Category: Alumni
Boston University Responds to the Recent Executive Order
The Center for English Language and Orientation Programs (CELOP) has been a part of Boston University for over 40 years. In that time, CELOP has welcomed thousands of students from around the world who wanted to improve their English and strive towards a degree program or advance in their professional career.
The president of Boston University, Robert Brown, recently published a letter addressing the recent Executive Order that impacts entry into the United States by individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
To quote President Brown:
“The new administration’s executive order to temporarily ban people from seven Muslim nations from entering the United States is fundamentally inconsistent with the values that are the bedrock of higher education, and indeed, of our pluralistic, welcoming society.”
We advise students to read this announcement by BU’s International Student and Scholar’s Office (ISSO) about the Executive Order. If you are a student or scholar from one of the above countries and currently in the United States in any non-immigrant status, (e.g., B, F, J, H, O, TN, etc.) the ISSO would advise against travel outside the United States.
CELOP fully supports President Brown and upholds the University’s long-standing commitment to international education and to the promotion of global understanding and goodwill.
CELOP will continue to welcome, educate, and support students from around the world.
If you have any questions or concerns about applying to CELOP, please email us at celop@bu.edu
Boston University students express their concerns about the Executive Order.
Larissa Pontes: from CELOP to MET to iGEM
Larissa Queiroz Pontes is a biotechnology undergraduate from Brazil’s Federal University of Ceará. She studied at CELOP in 2013 in order to improve her English and prepare for academic study at Boston University's Metropolitan College. We caught up with her recently and here's what she said.
Q: How was your CELOP experience?
I had a delightful experience at CELOP studying English for my TOEFL test and I was in contact with so many other cultures and made great friends. I learned a lot and improved my English. I improved my vocabulary and my listening, and obviously my speaking got stronger.
Q: How did your experience at CELOP help you achieve your goals?
I had to take TOEFL to get into BU Metropolitan College to take my academic courses, and I succeeded because of CELOP. When I studied at Metropolitan College, people could understand me and I understood them well.
Q: What would you say to a future CELOP student?
Enjoy your time at CELOP, go to meetings, fit in to conversation groups. Get into the American culture.
Currently Larissa is part of a team of students from her university, including other former CELOP students Daniel Carlos and Marcus Rafael, that will come to Boston this October to compete in iGEM, an annual world wide synthetic biology competition. Their team (pictured below) is planning to genetically modify micro-algae so that they produce a protein that is lethal to Aedes aegypti larvae, the species responsible for transmitting yellow fever and other serious diseases. Larissa explains "The curious thing about this protein is that it is toxic just to the mosquito larvae, not for humans or any other species."
Participation in the iGEM competition requires their own funding. Anybody interested in supporting their team can make a donation to their crowdfunding campaign.
We wish Larissa and her team the very best in the competition, and the best in all of her future endeavors!
Daughter of CELOP Alumnus
Eva Haoa is the daughter of Nicolas Haoa, an alumnus of CELOP who studied here 35 years ago. We recently posted an interview of the father-daughter duo on our CELOP YouTube channel.
We caught up with Eva Haoa in week 6 of her 12-week Spring program, right before the spring break and asked her a few questions:
Q: What do you like the most about being at CELOP?
Eva: The teachers. They are very kind. I learn a lot because of them.
Q: Your father gave you advice to make friends from all over the world. Have you done that?
Eva: Yes! I have made friends from Colombia and Venezuela. And I met one friend from China too. It is good because I speak English with her.
Q: Where are you going for spring break?
Eva: I will stay here in Boston. There is a lot to do in Boston!
Eva plans to continue studying at CELOP this summer semester.
Right: Eva poses for a photo with her friend Shuning Yin from China. Eva joined Student Life Coordinator Shelley Bertolino and 14 other CELOP students to volunteer at the local Cradles to Crayons organization.
Below: Eva has a conversation with John Kopec, her father’s teacher at CELOP 35 years ago. She was surprised to learn that her father was placed in the same level as her. John tells Eva about the day Nicolas and his classmates celebrated John’s birthday. As seen in the old photos in the video, they got him a birthday cake, and took a class photo outside the CAS building.
CELOP Alumnus Marcos Dos Santos Silva
For 40 years, Boston University has helped thousands of international students improve their English, prepared them for academic study at a U.S. university, and helped them apply and get accepted to a degree program.
Read about the experience of one of our former students, Marcos Dos Santos Silva from Brazil, who studied at CELOP in 2013.
Marcos volunteering at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
How was your CELOP experience?
When I arrived in the U.S., everything was new for me. It was my first time traveling internationally. I had excellent teachers at CELOP and I am forever thankful to them. They helped me a lot, and not just with English, but with information, tips, and things related to my future studies. My time at CELOP was really good and I will be forever thankful to my teachers, advisor, and Boston University.
How did your experience at CELOP help you achieve your goals?
When I came to CELOP, I didn't speak English well. But after studying a lot, and with my teachers helping me, now I am able to communicate well with anybody. After CELOP, I went to Metropolitan College at Boston University to study two semesters of Biology and I also volunteered at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. CELOP was really important in helping me achieve these goals.
What would you say to a future CELOP student?
I have one word for you: Enjoy! Time goes fast, and for me, two semesters went really quickly. Go to all your classes, do all your homework, travel, make friends, and enjoy. CELOP is amazing!
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