Friday, August 25, 2017

International student ambassador - a chance to learn and help

Those who have traveled or studied abroad (including faculty, staff, and students) can be a huge resource to international students studying on your campus. "Study International" offers some helpful advice on how being an ambassador to international students can serve students well. It shouldn't only be about how serving as a gracious host to international students can benefit students.


Having an international ambassador cohort can do many things: 1) it can make the transition and ultimate experience of international students much more positive, impacting retention, satisfaction, and the richness of the experience for internationals; 2) it establishes an advocacy group on campus to support the broader comprehensive internationalization schemes some institutions are now launching; 3) it can help ambassadors maintain language proficiency when they speak in the first language of internationals; and 4) it renews the experience of traveling, studying, or working abroad.



Having taught abroad for Miami University and then working for Qatar Foundation for 7 years, I still relish the incredible experiences I had engaging with people from other countries and cultures and every time I encounter someone different from me, I renew the excitement of traveling and living abroad.

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