The Living Learning Center’s Performance Hall roars with conversation and fills with students from around the globe. The International Student Association’s weekly Coffee Hour brings international and domestic students together.
Gary Gao, president of the ISA, said the main goals of the organization are to connect international and domestic students and help international students adapt to the transition of life in the United States. With about 350 attendees each night and free food, drinks and small games provided, Gao views the Coffee Hour as an opportunity for people to make new friends, both international and domestic, in a welcoming setting.
“We try to help [international and domestic students] build a bridge to close the gap and help them communicate,” Gao said.
As an international student from China, Gao struggled with English and felt embarrassed interacting with others. He surrounded himself with other Chinese students to avoid speaking English during his first few years at the university. However, when his friend brought him to the Coffee Hour during his first year at the university, Gao began to find friends with different cultures and started to attend nearly every Coffee Hour since then.
“Coffee Hour was welcoming, and I started to branch out and started to make more international and American friends,” Gao said. “You get out of your bubble and make new friends outside of your friend circle.”
After seeing the impact the Coffee Hour had on himself, Gao joined the ISA and hopes that he can help students branch out the way he did and create a more friendly environment where international students can feel at home.
Although international students comprise 13 percent of the student population, Caitlin Sherman, secretary of the ISA, found it difficult to interact with international students before joining the ISA because she was busy with classes and students are not afforded many opportunities to do so.
Sherman encourages students to take time to interact with students from different cultural backgrounds, and she says the Coffee Hour enables that.
“You’re seeing a different side of the student body. The atmosphere has a lot of different cultures [and] you hear a lot of different languages around you,” Sherman said. “It’s good for our students to get to know the student body, widen their horizons and realize that our world is becoming a mixing pot.”
To further promote cultural interaction, the ISA invites other international student groups to co-host the event. Senior Jessica Vasquez, a domestic student, attended her first Coffee Hour on Oct. 16 when the Saudi Student Association and the Muslim Student Association co-hosted the event. Although Vasquez was apprehensive about going to the Coffee Hour at first, her friend convinced her to go for the free food. Vasquez ended up staying for more than the food.
“It’s a very open environment to just come, hangout, get to know international students and get to learn about other cultures, ” Vasquez said.
The Coffee Hour takes place in the Living Learning Center’s Performance Hall every Friday from 4-6 p.m.
ISA Coffee Hour connects students from different cultures
Miles Trinidad
October 22, 2015
ISA coffee hour is bringing together ducks from across the world. (Creative Commons) Photo credit: Creative Commons
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