Leaving home can be one of the biggest challenges for students transitioning into the college lifestyle. For most students though, home is still accessible, still attainable. It might take a couple of hours on the interstate to get there, but for most of us going home is still a possibility.
What about the students that can’t simply go home because home is in another country or a different continent? How do international students at Kennesaw State handle all the challenges of the college experience paired with all the difficulties of living in a foreign environment?
International Student Retention Services is a resource on campus dedicated to international students and their success. For junior Pepima “Pepi” Saliki and graduate student Aleksandra Ninova, having a place on campus like ISRS and Global Village help them with some of the difficulties of leaving home and being a college student in the United States.
“One of the main difficulties I have is struggling between the culture clashes,” Saliki said. “You kind of feel like you are trapped between the culture of your parents and the culture here.”
Ninova added that some of the other difficulties include interacting with strangers.
“Strangers here would walk up and say hello or nod,” said Ninova.“That does not happen in my country. [Strangers] don’t smile. I found it very hard to smile at people I don’t know.”
Another difficulty international students have is simply shaking the label of being seen as an international student.
“A lot of people come [to America] to study just to get the American experience and being labeled as an international student kind of takes away from that,” Saliki said.
“What international students want is to blend in. They don’t want to stand out,” Ninova said. “What [ISRS] tries to instill is that we are all international. To us, Americans are international. To a person from Bulgaria, everyone in the Global Village is international.”
Karen Cother Boyle, administrative assistant at ISRS, understands the many diverse hurdles international students face when studying at KSU.
“We want [students from other countries] to have the attitude that they are going to complete their education and be successful,” Boyle said. “We dedicate ourselves to retaining as many students as possible toward a successful graduation. We aren’t interested in them having problems or issues with their education where they maybe drop out or go back to their countries.”
Boyle also stressed that ISRS does not just focus on academic success. They want students to succeed socially in a college environment.
“We also just have fun parties in the Global Village,” Boyle said. “We have socials, food and fun but it’s not just meaningless. (Socials and parties) help everyone bond with each other. It helps them find more of a sense of family and to know where ISRS is. Our whole existence is just to support them and help them.”
An upcoming event that the ISRS is supporting is the International Student Association’s Dance Festival at the Student Center Sept. 27 at 12:30 p.m.. The event will host several international clubs and organizations putting on demonstrations, dance productions and free food. This event is free and all students are encouraged to join in the festivities.
“This is not just a place for international students as perceived by Americans,” Ninova said. “It’s a place for everybody.”
