On August 8, 2023, the International Student Program (ISP) welcomed 100 new international students to Skyline College. The bi-annual event is intended to provide new international students with the opportunity to make new friends and learn more about the Skyline College campus, its resources, and facilities.
The event opened with remarks from the Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Vinicio Lopez, and Interim Dean of Global Learning Programs and Services, Zaid Ghori. Following that, the ISP staff members were introduced: Clair Yeo-Sugajski (Acting Program Manager), Carlos Romero (Counselor), and the Student Ambassadors (Hnin Thandar Win, Lasheana Husni, Zwe Mann Kyaw, Sebastian F. Sutjipto, and Lareytha Husni).
For the first icebreaker, Lareytha led a bingo game where each student was given a bingo sheet filled with different questions in each of the box. Students were asked to walk around and ask the questions from the sheet and write the name of the people they asked and complete lines of bingo to win the game. After the game, the students did a campus tour scavenger hunt. Every group had to locate offices such as the ISP Office, the Library, the Learning Center, Admission and Records, Health Center, Bookstore, and Building 12 using hints and with the guidance of a student ambassador.
After the scavenger hunt, the new students came back to Building 4 and had lunch together while listening to a presentation by Kari Mendoza, a Risk Strategies representative, on their health insurance. The event was ended by a speech by the new Acting President of Skyline College, Dr. Newin Orante and a raffle. Overall, the New Student Welcome was a huge success as students were able to have fun and make new friends.
This Fall 2023 semester, ISP has grown by 19% from Spring 2023 to Fall 2023, and by 51% from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023. We are excited to host 243 international students for Fall 2023. ISP is a part of the Global Learning Programs and Services Division and will continue to provide services and programs for international students as well as for the entire Skyline College community.
If you are interested in learning more about future ISP programs and events, contact the ISP office at skyinternational@smccd.edu