Yerehny Limon, Nov. 21, 2023
Cal Poly Pomona hosted International Education Week to inform students and staff of its efforts to create a new hub for international students or students who want to study abroad, with events hosted throughout campus.
The weeklong events started Nov. 13 and lasted until Nov. 17 in efforts to highlight the benefits of international studying and to bring awareness to Global Campus with the joint initiative of the United States Department of the State and the U.S. Department of Education.
“It (Global Campus) serves as a hub to provide services, provide international programs and global engagement,” Lisa Xue, director of Global Education Insitute said. “We are trying to take the opportunity to let the campus community know about the roles and responsibilities, so they know who to talk to when they need help.”
Deans and directors of the College of Professional and Global Education attended the kickoff ceremony as audience members or at the faculty roundtable where they were participants in their discussion. CPP English Language Institution and International students were in attendance where they were teaching basic sentences in their native language to students over a cup of coffee.
There were many occasions such as the kickoff ceremony and the Study Abroad Expo for faculty, tudy abroad students and alumni were able to learn more about Global Campus and other departments’ efforts to make international education bigger and better for the campus community.
University President Soraya M. Coley made an appearance at the kickoff ceremony to express her gratitude toward the directors and deans responsible in helping students’ international education possible.
The kickoff ceremony featured many speakers in different departments of international education, like Xue, to discuss how Global Campus will help students and faculty and the importance of international education for students.
Animal science pre-veterinarian students Samantha Campos and Arabella Ishkhanian were interviewed to speak about the importance of events such as International Education Week, as both previously studied abroad.
“I think for students it is great exposure to have events on international education because it gives students more options on how they can receive their education,” Campos said. “Things are done differently in every place, and they open students’ minds to different cultures.”
For students that aren’t a part of the international student community or have previously studied abroad like Campos, the school hosted an International Festival which was open to the CPP community.
Students interested in studying abroad were able to meet with different organizations to discuss their study abroad programs or learn a new language at their Language Café.
Faculty interested in why students study abroad or the challenges international students face in the process of studying abroad were invited to the event’s Faculty Roundtable for an insightful discussion regarding these matters.
The weeklong event ended with International Students Community Day. This event was exclusively for international students and staff where they were invited to a potluck event with dance performances, quizzes and a screening of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.”
Having a weeklong celebration, students and faculty can get informed on what else CPP has to offer. Like many of the students on campus who either studied abroad or want to study abroad Ishkhanian, who had previously studied in South Africa, shared her experience with what is a big step for college students.
“Of course, studying abroad might seem scary, but the memories you will get from this experience will be life altering,” Ishkhanian said. “During my trip to South Africa I not only learned about veterinary studies, but I made lifelong friendships.”
International Education Week also brought areness to Global Campus and its responsibilities. Some responsibilities involve establishing strategic partnerships with peer institutions abroad, providing services to international and domestic students and scholars. Along with supporting international students’ recruitment, admissions and retention initiatives, according to Xue.
To learn more about international education, future events or Global Campus visit its website for more information.
Feature Image Courtesy of Yerehny Limon