Maryland’s First Lady, Mrs. Yumi Hogan, Visits UMBC on August 27, 2015

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First Lady of Maryland, Mrs. Yumi Hogan

On August 27, 2015, the Asian Studies Program, together with the Asian Sister State Programs (Maryland-Kanagawa, Japan; Maryland-Gyeongsangnam, Korea; Maryland-Anhui, China) hosted a Welcome Reception for First Lady Mrs. Yumi Hogan in the Atrium of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building at UMBC. Dr. Constantine Vaporis, Director of the Asian Studies Program, served as MC for the evening. Dr. Scott Casper, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, made opening remarks and introduced The First Lady. Then the wife of the Ambassador of Japan, Mrs. Nobuko Sasae, the wife of the Ambassador of Korean, Mrs. Seon-Hwa Lee, and Min Xu, Counsellor, Embassy of China spoke. Deputy Secretary of State (MD), Mr. Luis Borundo also addressed the 150 guests, who were from the sister state groups, the business community, state government, various NGO groups, UMBC Asian Studies faculty, and eight Asian Studies Program students who volunteered for the event. Finally, the Asia Sister State Committee Chairs (Kikko Murray, Japan Chair; Mi Schill Kim, Korea Chair; Bob Zhang, China Chair) closed the official program. Guests enjoyed a sumptuous spread of foods from the three countries, much of it prepared by sister state committee members. In short, a good time was had by all on this beautiful late August evening.

 

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First Lady of Maryland, Mrs. Yumi Hogan with Asian Studies Program Director, Constantine Vaporis
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Mrs. Noriko Sasae, wife of the Ambassador of Japan