The Office of International Education held a student panel last Thursday to discuss topics surrounding international education and students’ experiences with this topic.

“When international students come here they run into different kinds of problems, and most of the time their question cannot be answered,” said Qiyang Zhang, assistant professor of physical sciences. “So, whatever information we get together during the student panel could be very useful for recruiting future international students.

During the meeting,  panelists were asked questions about goals and expectations as international students and their transition to college, as well as other topics. They then held an open discussion.

“My expectations were definitely to build a bigger network and it’s really awesome, the experience that you get to study and interact with people from so many different countries, cultures and backgrounds,” said Amira Naji, International programming graduate assistant at the OIE and business administration graduate student. “There is a lot to learn and that definitely makes me want to travel more and explore the world.” 

They also discussed the possible misconceptions international and non-international students might face and allowed students to explain how these might look in reality, as well as what the diversity in their lives looks like.

“For me when I got here I tried to find people who are the same as me,” said Calandra  Matoushaya, freshman biochemistry major from Zimbabwe. “I ended up having a friend group of people who have different backgrounds, beliefs, socioeconomically, values and families, and I think even though they are different, we found common ground which we connect on.”

Part of the panel involved open discussion on how education systems and expectations for students can differ from country to country, including the importance of grades and class sizes. 

“They (student panels) bring around people who are interested to learn about other cultures,” Matoushaya said. “To learn about different cultures and what people follow, because most times you don’t get to interact with other international students.”