Growing Number of International Students
By Abdulaziz Alsuwayni
Lander University has a large and growing number of international students. Jeff Constant, the director of international students and scholar services at Lander University, said immigration refers to people who have left their original home country and relocated elsewhere to seek basic requirements in their life such as: decent housing, security, and the search for a better life in different ways.
Constant, takes care of immigration and visa issues for international students admitted to Lander University. There are currently more than 25 countries represented at Lander, including: Saudi Arabia, France, Denmark, Canada, China, India, Japan, Australia, Korea, etc. Lander currently has 124 foreign exchange students. Most of them are majoring in business or exercise science. About 112 of them are degree-seeking students. The remaining students are here for a semester or one academic year.
These statistics represent an increase in international degree-seeking students over last year. Degree-seeking students come from different countries including; 28 from China, 27 from the United Kingdom, 12 from Korea, five from France, five from Zimbabwe, four from Sweden, one from Saudi Arabia, and 23 are here from different countries.
The office of international students organizes off-campus events for these students. Constant stated, “I will try to hold one activity every month, whether it’s bowling, visiting Greenville for the fall festival or going to a college football game.”
Four international students will be graduating this year from Lander University. Constant advises students to work as hard as they can to prove themselves outside of their home country and to obtain high degrees with their achievements.
Thus, to exchange experiences and culture is one of the main aims towards working with such passionate international students because they come from different foreign countries bringing their traditions, ideas, cultures, customs, interests, and different backgrounds.
