New director connects international students to campus
The new international affairs director, Bill Holmes, said internationalization can impact the entire campus of Central Michigan University.
Holmes said he aims to develop a plan for university-wide internationalization that takes everyone on campus into consideration. The goal of internationalization is to help faculty, staff and students be more aware of global issues.
Tracy Nakajima, director of International Student and Scholar Services, said the office wants to increase interaction between international students and domestic students to give international students the full experience of an American education. Furthermore, though the goal of the International Affairs Office is to have American students study abroad, they know not everyone will be able to — however, those students can still interact with international students at CMU.
“(Internationalization would) bring international issues and awareness into everyone’s daily life,” Nakajima said.
The office will focus on classroom curriculum that brings in international issues.
“Our staff’s duties are supporting the students once they’re here and helping students navigate through other support services that are already here because international students are CMU students, just as anyone else is,” she said.
Since it is an academic unit, Holmes said, faculty should have input on internationalization. Through open forums and focus groups, Holmes hopes to hear from faculty and students about their ideas on internationalization and the issues that are important to them.
Many programs and activities for international students happen through registered student organizations, but their office is working on developing a calendar of events. They intend to have a calendar by January, but have already notified students of activities as they come up. Right now, the office has a small amount of money taken from their budget dedicated to programming.
“It’s breaking down any barriers that might be there (between international and domestic students) and helping them get to know each other,” Holmes said.
Beatrice Chioda, an undergraduate student from Italy, said it's fairly easy to get involved on campus because of the coordinated activities that make her feel like a part of the CMU community.
Graduate student Jillur Rahim, president of the International Student Organization, said most international students are probably associated with an organization related to the country they're from or ISO. There are a lot of other opportunities on campus, he said, but it's not always easy for international students to get involved.
"I don't think any RSO alienates international students but coming from a different culture and country, it's not easy for international students to sync with American culture," Rahim said.
ISO aims to build bridges between international students and American students, he said, because international students can help create a multicultural environment by getting involved at CMU and in Mount Pleasant.
Holmes said international students at CMU face the same kinds of issues that American students do when they go abroad — adjusting to different weather, food, culture and language.
"I understand the highs they get when they first arrive and the lows when they just want to go home and just want to stop hearing English and speak to someone from their country for a while," he said. "We tend to look negatively at American students who hang together when they're abroad and I've heard the same thing about international students when they're here hanging out in little groups, but it's such a safe place that they need to have that ability."
Nakajima said the earlier international students understand the university environment, the more successful they’ll be at CMU, just like any other student
