freund.
Ulambayar is taking classes to improve his English at UCLA Extension’s American Language Center. If his English continues to improve, he would like to enter UCLA as a student and play for the football team.
Aside from Ulambayar’s extraordinary success in sumo wrestling, his story is similar to that of many other Extension students, Neuwirth said.
“He’s typical of our students who come to (UCLA Extension), improve their English and then go on to pursue their other educational goals in the U.S. as well as back in their countries,” she said.