Courtesy of Global Ambassadors Program

Whenever we see a Mustang on the streets around campus or when we go in our calculus class, we assume that international students are going to be there. Have we, as a society, identified the international students with what I like to call the 2 M factor?  “I drive a Mustang only here, but back home I don’t even think about buying an American car,” Said Akdi, an international student from Morocco, said. Seeing how good international students are with mathematics, we assume that every international student has high standards when it comes to studying.

Coming from another culture is hard, and how much these students have contributed to CSU is something phenomenal to look at. When you grow up in a culture that is focuses majorly on collectivism and high salary jobs with no exception of disappointing your parents, you have a lot of pressure when coming to the US to accomplish all those goals. Unlike the majority of the population in CSU, the visa of these international students expires in a span of four to five years when they first come to the US. So for them to even get into graduate schools, they strive hard every day, being in a different country without being around people who speak their native language, to gain the experience of being in CSU and accomplish a high GPA while also building up their resume. For students who have been heavily tested only on academics throughout their school life, they have to go out of their comfort zone to get involved in clubs and organizations that they never would have done back in their country.

One of the organizations that promote international students of CSU to share about their culture, heritage, history and geography to community groups is Global Ambassadors Program. “The knowledge that domestic students have about other cultures is very minimal, and we as an organization have done a great job in conveying the perspectives of international students about their country,” Jasir Mayat, president of Global Ambassadors Program and an international student from Pakistan said.

It is a whole different world out there than just the 2 M that we use to define the foreign population and I challenge you to go out there and talk to an international student. They may be hard to communicate with because of the language barrier but they will give you insights and perspectives about their culture that you may have never even thought of.