Notable graduates: Ryosuke Shibuya — Breaking through language barriers

When Ryosuke Shibuya came to Madison in 2002, he had more of an
adjustment to make than the average freshmen. Arriving from his home
country of Japan, Shibuya did not speak any English. Six years later,
he’s graduating with a degree in history.

Shibuya says his first year was spent solely taking classes to
learn English. In his second year, he took classes at Edgewood College,
and then transferred to UW–Madison to study history.

He says that he looked at several universities in the United States — including the University of California-Los Angeles, New York
University and the University of North Carolina — before settling on
UW-Madison. He says he chose this school for its size, affordability
and diverse international community. With more than 3,000 international
students, UW–Madison is ranked in the top 20 U.S. universities for
international students.

In the past 18 months, Shibuya has been involved in the Reach
program, which places international students as speakers in Madison
area schools, on campus and in community organizations to share
information about their home countries and life experiences.

Shibuya has focused on contemporary and Middle Eastern history in
his studies at UW–Madison, and says he hopes to work for the U.S.
federal government some day.