By: Camryn Johnson
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Moving away from home can be an intimidating process for many young adults. However, for some students, the journey can be even bigger.
The University of Arkansas is home to approximately 1,200 international students from 110 different countries every year, including Andrea Sansores, a graduate swimmer for the Arkansas Swimming and Diving team.
Sansores came to the U of A from Cancun, Mexico five years ago knowing very little English. In addition to the nerves of beginning school, she said the notion of leaving her country added stress.
“Everything was different. Not just because you’re starting college for the first time, but you’re starting college in a new country and that can be a little intimidating,” Sansores said.
For the many students like her, the Office for International Students and Scholars aims to make the transition into university and American life as easy as possible from the moment they arrive on campus.
Incoming students are required to attend the university’s international orientation. Graduate Assistant for the ISS Sloane Jeffery said the intent of the program is to provide opportunities for international students to share their experiences.
“It’s a space where students can talk to other brand new international students that have only been here for a couple of days, a couple of weeks or a couple hours and be like ‘Here are some challenges I am having. How did you solve them?’ and, ‘Here are some of the things I’ve found solutions to that you can also use,’” Jeffery said.
The U of A also offers one-time events and year-long programs for both international and domestic students to get involved with:
- Campus Cousins – International students are matched with a domestic U of A student to create a peer relationship for the year for the purpose of campus life/events and cultures.
- Conversation Club – International students can meet up with American student leaders and practice conversational English once a week for eight weeks.
- Cross Cultural Mentor Program – New students are paired with mentors who help them adjust “academically, culturally and socially” to the university and the United States.
- Friendship Family Program – Similar to a foreign exchange program, international students are matched with a family in the NWA community. Students do not live in-home, but do share traditions and pieces of everyday life with the family.
- International Culture Team – A team of 100 presenters from around 35 countries created to educate others on different cultures through performances and demonstrations.
All international students are required to pass an English proficiency test before applying to the university. However, the conversational side of English can still be a challenge for students like Sansores.
“I remember this one time one of my teammates was like, ‘oh I just had a brain fart,’ and I had never heard that term, so I was like, ‘Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor or something?’” she said.
In addition to language barriers, Jeffery said many international students experience homesickness. In response, the International Culture Team provides ways for students to share their cultures with one another.
“The whole outreach team does a lot of programming to kind of bring the feeling of home back to our students,” they said.
Sansores said she struggled with missing home a lot in her first year, but credits her team with keeping her in good spirits.
“It’s hard waking up at 5 in the morning and training 6-8 everyday. But it’s definitely worth it because we have a lot of fun together. We have a lot of laughs – just giggly, goofy attitudes everywhere, so I think that’s been the best.”