I think sometimes God plants a desire in your heart long before you understand why. And sometimes the place you try to talk yourself out of is the very place you were meant to be.
Browsing: international students
The come-and-go event offered free food and boba tea while students rotated between activity tables decorated in Spring Festival elements. Students participated in traditional games and learned about the meaning behind Lunar New Year customs and symbols.
International students at the annual Celebration of First Year Excellence said the university’s resources have helped them transition into life at Baylor while chasing academic success.
Walking through any freshman door during the first week, you will see the anticipation. But under that, there is an uneven playing field that goes unnoticed. Universities pride themselves on global enrollments and the way they cater to freshmen, but that could not be further from the truth. International freshmen start further back from where the race begins.
Now that the spring semester is officially underway, international students often look to venture beyond Baylor to experience life in the U.S., particularly in Waco. The Global Friendship Program, a long-standing Baylor program, continues to cultivate a culture of understanding and adventure for students from across the world.
While many crossed city or state lines to get to Baylor, others crossed oceans and looked for ways to make Baylor home thousands of miles away.
In a recent conference, Vice President of Student Life Dr. Sharra Hynes noted that Baylor not only welcomed one of its academically strongest freshmen classes, but also “the largest number of international students that we’ve ever had in an undergraduate class.”
Whether it’s eating turkey in the U.S., lighting lanterns on campus, watching a harvest parade in Germany or cooking yams in Ghana, communities near and far celebrate their harvest and community throughout the fall season.
According to the Baylor Institutional Research website, with four years of enrollment steadily increasing, Truett Seminary has achieved a new record for enrollment with 483 students.
“I always feel lonely as an international student,” Liu said. “But when you go to the activities they host, you see a lot of international students from different places and even from the same country as you … and you feel belonging here.”
Politics and personal feelings aside, we need to uphold the Constitution and allow due process to take its course. The least we can do as fellow students is show our support and constantly be a shoulder to lean on during difficult times.
The three Baylor students whose visas were revoked earlier this month have now had their visas reinstated, according to university spokesperson Lori Fogleman. It comes as part of a national maneuver on behalf of the DHS that saw 1,500 students nationwide have their student visa status temporarily reinstated.
As of April 9, three Baylor students have had their record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System database terminated and their student visas revoked.
Last week, Baylor’s International Student and Scholar Services sent an email travel advisory to all international students across campus, expressing concern for students going back home this summer due to possible complications in returning to the U.S. come August.
Baylor attracts students from around the world, offering academic opportunities and a diverse campus community. International students have their own experiences adjusting to life at Baylor, from navigating a new culture to finding support through campus resources and student organizations.
Cardoza-Orlandi said minority groups in the U.S. are framed by the tension between Blacks and whites, the so-called racial binary. People like him that are not included in this range often seem to be invisible.
“I do think it has a great meaning, especially with the history and how it all started,” Chaves said. “I think it’s very nice to experience that in the whole week, and as an international student, I get a sense of home or belonging.”
“The whole certificate is about building beyond students to become global learners first and foremost, exposing students to intercultural humility, cultural awareness and having the ability to be able to interact with different ethnicities and backgrounds,” said Raphael Abayateye, assistant director of Global Engagement.
As Baylor strives to recruit more international students as part of its Baylor in Deeds strategic plan, part of that process includes ensuring international students adjust and transition to life in America.
For me, being from another country is a blessing. I get to share my language, culture, customs and even traditions with those around me.
“The opportunity to be in fellowship with our Baptist brothers and sisters stands to cause us to be more conversant and more aware of the work that the Lord is doing through Christians, congregations, conventions and the world,” Still said.
With almost 25 years of experience in international education, Debra Wainscott has found her calling as an international student academic support specialist.
Have you ever considered studying abroad or becoming a foreign exchange student? I am excited that I may get to experience this special privilege, but one thing that scares me is sticking out like a sore thumb.
Baylor is home to students from all around the world, and the Global Gateway Program is designed to support those for whom English is a second language.
International students are an asset to the local and global community through their studies and contributions. However, they need to be welcomed into the community and shown care in order to thrive.
Center for Global Engagement ambassadors provide resources and mentorship for international students all year round. Ambassadors help put on initiatives and events for international students and are focused on welcoming them and connecting them to the Baylor community.
Baylor’s Center for Global Engagement houses a variety of programs, including International Student and Scholar Services, study abroad and Global Gateway. Each department offers services that are uniquely catered to students’ needs and interests.
Through the Baylor and Beyond Living-Learning Community, North Russell Hall is home to a majority of Baylor’s first-year international students. People from all around the world call “No-Ro” home their freshman year.
Making Baylor feel like home can be an awfully difficult transition, especially when it’s 5,000 miles away from family and any kind of familiarity. Despite the inherent challenge, Cami Benedetti of Mendoza, Argentina, and Sergio Rodríguez of Madrid, Spain have found their new sense of home through the warmth and devotion of Baylor students and faculty.
“Having student ambassadors helps create a welcoming and supportive space for the international community at Baylor University,” Hoye said. “Ambassadors tell us that they apply because they want to serve the incoming international students at Baylor, and their passion shows through the countless ways they help both incoming and current international students and scholars.”