International Programs

Fresh out of Roseburg High School in 1998 and volunteering with relief workers in Nicaragua amid the devastation wrought by Hurricane Mitch, John Roth decided on a career in medicine.
Fluent in Spanish, he worked as a medical interpreter for health care teams dispatched by Mercy Ships, a global nondenominational Christian charity. "I was the voice between the doctors and the people, and I had to be very aware of how they interacted," Roth recalls. That role inspired him to become a physician assistant -- a profession with growing responsibilities in a health system facing the dual challenge of expanding access while containing costs. ... Roth graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in public health and international studies.

A computer science professor at Oregon State University will be participating in the Olympics in Beijing this summer – sort of. Although Carlos Jensen won’t be throwing the javelin, competing in beach volleyball or fencing, he will be doing research to make it easier for the more than 4,500 television and radio commentators who broadcast live from the Olympics to more accurately and instantly access data about the athletes and events while on the air. ...The Olympic Games, with their international flavor, are a perfect fit for the multi-lingual Jensen, who was born in Spain, the son of a Norwegian father and a Spanish mother, but grew up in Norway, where he watched the Olympics on television.