by Claire Miller
SangHee Kim knew that spending a year at Georgia State University’s College of Education would offer her the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life.
“Georgia State is in downtown Atlanta, where there are a lot of students with different backgrounds,” Kim said. “South Korea is becoming more diverse, so I thought it was pertinent to get this multicultural experience in Atlanta.”
Kim, who attends SookMyung Women’s University in South Korea, is one of 16 exchange students and visiting scholars who were welcomed to GSU during the college’s International Student Welcome Reception on Aug. 23.
Coordinated by Yunkyung Chang-Hoffman and the COE Office of International Programs, the welcome reception takes place each fall and spring semester and gives exchange students and visiting scholars the opportunity to meet COE faculty and staff, and representatives from GSU’s Office of International Affairs.
This year, the exchange students and visiting scholars are not the only new faces on campus. Jun Liu, associate provost for international affairs, and Jeremy Billetdeaux, director of study abroad programs, recently joined the university community and spoke briefly about the importance of international programs at the reception.
“I want to welcome you to become a part of this community,” Liu said. “I’m here to help GSU move forward with its global initiatives. We want to expand our study abroad programs, create an international consortium and build a physical center for international programs. This is an exciting time to be at Georgia State.”
Billetdeaux, who just moved to Atlanta this summer, encouraged students to explore the city and fit in time to travel before the semester ends – advice that Sichuan Normal University students Xuyang Huang, Danyi Fang and Maojia Luo have already taken to heart. After traveling around the western U.S. for a few weeks in late July and early August, these students are ready to focus on the semester ahead.
“We arrived on July 23 and traveled to California, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas,” Huang said. “We’re tired but excited to be here.”
For more information about the COE’s international programs, visit http://education.gsu.edu/international.
