Ann, Kersting, Kim, Trujillo 1

Kendra Kersting, Sewon Kim, Sung Hee Ann, Cristhian Trujillo

Megan Roe
WRGT 109
May 7, 2015
Author note: This is our final draft. Things that went better from the first draft was finalizing all
the ideas together. We enjoyed working together and we all liked the topic. We hope to bring
awareness to the struggles that international students face while at college. Hopefully with these
tips it will encourage other students to interact with international students.

Bridging the Gap

Educational institutions around the world have international programs, and Briar Cliff
University is no exception. International programs work as a support between students of
different countries, communities and cultures. Briar Cliff has made a wise choice by including
this program on its campus. Diversity produced by the inclusion of multicultural students can
benefit the University and its students. However, in order to get the best results from this
program, it is necessary to improve it.
There are currently 34 students enrolled and studying at Briar Cliff with a F1 VISA, a
specific type of VISA which allows these students to enter and stay in United States as long they
study here. These students come from diverse countries around the world. Since most of these
students have not been in the United States before coming to Briar Cliff, they have to face some
problems and activities that a traditional American student would manage more easily. This is

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why through this proposal we aim to increase awareness of international students at Briar Cliff
University.
Proposal
Briar Cliff University needs to close the gap between traditional American students and
international students so that the whole community in the university can improve
Survey
We gave a survey to our writing class that asked a variety of questions about international
students that attend Briar Cliff University. The survey was given to fifteen students. The purpose
of the survey was to understand the perception of traditional American students to international
students. In our first question we asked how many international students they think currently
attend Briar Cliff University. These are our results that we got from the class.
1-15 Students
2
15-30 Students
10
30-50 Students
3
Since the total number of international students at Briar Cliff is thirty-four, only three students
got the first question right. The second question we asked was which countries they think the
international students at Briar Cliff come from. We got a variety of answers from the students.
Judith Scherer-Connealy, the Director of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, says
that the international students at Briar Cliff come from nine countries which are South Korea,
Corgo, United Kingdom, Spain, Rwanda, Mexico, Vietnam, Canada, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Six out of the fifteen student answered that they have no idea where the international students
came from.

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We take another survey of people outside of class because we wanted to see if the perception was
different from our class which had three international students in it. They results were a little
better than the one we toke in class. There is the results for the first question.
1-15 students
2
15-30 students
3
30-50 students
8
The second question we found the same results as the survey we gave in class. These result can
show how wide the gap is between international students and regular students.
Programs for International students
The multicultural program at Briar Cliff offers international students many things. Two
members of our group talked to two different envoys; an envoy is a person who helps the
international students get around places in Sioux City. One envoy we talked with was Megan
Aschoff. She is a junior at Briar Cliff. She was hired because she was a friendly face on campus.
Each envoy is given four to five international students that are under their wings but they all
share the load of driving them around (Aschoff). The most popular places the envoys take the
international students to are the airport and Wal-Mart. Most of the time the international students
need to go shopping during the first part of the semester. Megan says she enjoys seeing the
international students reaction to the American experience. Another envoy; Doris Iragena from
Rwanda, says I enjoy driving the students because I got to meet new people and learn about
their cultures.

Challenges at College

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There are many challenges that are faced by international students in college. Katy
Hopkins, with the U.S News and World Report, addresses the main challenges that an
international student faces while at college:
1.

New assignments

2.

New Professors

3.

New Subjects

4.

New Friends

5.

New Foods

6.

New Cultures

Ann speaks about new subject that she got to take at Briar Cliff: piano classes.
In Korea, I was not allowed to take piano classes, because only students who are in piano or in
the music major can take that class. Also, in my university in South Korea, we do not have a
first-aid class but at my first semester at Briar Cliff I was able to take a first-aid class (Sung
Hee)
Evidence of a Bad Experience
Ann (Sung Hee) tells a story of an experience that shows the division between students here
at Briar Cliff. Last year, when I took a class at Briar Cliff University for the first time, I had to
do a group project. I was so nervous and uncomfortable because my speaking in English was
bad. Speaking is still tough, though. When my group gathered in the classroom, I cannot
understand what people in my group said because they spoke so fast. I was so confused and
scared. I also felt isolated. They talked to each other except me. In order to participate in their

Ann, Kersting, Kim, Trujillo 5

discussion, I tried to say my opinion, but I did not remember any English words. Although I
expressed what I thought, they did not figure out my pronunciation so that they cannot get my
opinion. I felt as if they got irritated at me. This feeling made me so panicked that I could not say
any more. This shows that traditional American students do not empathize with international
students as they try to integrate into American classrooms.
Good Experience
Not all international students experience a bad situations while at college. Sewon tells a
story about a good experience she had at Briar Cliff: I dont feel that much distance between
American students anymore, but when I first came here, I was lonely. I had to make friends by
myself and nobody helped me. Unfortunately, when I first arrived at Briar Cliff University in
August, I was given a room without a roommate. At first, I could not bear to be alone because
Iowa was a strange place to me and being alone made me homesick. I tried to make myself feel
better by visiting other peoples rooms, but it sometimes felt like I was bothering them. I wanted
a roommate, but I was told that it would be difficult because all the students were already settled.
The loneliness was bothering me, so I didnt give up. I ended up asking around and finding a
roommate by myself. After I started living with an American person, I gained more confidence
because I was given the opportunity to speak English. Unlike living alone, I was able to talk to
other Americans because of the practice living with my roommate gave me. When I interact with
Americans, I feel like the barrier between our different cultures is being broken down and it
makes me feel better about my speaking skills. Although the United States of America is not my
motherland, I enjoy my life here.
Fixing the problem

Ann, Kersting, Kim, Trujillo 6

In our second survey we asked students What do you think could help the relationship
between International students and traditional American students? One student responded to the
survey with the advice that a traditional student should be assigned as a mentor (for lack of a
better word). Just someone they can talk to with questions regarding campus life and someone
that is making sure they are involved socially. Here are our solutions:

We can have group sessions like the freshman learning community

We can try to break the internationals' cliques with each other and have them branch out

to other students
We can open a tutoring class to break the language barrier. International students coming
from their own countries can teach regular students in Briar Cliff University to learn their
languages. With the tutoring, they can understand each other and interact with each other.
For example, there is a Language Exchange Program in American University. Students
who participate in this program build social connections, enhance cross-cultural

communication skills, and improve foreign language skills (Bakar).

We can give regular students the opportunity to experience international students culture.

Kendra talks about what here high school did to close the gap: At my high school we had a
majority of international students. We had a group of students at the being of the year that was
called the Welcome Crew. Our job was to welcome and help the new international students to
America. It was held the week before school started. We did many games, outings and spent time
talking with the new students. During the school year my school held an international dinner.
This was where international students made dishes from their home country. These programs
really help close the gap between the students.

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Conclusion- Viability of the Proposal/ Tips
Jessica Stahl states in her article Why Arent American and International Students becoming
Friends that International students seem much more aware of the barriers created by the
cultural differences. Here are some easy tips when talking or interaction with international
students

Talk slowly
No idioms or slang
Do not change facial expression
Body language
Laughing

One of the best and obvious ways to follow this proposal is to encourage students to get
all students to interact with each other. To accomplish this step, it is necessary to make students
understand that international student come from different cultures. International students at Briar
Cliff are good and talented, but the truth is that it is challenging to live in a new place with
unknown people who speak a different language and have different lifestyles than the ones that
international students might be used to.

Work Cited
Ann, SungHee. Personal Interview. 26 Apr.2015

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Aschoff, Megan.Personal Interview. 27 Apr.2015
Bakar, Senem S. "International Student & Scholar Services." Language Exchange Program.
American University, n.d. Web. 2 May 2015.
Hopkins, Katy. "6 Chllenges for International Students in College." US News. U.S.News &
World Report, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/08/28/6-challenges-forinternational-students-in-college>.
Iragena, Doris. Personal Interview. 27 Apr. 2015
Kersting, Kendra. Personal Interview. 26 Apr. 2015
Kim, Sewon. Personal Interview. 26 Apr. 2015
Scherer-Connealy, Judith. Personal Interview. 23, Apr.2015
Stahl, Jessica. "Why Aren't Americans and International Students Becoming Friends? VOA
Student Union." Why Aren't Americans and International Students Becoming Friends?
VOA Student Union. Voice of America, 19 June 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
<http://blogs.voanews.com/student-union/2012/06/19/why-aren%E2%80%99t
americans-and-international-students-becoming-friends/>.