He came to Central Michigan University two years ago to begin master's degree in information systems. Before he came to the United States, he got his undergraduate degree in Alexandria, Egypt.

Continuing his education in a foreign country hasn't been easy, but CMU's uptick in international enrollment shows him that he isn't alone.

"It's difficult for me to be here," said Ahmeed, one of the 1,049 international student enrolled at the university this year. "But the international students here are a big community."

The number of international students has doubled since 2007, when only 457 international students were enrolled at CMU.

While overall freshmen enrollment at Central Michigan increased by more than 25 percent from 2013-14, the number of international students has increased more than 35 percent.

Tracy Nakajima, director of International Affairs, said it's exciting to increase in the amount of international students. She has been with the office since 2002 and has seen its growth first-hand.

"It's been busy because we have more students and more traffic than we ever had, but that's why we are here," Nakajima said. "We have seen the International Student Organization take a lead in not only social events, but also learning events to the student."

Administrators increased resources to attract international students in the past few years, Nakajma including having two recruiters that specifically target international students.

Nakajima said she also thinks that the quality of our academic programs and word of mouth from international students have nurtured the growth.

"When students come to CMU and are happy with the education and being here, they in return encourage their friends, relatives and classmates to enroll here," Nakajima said.

Ahmeed said that the one of the reasons he chose CMU was how easy the application and admission process was.

"Also, the university I came from in Egypt had connections with CMU," Ahmeed said. "CMU has a lot of connections to other universities in places like Africa and even Europe."

About 57 percent of international students are graduate or doctoral students. Less than one percent of international students are earning their degree in medicine.

Nakajima said the three most common countries international students come from are Saudi Arabia, China and India.

"China and India are traditionally countries that send high populations of people to the United States," Nakajima said. "Saudi Arabia has in the past few years, instituted a scholarship program for students to complete their degrees abroad, so that has increased the number of students."

Nakajima said that most international students are degree-seeking, but a few are here to study abroad.

She said that some popular programs for international students include the masters in science in information technology, science, technology and business.

Pamela Gates, dean of the College of Humanities & Social Behavioral Sciences, said in the past few years, the English Language Institute on campus has tripled in size.

CMU also has many relationships with universities across the world she said, including the American University in Rome, and Sejong University in South Korea.

"It's been really incredible to the growth of our international relations," Gates said.

Richard Forest, director of the English Language Institute and associate professor in the Department of the English Language and Literature, said that they current have 337 students in the institute. Forest added that about half of the students graduate students.

"CMU has been actively engaged in international recruiting, with representatives of undergraduate international recruiting and of the graduate school visiting sites in China, Saudi Arabia, Korea, and many other countries," he said.

International students face a lot of challenges and are truly brave for coming here to receive an education.

"The educational system here may be very different from that of their home country, and they are often away from their social and family networks," Forest said. "It’s also difficult to meet domestic students and make new social networks."

Forest said that as a university, we could help international students by simply listening.

"Many of our international students have a lot of life and work experience before coming here. We need to recognize that and remember to take time to listen and learn, not only to share our own points of view," Forest said.

Ahmeed said that he hopes in his role as president of the International Student Organization he can help can help build connections between the two group of students at CMU.

"The dean of the graduate students and the vice president of CMU asked me as the president of the RSO to work on events that increase the attractiveness between us and Americans," Ahmees said. "And I will work on that, but I think that international students are comfortable together."