12/07/2023
NAFSA Region VI is proud to continue highlighting recipients of this year’s regional awards. Congratulations are in order for Amanda Yusko, Program Manager at The Ohio State University Office of International Affairs (OIA), for receiving the NAFSA Region VI Leo Dowling Award of Excellence!
Every year, the region honors a NAFSA member who has demonstrated the outstanding qualities that distinguished the late Leo R. Dowling of Indiana University, one of the “founding fathers” and an early president of NAFSA. This award recognizes an experienced NAFSA member who possesses the qualities of compassion, integrity, and leadership.
The many nominations submitted on Amanda’s behalf attest to these very qualities, and more. One nominator boasts Amanda “exhibits boundless enthusiasm that inspires others to stretch themselves to make the most of professional development opportunities. The care she takes to support new employees as they participate in conferences for the first time while also looking for opportunities to give them confidence to make their own way is a delicate balance that she strikes so well.”
Another praises Amanda as a “humble, gracious, organized, responsible leader [who] is passionate about international education. Amanda never thought twice about volunteering her time to make getting involved in NAFSA Region VI a welcoming and valuable experience for newcomers and oldtimers alike. She cares deeply about the students she serves, and goes out of her way to ensure that her team provides the best and highest quality advising and programming.”
An intentional and caring supervisor and mentor both in her professional capacity at The Ohio State University and across the region, Amanda has served others in many capacities. She has devoted countless time to the NAFSA Region VI Leadership Team, even dubbed “Super Chair” by one nominator during the time she took on multiple team positions simultaneously. Her leadership has also extended to roles as the NAFSA Region VI Academy Coach and later the NAFSA Academy Chair. Amanda has laid the path for many other international educators to succeed in the field, but she shares that she “would not be where [she is] without so many people who have helped [her] along the way and [that] it is a privilege to give back to the field."
