OUR VIEW: International students add depth to USU

Far away from home, immersed in a foreign culture with new ideas and a chance to learn. No, it’s not an advertisement for the Study Abroad program, though it seems like a line straight out of one of those pamphlets. It’s a fact of life for USU students who take the idea of studying abroad a bit further.

International students at USU comprise a small portion of the total student population but add a big impact to the overall college experience. Let’s face it, Utah can sometimes be a bubble of a state. Utah is not known as a home to large numbers of cultures from around the world. International students bring this much-needed flavor to USU, enhancing the experience USU students can have.

But how many students take advantage of this opportunity to meet people who grew up in a foreign land with foreign belief systems? Hopefully many do, but all too often, the international students are ignored.

This is a shame. There is much we as college students can learn from our peers from foreign lands. They will likely have a different perspective to the world that can open your eyes to the bigger world. It’s easy to get trapped in the miniaturized globe of America, but there is an entire world out there and much to learn. America does not have all the answers. She doesn’t always have the best and brightest people either, though she has many of them. These international students are among the best and brightest in the world.

They sacrifice much to come to America. They don’t have to either. There are plenty of other opportunities for international students to get an English experience in Australia or Canada. These students often come from countries with well-established and well-respected education programs. Sometimes these students come from countries whose leaders hold unfavorable views toward America. Why go through all that trouble to come to America? Because they want a chance to see what America is like, to have a chance to expand their intellectual horizons.

Relatively few students get the chance to study in a foreign country for an extended period of time. But you don’t have to suffer through an excruciatingly long airplane ride to get a multicultural experience. It’s as simple as opening your eyes to the world around you and opening your mouth to talk to an international student. Chances are, they know as much if not more than the average American does about politics and the world as a whole. There is much we can learn from these students. They are a valuable part of the USU community and should be embraced and accepted as such. All it takes is a simple “hello” and an openness to listen and learn.