The International Student Program (ISP) celebrated the end of the 2014-2015 academic year on Wednesday, May 20. The purpose of the event was to recognize our international students graduating from Skyline College this spring. Many of them are transferring to 4 year universities, including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara and San Francisco State University, among others. Both graduating and continuing international students gathered for the afternoon event and enjoyed a nice break from finals.
Dr. Tammy Robinson, Interim Dean of Global Learning Programs and Services, welcomed the audience and congratulated graduating international students on their great achievement. Oladipo Toriola or “Dipo”, an international student from Nigeria, expressed his appreciation for the faculty and staff members at Skyline College: “I am honored to be a Skyline student. Skyline College welcomed me with open arms and provided nothing but support while I was here.”
Dipo, transferring to UC Berkeley for the Engineering Program, also encouraged his fellow international students to “keep up their hard work”.
Jacqueline Valentino from Greece agreed that Skyline College has always provided encouragement and support for her as well, saying: “Skyline is where it all started. Without your help and encouragement, I would not have been able to reach this point.” Jacqueline is getting her Associate Degree in Allied Health Science, hoping to continue her study in Radiologic Technology.
During the event, ISP also announced new officers for The International Affairs Student Club (IASC). “Yvonne” Jingjing Zhao from China self-nominated to become the new President of the club. Yvonne is excited about the opportunity and shared her agenda for the club with the audience. Other new officers include: Vice President, Soriannys Mosquera from Venezuela; Student Advisor, Jingyi “Roma” Feng from China; Communication Officer, Musab Albaltan from Saudi Arabia; Event Coordinator, Jiahui “Kalie” Tang from China; Multimedia Specialist, Mark Gustave from St. Lucia and Secretary & Treasurer, Yidi Feng from China.
The event concluded with a fun raffle prize activity where students shared their experiences at Skyline College. Nipun Pradhan, current international student from Nepal, told the audience, “I’ve been to two other colleges in the U.S. before Skyline, but no schools ever taught me as much as Skyline has. I am happy with my decision to come and study here.”
ISP would like to thank all the faculty and staff members who have contributed to the ongoing support and encouragement of our international students. As the size of the international student body on campus expands, your help is invaluable. Please contact ISP Manager, Wissem Bennani with any questions about the International Student Program at bennaniw@smccd.edu.
Article & Photo by Chikako Walker
