Senior Zane Phillips Awarded Prestigious Technos Internship

(LEBANON, Ill., March 28, 2025) – Senior Zane Phillips, an international relations major at McKendree University, has recently been selected to participate in the highly competitive, yearlong paid fellowship as an English language teaching assistant at Technos International College this upcoming fall in Tokyo, Japan.

Technos International College partners with several sister schools for this annual internship program. Only two students are selected for the unique opportunity to work internationally in the field of education while experiencing all that Japan and its history, culture and traditions have to offer.

A resident of Chambersburg, Ill., and a graduate of Pittsfield High School, Phillips is a member of McKendree’s Honors Program, the men’s wrestling team and the university’s Model UN program. He is also a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Pi Gamma Mu and Pi Sigma Alpha honor societies at McKendree.

“Being selected for this internship is really an honor,” Phillips said. “I hope to give the students a unique experience singular to me as their teaching assistant. I truly believe I will be able to inspire them to do awesome and monumental things in their lives. However, the experience itself is accomplishment enough for me. I am ready for my next chapter to be written; I just never thought it would be in kanji!”

Phillips is most excited to see how he can hone his teaching skills in a professional setting, along with taking his next steps in life in Tokyo. Furthermore, he hopes that the internship will empower him to make the most of his abilities.

“I would like to thank my McKendree family and mentors for supporting me the entire way, including Dr. Brian Frederking, Coach James Kisgen, Dr. Sara Trask-Frank, and President Daniel Dobbins,” Phillips said. “This accomplishment is just as much yours as it is mine.”

 

-McK-