Professional Staff
Yun Shi
Director
Dr. Yun Shi is the founding director of International Education, established in 2014 with Student Affairs. She is passionate about internationalization on UIUC campus and focuses on enhancing the transformative learning experience to support international students and engage domestic students. She is a firm believer that International Education is for all! She has received Student Affairs Outstanding Staff Member - Academic Professional Award, ISSS Outstanding Staff Member Award, Outstanding Asian American faculty-staff Award, International Women’s Day Award, and Student Affairs Outstanding Program Award. She previously worked as Assistant Director of International Programs and the Asian Program Coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Yun earned a Ph.D. in education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, M.Ed. in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and B.A. in English from Xi’an International Studies University in China. Prior to coming to the United States, Yun taught at a local university for 13 years in China, where she was born. Yun enjoys cooking with students from around the world. Her hobbies include reading, listening to podcasts while knitting and crocheting.
Rebecca Hodson
Associate Director
Greetings! My name is Rebecca and I am thrilled to be the new Associate Director of International Education! I am a “townie,” who came to Champaign by way of Oklahoma as a toddler for my father, a first-gen student, to complete a PhD program. I attended UIUC myself and received my Bachelor’s in History, minoring in Spanish in 2009 (studying abroad in Ecuador in 2008). I then went on to earn my Master of Science in Library and Information Science in 2013. After working as a community college librarian and Spanish GED instructor, I joined UIUC as staff in January 2015 to coordinate internship programs and offer career advising to students at the School of Information Sciences (iSchool). Early in my career I realized I love connecting with students, instructing, advising and coordinating programs that help them learn, succeed, and build community. In particular I have focused on finding ways to improve international students’ experiences when they come to study and live in our country. I look forward to making an impact on the lives of our students in this new role. I am also a mother of fraternal twins, so to keep up with them my husband and I try to stay active by spending time outdoors, watching soccer/futbol (Arsenal fan!) and occasionally playing the game, also cooking, music and movies.
Student Staff
Asmaa Elsayed
IE Graduate Fellow
Asmaa is a Ph.D. candidate majoring is global studies in education at the College of Education. Her research is focused on identity reconstruction, healing, and resilience after life-altering events. Asmaa worked as a Graduate Mentor with the Office of Minority Student Affairs and a Study Abroad Program Leader with the Office of International Programs. She has been working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for three years. She taught classes on internationalization of higher education, diversity in higher education, technology and educational reforms, education and human rights, and more.
Shiyu Sun
IE Graduate Fellow
Shiyu is a PhD student in Educational Psychology at the College of Education. Her research focuses on international students' experiences in higher education in the United States, including their sense of belonging, acculturation, psychological well-being, etc. She is a people person and enjoys meeting and talking with different people. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and learning chess.