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Getting to know Edwin Cahill

Written by Iman Satori

January 19, 2015

Recently we sat down with the new assistant director of the Center for International Programs at the University of Southern Indiana, Edwin Cahill. Cahill arrived in Indiana via southern California with his wife and two sons. He has an interesting array of stories regarding his experiences with celebrities and actors during his years spent in the food catering industry. In addition to having fun and exciting stories, we quickly discovered his other passion in life is international education. Cahill is thrilled to be a new member of USI's International Programs team and plans to contribute to the growth and success of the department.

Let's get to know him a little better.

DSC 0974What did you do before USI?

I was working at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. I had moved from Michigan out to the West Coast to be with my brother who is an actor and he had landed a lead role on a Comedy Central show in 1999. At Pepperdine we were starting something called One Stop - a centralized student services office. After a few years, I became the director of that office. I also pursued a couple of lifelong dreams one was running a martial arts school. I've practiced taekwondo since I was six years old. But that didn't work out so I decided to pursue another dream of being a chef. I had cooked and worked in restaurants since I was 16, and had also done high-end catering for celebrities, movie stars and such. I got the opportunity to be a part of the first two Jersey Mike's Sub franchise shops to open in the state of California. I did that for some time then, when I got married, my wife decided an 80-hour work week wasn't a good life. I returned back to academia and the field of international education; where I wanted to end up the whole time.

What attracted you to USI?

I'm big on relationships and having a good working environment. Having the institution's support to take on new initiatives and new ideas is important to me. International offices are usually at the cusp of international affairs and what is happening academically and instrumental in shaping the dynamics of the university. So, I wanted to be in a place that got it, that got international education and the importance of its role. When I came for my interview I thought, "this is a good place." I liked the people. I liked the student-centered focus. I think USI is a gem, a special university with vision and innovative ideas, and positioned to grow. But the thing I really valued, that could make or break the decision, was the stress level of the job. When I came to USI for the interview, none of the people I engaged with over the period of a day and a half, could describe their work environment as stressful. Coming from a high-stress environment on the West Coast, I knew this was where I wanted to be.

DSC 0970Tell me about the catering business and meeting famous people.

When I landed in Los Angeles my brother handed me a second-hand tuxedo and told me I needed to get into catering and working parties. I soon earned the nickname "Eddie Delicious." I had worked in the food industry since I was 16 years old, but little did I know this would be like Robin Leach "Caviar Dreams." The first party I worked, I met Jane Seymour and her daughter. It progressed from there - I catered at Barbara Streisand's house, I taught taekwondo for James Cameron's stepson. My son went to school with Mel Gibson's daughter and we went through preschool orientation together. When you have a conversation with George Clooney, while waiting for a table at a restaurant, or walk into Starbucks and see Paris Hilton, it's a very surreal world but very cool at the same time. But Dick Van Dyke was probably the nicest and coolest, and he is the Hollywood royalty I would give the most respect to as far as character and talent. He takes the cake as far as the celebrity I'm happy to have met and shook hands and had a conversation with.

Now that you are here what do you see for the future?

My dream would be for every USI student to have some international global engagement experience. I want to reinforce what works, then introduce new concepts and ideas. I would love to fill the gaps between the isolated progression of study abroad activities and tie it together into the whole experience. There is a void between making the linkages and I have a systematic way of engaging, getting students interested in studying abroad, getting them to commit, getting them prepared to go, helping them with what happens abroad and then, through the return process, to integrate their experience into their academic and career component.

What is the most interesting class you have taken and what made it interesting?

There were two of them. Because I'm always searching for the answer to the question "why", the course was called "Predestination, Foreknowledge and Freewill." It was a tough class. I still have more questions about "why" but the journey is fun and as long as there is good food it doesn't matter. The other class was studying animism (the worldview that non-human entities such as animals, plants and inanimate objects or phenomena possess a spiritual essence) while in East Africa.

If a movie was made about your life, what genre would it be and who would play you?

A movie about my life would be called The Life and Times of Eddie Delicious. There would be lots of comedy in it, like stream of consciousness talking. Since I see the world in absurdities, it would contain Leslie Nielsen Airplane type of absurd humor. I see myself in a movie being made about learning life lessons. Since my life has been rooted in academics, a love for learning would be a theme that runs throughout the movie. I would be played by a young Jeff Bridges, combined with Ed Norton with the acting ability of William H. Macy.

 

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