Jessica Mendoza, Managing Editor

Every year the International Student Organization (ISO) holds the International Education Week to celebrate culture and the diverse student body on campus. This past week of November, ISO held a series of events such as speed friending and poster making to represent various countries.

The student group hosted an exhibition that emphasized “inclusivity” and created a sense of “uniqueness” for those who feel unfit to the majority. A spirit day was also held where many Auggies wore ISO Gear all over campus. To end the week of programming Friday featured a cultural night to celebrate the diverse community on campus. There were performances and a fashion show to show the culture from different countries and regions. ISO and International Education Week serve as a bridge to help students from different background learn about others.

Linh Dao, ISO president and senior, stated that “as an international student, I understand the struggle of code-switching and being independent while being so far away from home and loved ones. Studying abroad is an adventure that sometimes can be very challenging. ISO has the potential to be the home and the community where students can connect cross-culture and embrace each other’s differences. As the president, I hope that this year, my board and I can help making ISO even more inclusive with highlight on equity leadership and be a source of student support.”

Tulela Nashandi, study abroad liaison for ISO states that her experience in the group went from “going to last years events to being a part of the board and recognizing the difficulty of representing many different countries and tying them in”.

Fidelina Xinico an international student from Guatemala and current vice president of ISO states the student group is her “second home while away from my country”…she went on to mention ISO as a place for “international students and domestic students to come together and meet each other”. ISO’s presence on campus and efforts to represent and educate the community about other cultures was felt by many students this week thanks to their programming.

This article was originally published in the Nov. 16, 2018 issue. 

ISO members at a general meeting. Photo by Linh Dao.