Last year, according to the Office of International Education, Emporia State was home to 488 international students. This year, the campus has increased its international student population to 514, including 152 new students.
“We tell the students that Emporia is the heartland of the U.S.,” said Bruce, dean of International Education. “It is where we will welcome them with open arms and an open community.”
In addition, last fall’s international students represented 28 different countries. After this year’s push in recruitment, it has risen to 45, nearly doubling the variety in countries from last year.
“We really look for areas that are underrepresented here at ESU,” said Mike Graves, a professor in the Intensive English Program. “This last year we really pushed for students from Africa, South America and Central Asia.”
Bruce said the OIE is like a door to Emporia State for international studensts.
“This is where the world comes to Emporia State and where (ESU) gets out to the world,” Bruce said.
But, the effort isn’t just about drawing students to campus, but helping them get accustomed to American culture, as well.
Exchange students Bassam Alanazi, accounting major, and Hussain Almukhtar, information systems major, are new to ESU.
“The hardest thing is trying to understand language that is spoken fast in English,” Almukhtar said.
Alanazi said that the weather in Kansas is a lot nicer than where he is from – it’s incredibly hot in his country. All three new students are continuing to get accustomed to the environment, but senior music major Masatoshi Takami, from Japan, says he has just about figured out how to live in the area.
“I think Emporia is small enough to move around on foot,” Takami said. “But I’ve learned to get along with the language and transportation since I moved here.”
Just like the three students from Saudi Arabia, Takashi wishes to connect his home country with the things he has have learned in America.
“I hope to go back and work for a Japanese company with my music,” Takami said. “It’s one of the main reasons I came to study.”
A support program designed by the OIE hosts events for international students and the Intensive English Program helps students that have little English experience improve their language skills. Graves said he works with foreign students on a day-to-day basis and even puts on events such as an annual Halloween party at his own home.
“It is more emotionally rewarding than anything I’ve ever done,” Graves said. “It has really been nothing but positives.”