By Ashlyn Kennedy | Reporter
The Global Friendship Program brings international and domestic students together to build connections and foster cross-cultural experiences outside the classroom.
Katie Klingstedt, coordinator of international programs, said the hope for the program is that international students get to see what it’s like to live in America outside of a college campus. They are matched with a domestic student, a faculty member or a local family to meet with once a month for a semester.
“It’s definitely a cultural exchange,” Klingstedt said. “It’s very ‘we share, you share,’ and we all kind of benefit from it.”
Klingstedt said students are matched based on shared interests, language and travel. Pairs officially meet at the global friendship kick-off event, which occurred on Feb. 10 this semester. After that, they are asked to meet once a month, which can look different for everyone.
“If they are matched with a peer, they usually meet at the dining hall or go off campus,” Klingstedt said. “If it’s a family or Baylor professor, often the families will invite them over to their house.”
According to the Paul L. Foster Success Center website, Baylor has 860 international students representing 87 countries. Klingstedt said this semester, 30 international students are paired through the Global Friendship Program — about half with domestic students and half with families.
Baylor alumna Jamie Holodak participated in the program for two semesters during her time as an undergrad. She said she decided to apply for the opportunity in order to meet international students and learn about other cultures.
“Since high school, I have had a passion for learning about other cultures,” Holodak said. “I think it’s very valuable to be able to learn more about yourself in your own culture when you compare that with another [culture].”
Holodak was paired with a student from South Africa and a student from Japan — countries she was initially unfamiliar with. She said she enjoyed getting to learn from each student and finding interests they shared regardless of culture.
“I think there’s always a lot to learn from people having different perspectives and different experiences,” Holodak said. “It makes you think more about your identity and why that’s important, but also knowing how we all share commonalities as well.”
Holodak currently lives in Senegal, where she works with the Peace Corps. She said the time she spent in the Global Friendship Program impacted where she is now.
“Having those experiences really prepared me to better integrate with my community [in Senegal] and be prepared to come here with an open mind and embrace the culture here,” Holodak said.
According to the Global Friendship Program website, there are no specific requirements to apply other than being “open and willing to engage in new experiences, and the sharing of your culture and values.”
Klingstedt said Baylor’s population of international graduate students in particular has increased rapidly over the past few years, and the program’s biggest need is for domestic graduate students to participate and match with them.
“It’s open to anyone, even if you’ve had no international experience and you’re just wanting to get to know someone from a culture that looks very different than you,” Klingstedt said.
Klingstedt said the program is such a valuable experience because people don’t have to leave Waco to encounter the world.
“You can have those cross-cultural experiences at Common Grounds with someone from Cameroon and get to talk and hear about their experience,” Klingstedt said. “That’s an incredibly rich opportunity that people pay a lot of money to go and have that experience, and you could have it right here in Waco.”
At the end of each semester, international students can choose whether they want to continue with the person they were paired with or match with someone new to get to know more people. Klingstedt said for many pairs, the semester relationship turns into a long-term one.
“It’s a really great way to get your feet wet with getting to know and interact with other cultures,” Klingstedt said. “It can be stretching in some ways because you are going to be talking to someone who might have grown up very differently from you and think very differently from you, but that’s what college is for in a sense.”
Holodak said she recommends the program to anyone who values sharing their culture, making people feel welcome or looking for friends.
“It’s really important to have an understanding of the whole world around us and not just our hometown or where we are at the moment,” Holodak said. “The Global Friendship Program is one way you can engage in other cultures and pursue a global education.”
Applications can be found on the Global Friendship Program website and are open all semester. Students will be paired for the fall semester in August.
