"Culture shock" is not just a buzz-phrase. Imagine spending all four years of college studying abroad. Every aspect of the culture, from the food to the greetings to the mannerisms, is different from your own. Suddenly thrust into a different country, you find life strange and unlike anything you have ever experienced.
This is reality for the 120 international undergraduate students who arrive at the University each fall. Luckily, they do not have to be thrown into this new world alone. The student organization, Mentoring and International Exchange (MIX),formerly known as the International Student Host Program, welcomes international students when they arrive at the University and helps them integrate into the University community.
The transition from life in another country to life at the University can often be strange. Fourth-year College student Maho Shibata described her first few days at the University as "scary and new." While living in Japan, she did not get an opportunity to visit schools in the United States, so when she attended the international orientation session during the summer, both the people and the University Grounds were new to her. With the help of a student "host," however, she found her transition to be a smooth one.
Third-year Commerce student Anand Kanoria also said he felt that the University and his student host did an excellent job in helping him transition to University life.
"I felt at home as soon as I came," Kanoria said.
Second year College student Toby Zhang agreed.
"Honestly, it was the best year of my life," Zhang said.
To help with the initial adaptation to the University, MIX's mentors get in touch with international students the summer before their first year, answering questions and providing information, MIX co-coordinator Bharat Satghare said. Then, in August, they throw a large social event to help the mentors and students all get to know one another, he added.
Rather than alienating them because they are international students, Kanoria said MIX hopes to help these students become more involved in the University community in the future. This way, MIX diversifies the University experience for American and international students alike.
MIX continues to serve the community throughout the year by sponsoring and participating in events with other groups, such as the Study Abroad Club. In November, MIX members celebrated International Education Week by tabling on the Lawn and organizing events such as a Mellow Mushroom trivia night and an event with speaker Leonard Robinson, who discussed the importance of foreign affairs.
In their roles as mentors, MIX members answer questions on a variety of topics, from academics to social life.
On the academic side, it is easy for international students to feel overwhelmed, MIX co-coordinator Marie-Adélaïde Mol noted.
"There are so many classes and majors that it's easy to get lost," she said. International students are thrown into the American academic system and given two years to figure out what they want to study. Whereas American students are somewhat prepared -- having had friends or parents that have gone through the system and can advise them -- many international students have no idea what classes or major to choose, Mol said.
On the other hand, many international students have a preconceived path of what they should study before they come to the University, Mol said. This preconceived notion of what to study often does not include liberal arts. Satghare agreed and said in India, there is a stigma that the most intelligent students study science, the moderately intelligent students study commerce, and the less intelligent students study liberal arts.
Mol and Satghare also agreed that one's major is much less important in the United States than in other countries and that the opportunities are broader for each student. In France, Mol said, there is not much that a history major can do that does not involve history, but in the United States, a liberal arts degree by no means limits a student to pursuing the field of his or her major for the rest of the student's life. It is often hard to convince international students that a liberal arts degree can be used in a business role, so MIX is looking to expand its role as a mentoring program to include more academic programs as well, Mol said.
Mol said MIX hopes to host both student and professor panels from different disciplines to show the unique paths that are possible at the University. The organization also hopes to hold academic fairs for international students, inviting students from different majors to discuss their academic experience, she added.
MIX is also looking to further its commitment to mentoring international students and serving the community. Mol said she would like to see the program become more of a mentoring than a "hosting" program, as the group's new name implies. She said she sees the new MIX as an opportunity to build lasting bonds, mentoring students in a longer-term relationship than just the initial move-in period. She said she would also like to see MIX strengthen the international and University community by sponsoring events in conjunction with other cultural groups.
Mol added that she does not see MIX as an organization that solely serves the international community; she sees it as an opportunity to improve the University community as a whole. Mol said she wants to include more American students as mentors in addition to the strong core of international mentors, especially those who are interested in international affairs or who have lived or studied abroad and can empathize with cultural change.
MIX is also working with International Admissions Dean Parke Muth to create an extensive University alumni network that would link international and American University students who are employed abroad. This network would be a tremendous boost to the existing alumni network and would benefit University graduates around the world, Mol said.
MIX promotes cultural exchange in the University community through mentoring, education, support and service. With a new name and new aspirations, MIX members say they hope to build on MIX's valuable programs and expand the organization to further serve international students and the University community.
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