Yelnosky and Tu began their trip in India, where they presented to Next- Genius semi-finalists and their families, interviewed students in the program, and congratulated this year’s winner. In addition to pausing to appreciate the Arabian Sea, Yelnosky was thrilled to meet students with interests like marine biology and art, for which the Program of Emphasis is ideal.

From India, the traveling duo went on to Vietnam, eating at a restaurant Yelnosky’s daughter recommended from her recent visit. They also attended a concert at FPT University in Hanoi, Vietnam, featuring none other than the Juniata Concert Choir.

In Taiwan, Yelnosky and Tu were greeted at the airport by two current Juniata students—Ching “Daniel” Chen, a student studying abroad at Juniata, and Oscar Kuo ’20—who gave them a tour of Taipei before they participated in College Visit Week. In addition to informing Taiwanese prospective students about Juniata, the traveling enrollment counselors met with current University students who had visited Juniata’s campus the previous summer as conversation partners. They also visited two of Juniata’s partner institutions: Shih Chien University and National Chiao Tung University.

“I saw this and immediately thought of our students and how they trust each other with their personal belongings. I felt like I was back at our dining hall with all the backpacks laid out with no worries.”Rob Yelnosky ’85, vice president for enrollment.

The last leg of the trip took Yelnosky and Tu to South Korea, where they met with a few of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development professionals who supported Juniata’s trip to southeast Asia. They delivered two acceptances to future Juniata students, and Yelnosky watched Juniata’s men’s and women’s basketball teams compete from a Starbucks.

Throughout the trip, Yelnosky noted how many students with whom he and Tu met shared similar values to those held at Juniata, particularly around the importance of interdisciplinary education. At the Branksome School in Seogwipo, South Korea, Yelnosky was touched when he took in a sight that reminded him of home: a pile of backpacks.

“I saw this and immediately thought of our students and how they trust each ther with their personal belongings,” Yelnosky said of the pile, which was not unlike another that sits in the lobby of Ellis Hall every day during mealtimes. “I felt like I was back at our dining hall with all the backpacks laid out with no worries.”

Yelnosky and Tu were soon headed home, but not before one more chance encounter showed the global presence of the College.

“As I’m getting to my seat on my plane, leaving the Seoul airport in a Juniata sweatshirt, the gentleman in the seat in front of me asks how I know Juniata,” Yelnosky says. “It turns out he was from Huntingdon and was on his way home as well.”