Things have a funny way of coming full circle in Julie Shimabukuro’s life. Consider: She worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions as a student here; now, more than 20 years later, she does again — as director of international recruitment.
She left the University, the state and even the country for several years, but has returned.
And she knew her future husband when they were resident advisors at WUSTL, lost touch for 16 years before reconnecting — and was married just more than a year ago. But more on that later.
Shimabukuro’s Washington University odyssey started as many others do — as a potential student unsure of where to further her education.
But all it took was one visit, and she was hooked.
“I grew up in Chicago, and I didn’t really know a lot about Washington U.,” she says. “I came with my parents for a visit and had the walk up the Brookings stairs, saw the campus, and I just had that ‘Wow, this is the place’ moment, and I fell in love with the school.”
That’s a recurring theme when hearing her talk about her undergraduate experience, her job, her co-workers and the University in general.
Getting started early
As a freshman, she started working with the Student Admissions Committee as a volunteer and jumped in with both feet, giving tours, extolling the benefits of the University and, yes, even learning to walk backward.
She clearly made an impression.
“When I graduated, I got a call from the admissions office asking me if I’d like to interview,” she says. “I had loved working with them as a student, I loved the University and it was just a really good fit.
“I just had such a fantastic undergraduate experience here that when the opportunity came up to work for the University, it just seemed natural.”
She put her psychology (’87) degree to use immediately, talking with prospective students and helping increase the visibility of the University.
But after about six years, she decided to take a one-year leave of absence and traveled overseas to Japan.
That one year quickly turned into a five-year break, and she gained valuable experience teaching English in the Nagano Prefecture before moving to Yokohama to work for the local board of education.
Then came decision time: Should she stay in Japan and make a career there, or should she come back to the United States? With her family asking the same question, Shimabukuro thought a return home to Chicago — and the ensuing job search — was in order.
But another phone call made the transition that much easier.
Nanette Tarbouni, director of undergraduate admissions, dialed Shimabukuro and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
Returning home
“Nanette called me and asked if I’d be interested in coming back to the admissions office and working in the international areas,” Shimabukuro said. “And that’s what I do now. I work mainly with the international recruitment and American kids who live overseas.”
She spends about a month each fall traveling overseas — primarily Asia and Europe — sometimes for three weeks at a time.
“Julie is a wonderful colleague and outstanding University citizen,” says John A. Berg, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate admissions. “She is a great recruiter and ambassador for Washington University, and she is so well-respected by high school counselors, students, parents and alumni in the U.S. and all over the world.
“She is in charge of many of our key recruitment efforts. Julie has a winning combination of talents — she’s smart, capable and caring. All who know her feel the same way.”
And she truly enjoys her job, whether it’s making the initial overtures to students about the University or trying to break the ice and explain to a potential student in rural Asia where St. Louis is (“Most have studied history at some point and know about the Mississippi River, and several have at least seen the Arch in pictures,” she says, laughing).
But her job never gets old — especially after seeing students go through the entire application process, get accepted and walk up the Brookings Hall steps for the first time; or walk down Oak Allée; or get to know their professors in small classrooms; or see the green grass that they saw in the school’s fliers.
“What’s amazing to me is that these kids will come thousands of miles from home sight unseen,” she says. “All they know about the University is what they’ve seen on the Internet, in the brochures, in the pictures. They’ve never had the opportunity to visit campus. Then on the first day they visit here, suddenly it all comes to life for them.
“I think it’s a huge relief to them to know that it’s very true to what they’ve seen. One international student looked so relieved, and she said, ‘I’m so happy that the campus looks like the pictures and that it’s beautiful.'”
Although Shimabukuro’s main role with the University is attracting international students to enroll, she stays in touch with some of them through her work with the Office for International Students & Scholars (OISS).
Each year, OISS puts on a freshman orientation program specifically for international and overseas students, which helps her put faces with names. The previous year’s freshmen have turned into sophomore leaders of the program, so it is satisfying to her to see how some of the students have grown.
“You can just see they have this confidence,” Shimabukuro says. “This is their campus, their home, they own it and they live it and they are so proud to be guiding new students through the process. To see that spark is really great.”
Respected by students
The spark is a two-way street.
Defne Dinler, a sophomore pursuing a double major in psychology in Arts & Sciences and painting, first met Shimabukuro in Istanbul, Turkey.
“I was wait-listed, but Julie always kept in touch,” Dinler recalls. “She called me on my cell phone when I was in Europe to tell me I had been accepted to the January program — it was not through papers that I found out. She kept things personal, caring and supportive. I really appreciated her in that process. I loved seeing that I was not just a piece of paper to her, and I love that I can still have contact with her.”
Other students have similar memories and recollections of Shimabukuro.
Ceyla Erhan, a junior majoring in psychology and minoring in painting, also met Shimabukuro in Istanbul. Erhan met with several other schools’ envoys, but Shi-mabukuro stood apart from the crowd.
“Julie was so different from the other school representatives I had met,” Erhan says. “She did not try to ‘sell’ the school, but rather just told me about all the opportunities the University offers. It was obvious from the way she spoke that she loved her school and wanted the person she admitted to love the school as much as she does. It was her sincere and passionate attitude toward Washington University that really had me considering coming here more and more.”
A long time gone
Oh, and Shimabukuro’s life has come full circle in one other way.
As an undergraduate, she served as a resident advisor. So did Mark Freiman. They were friends — nothing more than that.
He was a year older and studying in the School of Art; she was studying psychology.
He graduated in 1986; she graduated a year later. They lost contact with each other.
For 16 years.
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Julie Shimabukuro Title: Director of international recruitment On her return to WUSTL after five years in Japan: “There were so many changes physically. You could really see the growth that we had started come to fruition, and that was exciting – I was glad to see that – but at the same time, we maintained that whole sense of community.” On getting married to a fellow WUSTL alum: “I got married later in life, but I made this connection with somebody really special. We share that history of Wash U. together – things are very familiar to both of us, we have very nostalgic feelings about the place, and that’s special to share with someone.” Her favorite opera: “La Bohème” |
Shimabukuro picks up the story: “One day, out of the blue, he e-mails me and says ‘Do you remember me?’ We had never dated, but we re-established our friendship, and it was really fun. He lived in New York, and I went through New York on my way to recruit overseas, and we just reconnected.”
And how.
Freiman — a New York native — moved to St. Louis, and the couple has been married for just more than a year. It’s a whole new experience for Shimabukuro because Freiman is an opera singer.
And Shimabukuro is the first to admit that she knew nothing about the genre before getting reacquainted with Freiman.
“I’ve been getting quite an education,” she says, laughing. “In our free time, we go to a lot more theater, go to the symphony, things like that. I’ve been exposed to a lot more of the arts scene since getting married.”
So, in between seeing Freiman perform and visiting her family in Chicago, she never loses sight of Washington University and what it has meant to — and done for — her.
And her efforts have not gone unnoticed.
“She is in an area of critical importance,” said James E. McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. “She has the drive and determination and does a splendid job in that area.
“She represents us very well,” McLeod continues. “She’s an alum, she understands our culture, and she’s attached and connected to the University in wonderful ways. She has such a wonderful presence with how she represents us.”