Students gather at the international booth at CultureFest, hosted by the Office of First Year Experience at Indiana University.
(Devan Ridgway/WTIU)
Heading to college is challenging for new students, but doing so in a different country raises the ante.
Bloomington’s population swells each August with new students going through IU orientation.
More than 7,500 international students came to IU statewide last year — 5,200 were in Bloomington.
International students begin moving in before their American classmates. International Student Welcome week lasts from the Aug. 11 to 17.
Mai-Lin Poon, Associate Director for International Student Life, says IU’s Office for International Services helps students from over 120 countries make the transition.
Mai-Lin Poon is the Associate Director for International Student Life. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU News)
“A week later, it's like, wham, there's another 10,000 people, and then wham, there's another 40,000 people, and you're dealing with jet lag and culture shock, but then also starting classes,” she said.
The OIS tries to smooth the jarring process, not just logistically but socially and culturally as well.
Acclimation actually begins before students arrive, through webinars and information from the OIS.
“When they get here in Bloomington, they know where to go, what to do, but they also know what opportunities are there so they can meet people, make friends," Poon said.
Poon greeted new students Tuesday at the Indianapolis Airport. From there, it’s up to her team to get international students all the resources they need for Welcome Week with the rest of the incoming students. That’s handled by the Office of First Year Experience.
Iesha Sturgis-Jackson is the Assistant Director of International Student Life. She works with international students to get them settled into the university and the city.
Iesha Sturgis-Jackson is the Assistant Director of International Student Life. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU News)
“We introduce them to different IU offices, local Bloomington businesses, cell phone companies, banks, grocery stores that sell international foods and products, just to help them get implemented and acclimated to Bloomington life," she said.
Last year, the Bloomington campus welcomed over 1,500 new international students, including 115 from South Korea, 193 from China and 701 from India. That put it in the top 50 nationally, but only 15th in the Big Ten.
International students made up around 5 percent of freshman undergraduates.
“If it were me, I'd want someone to be there to welcome me and say, ‘Hey, I'm so glad you're here. I'm glad you made it okay. You know, welcome to the Hoosier family,’” Poon said.
The typical challenges of socializing and handling adult life can be compounded by culture shock. That’s where student coordinators like Hyunji Kim can help. She’s a senior at the Kelley School of Business, and is from South Korea.
Hyunji Kim is a senior at the Kelley School of Business. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU News)
Coordinators like her help more recent arrivals navigate the transition they made not too long ago.
“I didn't know nothing because I don't have friends in here, and also, like, family and folks," Kim said. "So I try my best to like, collect information. And I know how that is sometimes lonely and like, hard, so I'm actually trying my best to, like, help them.”
International students contend with a legal landscape distinct from their American peers: traveling in and out of the country, getting a job and maintaining visa status.
Jenny Bowen is the Director of International Student Advising. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU News)
“No one comes to the US thinking, well, now I'm going to follow all these rules and everything's going to be only that," Jenny Bowen, Director of International Student Advising, said. "They're coming to have internship experiences and make friends and get to know the US, culture and travel a little bit around the US and outside.”
Bowen and the OIS can point students in the right direction, but can’t do all the legwork.
“Students have a role too, and so it's more of a team effort, if you will," Bowen said. "We'll have to help them know if they're in danger of something, and then we're asking them to pay attention to the things that we're asking them to look at.”
While the OIS provides programming and assistance throughout a student’s career, Poon says students who break out of their comfort zones have the most success.
Her office hosts ice cream socials and language exchange programs to create more points of connection between international and American students.
“I think that's where you have students who will find you know their comfort in community because they've built that for themselves," Poon said.
