Be a friend to an international student

Dear Campus Colleagues,

Our campus community is home to 220 international students representing more than 60 countries by their citizenship and residence.

Part of what helps these students integrate quickly and thrive within our community is the support given by those who take the time to get to know them on a personal level outside the classroom.

Through the International Friendship Program, you can become a “friendship partner” and be matched with one or more of our new international students, serving as an additional level of support while just being you—meeting your student(s) for coffee on campus, including them in family activities, and inviting them to take part in holiday celebrations, shopping trips, and on-campus events.

Helping our students whose families are so far away is certainly rewarding, but equally so are the cross-cultural friendships you develop by participating in the program.  Friendship partners receive the benefit of learning about other cultures and different parts of the world as they get to get to know their student(s) more.

The Office of International Student Advising invites you to consider this special opportunity.  Learn more about the program through FAQs and participant testimonials as well as a feature story in Lafayette magazine.

If you would like to join the program, kindly submit your application by Friday, Aug. 20.

For questions or more information, please contact Janine Block, assistant director of intercultural development, or Sena Yevenyo ’22, IFP student coordinator.

Become a friendship partner and you will make a world of difference!

Janine A. Block ’94
Assistant Director of Intercultural Development