International Student Orientation A Cross-Cultural Effort
August 1, 2001
University Park, Pa.–As representatives of one of the top 20 research institutions in the United States in terms of hosting the most foreign students, Penn State staff and volunteers make it a priority to see that newly arriving international undergraduate and graduate students feel at home before they even begin their studies. This fall, when an estimated 1,832 new international students arrive, more than 40 international and American student volunteers, plus residents of the local community, will help the Office of International Programs shepherd them through 11 days of activity, August 6-16, in preparation for the start of classes.
“Some of our volunteers are international students who went through our orientation program when they first arrived here, so they know what it’s like to be in a new place and need help, and are returning the favor,” says Linda Keefer, who is assistant to James Lynch, director of the office’s International Students and Scholars (ISS) unit. “Other volunteers are U.S. students who have studied abroad and have the same kind of appreciation for such efforts, or are language students seeking a chance to use their skills.”
Staff members from ISS deliver informational sessions on such topics as class registration and housing, immigration and tax issues; coordinate campus/town tours and tuberculosis tests and vaccinations; and run academic and cultural orientation meetings. Meanwhile, the student volunteers and members of the International Hospitality Council, a community non-profit organization, help greet the incoming students, host social events for them, pair them with community “friends,” provide language practice and give advice on special housing needs.
Helping the students get used to the campus, the adjoining town of State College and central Pennsylvania in general can be as complex as coaching them on the in-depth documentation required by the U.S. government, and as easy as giving advice on what to wear in the winter to those who’ve never seen snow before.
“Most of them come from much smaller schools, and getting around and learning everything there is, and where it is, can be a difficult task at a big university,” notes volunteer Diogo Reis Lessa, a management and international business student from Brazil. “They have to feel wanted and at home here as well, because Penn State should be their second home, after all.”
But first, new arrivals often need picked up at the bus station or at the University Park Airport (and since there’s always the worry that someone might land in Philadelphia thinking Penn State is mere minutes, instead of nearly four hours, away by car, advance communication with the incoming students is a priority); require help finding lost luggage; and receive health care advice to deal with manifestations of stress from their journey.
According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), an independent organization that tracks both visiting foreign students and U.S. students studying abroad, Penn State ranked 19th among the top 20 research institutions with a total foreign student enrollment of 2,850 at the University Park campus in 1999-2000, the latest year for which rankings are available (for 2000-01, Penn State records show there were 3,288 foreign students at University Park and 3,603 throughout the University’s 24 locations). The IIE also notes that in 1999-2000, 514,723 international students were in the United States, a 4.8 percent increase from the previous year, supplying an estimated $12.3 billion economic impact (nearly $581.4 million in Pennsylvania alone).
**gwc**