The International Student Program (ISP) hosted the Opening Reception on Monday, November 16th, to kick off the International Education Week (IEW) 2015. IEW is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State to highlight the importance and benefits of international education in the U.S. and around the world (Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, 2015). This year, ISP was awarded the President Innovation Fund to implement the IEW at Skyline College. The Opening Reception was held on the very first day of the week to introduce the Skyline College community to the IEW. The event attracted more than 70 faculty, staff and students from across campus.
During this luncheon event, ISP was honored to host two speakers: Mr. Samuel Heikinen, Director of International Student Programs at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania, and Ms. Irene Tieh, CEO of US College Connection. Mr. Heikinen, who just flew back from his recruitment trip to Europe, spoke about unique challenges of international students and stressed that each institution needs to develop its own program to best accommodate their international students. Ms. Tieh introduced to the audience how global Skyline College already is, currently hosting 169 international students from more than 30 countries, and encouraged everyone to actively interact with those who are from abroad. At the end of the event, the audience was invited to ask questions to the speaker which sparked further discussion about international education.
ISP plans to host follow-up workshops in the Spring semester for Skyline College faculty and staff members. Please check future events on the ISP website.
Article by Chikako Walker | Photo by Claudia Paz
