Isabell Vasquez/ Contributing Writer
With more than 3,500 international students from over 140 countries, FIU has granted us with the world at our fingertips.
The International Student Club is an organization that supports these students during their academic careers. Through social events, volunteering and leadership opportunities, international students will never be bored.
They collaborate with the International Student & Scholar Services to reach out to students who might be afraid to take their first steps. As an FIU student, you’re exposed to culture every time you step on campus.
ISC President Monserrat Otarola has always been involved with different cultures.
“When you are involved with us, you learn about cultural competence, how to treat people who might have a different background,” Otarola said.
What makes FIU great is that it can’t be unknown territory because we represent different cultures.
For example, to reflect its student body, FIU’s first buildings were named in different languages: Primera Casa (Spanish), Deuxième Maison (French), Viertes Haus (German), Athenaeum (now the Green Library, Greek) and Owa Ehan (Edo).
It’s the little details on campus that show our pride in what we stand for. Culture defines our environment and we celebrate it every chance we get.
ISC provides support for students who come from all over the world. They come to study with a Visa, socialize, learn and grow their leadership skills.
“We support international students by offering them a family far from home. In ISC, we want students to be proud of where they are from,” Otarola said.
Our vision as a global university still stands in not just one club, but others as well.
A multicultural student body helps to widen your social circle by expanding the pool of people with whom you can associate and develop relationships with. It only makes you into a better person because it enhances social development.
“Our most representative event is the World Fair, which happens during International Education Week every year. In this event, we showcase about 20 different countries in a booth, where students can explain to guests about their food, traditions, clothing and more. We also invite cultural performances to be part of the event,” said Otarola.
The ISC advisor, Claudia Biscardi, shared that the club has grown tremendously in the last couple of years. The first World Fair was organized with only a $500 budget and had over 200 attendees.
International student Fenix Feng-Wu is a sophomore majoring in international business and finance. Born from Chinese parents and raised in Venezuela, he likes FIU’s global mantra.
“It helps to meet people and get adjusted to other cultures because we have a lot of people from different countries. It’s nice to meet people from different cultures and you learn more about the world,” Feng-Wu said.
With ISC, international students have a group to support them like family and if that isn’t enough then there’s 50,500 students to help keep them company.
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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Photo taken from Flickr.
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