Welcome to Willamette

About half of Willamette’s students study abroad sometime before they graduate, eager to learn language and culture by living in a country besides their own. Mika Lim ’11 was lucky enough to have this experience before coming to college, as the daughter of two parents who were adamant that their children explore the world.

She was born in Maryland, but her homes during the years have included Guam, Palau and, most recently, Taiwan.

“My parents thought it was important for us to be global citizens rather than just staying in a suburban town and only experiencing one lifestyle,” she says.

Having a global perspective is increasingly important in the business world, and it will give Lim an advantage in her latest adventure. Lim is one of two Willamette students recently selected for the national Kemper Scholar program. The scholarship from the James S. Kemper Foundation is for first-year students interested in business or management. It provides an annual scholarship for three years in addition to two paid summer internships — one at a nonprofit organization in Chicago after Lim’s sophomore year, the other in a location of her choice after her junior year.

Willamette is one of 15 small colleges that can nominate students to be Kemper Scholars, and this is the third consecutive year that the Kemper program has chosen two Willamette students for the honor — typically only one is picked from each campus. The other winner is Marco Fiallo ’11.

The opportunity is golden for Lim, who hopes to work for a nonprofit advocacy organization in the future. “Interning at a nonprofit is a great opportunity for me to be exposed to that environment and see if it’s what I want to do long term,” she says. “Because of my background, I’ve met so many different types of people, and I’m interested in the way different cultures can share with each other.”