In her first two weeks at UNMC, graduate student Raheleh Miralami attended new student orientation, international student orientation (because she is from Iran) and an employee orientation (because she is a research assistant).
The outpouring of information was enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.
“It left my head spinning,” Miralami said.
But what if there were an organization that Miralami could turn to to help make sense of all that information?
And that’s when she got the idea to form the International Student Association.
“It’s something international students really need, to help them make the transition as smoothly as possible,” Miralami said.
So far, the organization has 10 members, but Miralami, the current president, is hoping more people will want to join the group.
“ISA is particularly suited for students interested in enhancing cultural competency on campus and ensuring the wellbeing of UNMC’s international students,” said ISA vice president and graduate student, Heather Talbott.
Anyone not from Omaha can benefit from the ISA, said graduate student Kasturi Banarjee, the group’s treasurer.
“You don’t have family here, you don’t know where to buy the things you need or where to go to get a cell phone so you can call home, now there is structured organization to turn to for guidance,” Banarjee said.
To better help international students and introduce domestic students and staff to international cultures the ISA has several programs.
These include:
- Student Ambassador Program – Incoming international students are assigned current students to serve as ambassadors to help them adjust to Omaha and UNMC.
- Breaking Barriers Forum – A monthly event where people can learn about new culture from around the world (previous presentations have included: China, Turkey, USA, Saudi Arabia) as part of an ongoing collaboration with UNMC’s Graduate Student Association.
- English Club – A social gathering for students where conversational English can be practiced and they can meet and network with other students at UNMC.
ISA meetings will be held the second Tuesday of the month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Sorrell Center, Room 3030. Anyone is welcome to join the ISA.
For more information or to join ISA, contact ISA president Raheleh Miralami or vice president Heather Talbott.