{"id":320192,"date":"2018-05-17T11:48:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T15:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=320192"},"modified":"2018-05-17T11:53:46","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T15:53:46","slug":"international-student-mentors-program-fosters-community-support-320192","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/international-student-mentors-program-fosters-community-support-320192\/","title":{"rendered":"International Student Mentors Program fosters community, support"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Going away to college and leaving home for the first time can fill students with trepidation. And when you\u2019ve come from thousands of miles away\u2014sometimes from the other side of the world\u2014the challenges of transitioning into a new culture and University life are naturally compounded.<\/p>\n<p>Senior Nola Yang \u201918 isn\u2019t from a great distance away\u2014her hometown is Syracuse, New York\u2014but having volunteered as a mentor in the University\u2019s <a href=\"\/college\/orientation\/international\/mentors.html\">International Student Mentors Program<\/a> for the past three years, she knows that international students can often use additional help in integrating into life at a U.S. college or university.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that students don\u2019t often ask for help, so we want to be there from the very beginning\u2014before they even arrive on campus\u2014to help them and support them in adjusting to this new experience,\u201d says Yang, who has served as a senior international student mentor this year. \u201cISMs really just want to ensure that students have the most possible positive experience in their first year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ISM program is designed to foster meaningful interactions between current University students and incoming international first-year students. ISMs\u2014the upperclass volunteer mentors\u2014begin reaching out to new international students in the summer before a fall semester to help them get acquainted with the University. During Orientation and throughout the first year, ISMs continue to support these students by organizing special events and programs, and serving as a resource for questions about U.S. culture and academics. The ISM program operates from the <a href=\"\/college\/CCAS\/\">College Center for Advising Services<\/a> (CCAS) and matches each ISM with about 20 new international students from all over the world.<\/p>\n<p>As a senior ISM, Yang helps program and plan for ISM training, heads the ISM mentors team, plans a program for International Education Week, and works with the International Student Counselor, Michael Dedes, to provide ongoing mentorship services to the international student population at the University, which represents about 25% of the undergraduate student body.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInternational students often don\u2019t see their families as often during the academic year, as compared to U.S. students who can go home for quick breaks and holidays,\u201d says Yang. \u00a0\u201cSo creating a network of friends and connections can be very assuring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yang estimates that about half of the international students who participate in the ISM program from the start stay engaged with the group and use its resources to help navigate their first full year. She observes that the program has gained a lot of momentum since she began with it three years ago, and international students really seem to appreciate the chance to meet and socialize with both mentors and other students coming from far points to Rochester.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, being a part of the program has been really meaningful. I\u2019ve had a chance to meet so many people from all over the world and learn about their stories and cultures,\u201d says Yang. \u201cI didn\u2019t have an opportunity to study abroad, but at the same time I feel like I have gained so much international experience through the program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yang will soon be a chemical engineering graduate and will begin a position at Capital One in McLean, Virginia through its CODA Software Engineer program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe amazing team of students who mentor incoming international students have made many strong connections this year,\u201d says Molly Joliff, director of International Student Engagement and associate director in CCAS. \u201cAnd Nola has been an admired leader of both the mentors and the program participants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of our international students comment on how they always remember that first communication from an ISM,\u201d says Shandra Kieffer, administrative assistant in CCAS. \u201cMany rich friendships are created from the program, and several participants turn around and become mentors in the following years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upperclass volunteer mentors begin reaching out to new international students the summer their arrival in Rochester, and serve as a resource regarding U.S. culture and academics during their first year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":320992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[21642,19242],"class_list":["post-320192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-class-of-2018","tag-global-engagement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>International Student Mentors Program 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