About two years after the GW International Students Association’s formation, the group is looking to increase graduate student involvement and expand its reach to the international student community at large.
GWISA President Edward Jahng said the group is creating a graduate student committee this semester to provide resources, like job preparation workshops, and to open GWISA events to graduate and undergraduate students. He said the group is part of a larger effort to increase outreach to international students through newsletters and the first ever “World Food Night.”
He said GWISA, which includes about 30 student members, will host events geared toward graduate students focused on topics like networking, interview preparation and how to work through a visa application. Jahng added that more graduate students attended the organization’s events than undergraduates.
More than 12,000 undergraduates and more than 12,900 graduate students were enrolled at GW in fall 2019, according to University data.
He said GWISA’s biggest accomplishment since forming two years ago has been the implementation of the International Friendship Portal, which the group launched last year alongside Student Association leaders. Jhang said GWISA leaders are working this semester to increase student engagement and participation in upcoming international student events through a bi-weekly newsletter.
The International Student Office provides international students with advising and updates about relevant events. But Jahng said students have told GWISA leaders that they are more comfortable asking questions and communicating through peers in the International Friendship Portal, a program only implemented at a few universities.
“Administration is a barrier that you could be comfortable with,” Jahng said. “But there are some inside sources that administrators can’t talk about, so that’s the advantage that we have.”
GWISA’s publicity team is working with organizations like the African Student Association, Ethiopian Student Association and Program Board to advertise the group’s first World Food Night on April 24, an event at which all student organizations can showcase their talents and cultures through cuisine and performances, he said.
“Rather than calling this a GWISA event, I want to label it as a GW cultural event,” Jahng said. “We’re just facilitating an opportunity in a venue for people to come and gather.”
GWISA previously co-hosted the World Tours last fall with the ISO to showcase cuisine from all over the world, he said. Jahng said Program Board is co-hosting the first World Food Night to integrate all student organizations in the festivities, not just cultural groups.
He said GWISA is collaborating with GW Dining and Twenty Tables – an organization that partnered with GW and food trucks in Potomac Park last fall – for World Food Night. GWISA is taking World Food Night to the next level compared to previous events, like the World Tours Event and the Asian Market, which only featured Asian foods, Jahng said.
Irene Myo, a junior and the GWISA vice president, said the association is actively recruiting members from campus to expand its executive board and expand outreach to international students this semester.
“With the number of international students we’re serving, we believe that we should have more people participate with different perspectives and backgrounds,” Myo said.
She said the GWISA is focusing on including more international student organizations in future events to increase inclusivity in the association, adding that international students tend to not branch out from their immediate communities.
“We really maintain positive relationships with everyone not just on a professional level but also on a personal level as well, because of that a lot of people have plans to join GWISA and show interest in it,” Myo said.
Bo Kyung Kim, a sophomore and the GWISA’s chief of staff, said international students often need time to adjust to life in the U.S., which GWISA can help facilitate through helping students find a job or a community within the organization.
“Our role is to listen to those and then be able to help them out if they are struggling in any aspects and being able to integrate them into the community,” Kim said.
She said the events the association has put on allow students to interact with other international students outside of their majors or interests.
“Growing up as an international student in multiple countries, I think it’s really important for us to be able to fit in a community where we feel comfortable, but at the same time, we can learn something,” Kim said.
