A century of welcoming Aggies from abroad
The International Student Office was formed 100 years ago when USU President John A. Widtsoe’s Iranian friend sent his four nephews to USU, said Christian Orr, International Student Council president.
International students attended USU before 1912, but there wasn’t an official place these students could go for assistance until this time, according to USU archives.
Current Chinese, Indian, African and Armenian USU students, as well as a handful of other nationalities, gathered Saturday to celebrate a century of diversity and contributions to USU’s academic and student life.
The International Student Banquet featured performances by members of international student communities on campus, from belly dancing to vocal performance. Before the talent acts began, a slideshow was played, showing the progression of USU international programs. The slideshow included images of past USU presidents welcoming international students at the airport and a montage of international events throughout the decades.
“The Iranian nephews coming to USU was the event that started what led up to the Cosmopolitan Club in 1916,” Orr said. “And now we know it as the International Student Council.”
For the second year, the ISC gave the International Educator Award. Following with tradition, an international student and international organization received awards for their contributions in connecting a minority culture to USU’s campus.
For the first time, both the International Student Organization of the Year and the International Student of the Year were from the same country – Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabian Association was formed at the turn of this school year’s fall and winter semester. The president of SAA, Hassan Al-Ishaq, was announced as the student of the year for his efforts to help fellow Saudi Arabian students and make them part of campus life, Orr said.
Because Saudi Arabian students don’t have the opportunity to attend SOAR, Al-Ishaq created a similar program that introduced them to USU, he said.
“He organized a student orientation of his own and invited individuals from each department to tell them about the rules and laws of academics,” Orr said.
Every year, four areas are taken into account when selecting International Student of the Year – academic success, cultural expression, service opportunities and leadership – and Al-Ishaq met each of these.
African dance performers took the stage as the first act. The performing group included Ami Meite from the Ivory Coast, Changwe Ngosa from Zambia and Izzy Beyene from Ethiopia. As a part of their dance they held flags from their native countries.
“We have been active in the USU international community and the international student council for a long time,” Ngosa said. “There are also very few African students at USU so we usually try to represent our culture if we have a chance to.”
“Being in a place such as Cache Valley, with not so much representation of different cultures it always gives us pride to be able to put (our) culture on the map and give people a chance to be exposed to something a little different,” Ngosa said.
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu,
– juliann13stock@aggiemail.usu.edu
