Double Exposure

Take a moment to remember the way you felt when

you started your college career at the University

of South Alabama. Most likely, you were moving

away from your family for the first time and leaving your

hometown. For some, maybe you were even in a whole

new state.

A mix of excitement and nervousness wound up

together on move-in day while you said goodbye to

most everything you have felt comfortable with for the

previous part of your life.

It was a new chapter, a new start and a new

beginning. Now, imagine the way you felt that day, but

with a small twist — You’re starting your college career

at South, but you are in the United States for the first

time in your life. You speak little to no English, and your

family and friends are a very long plane ride away.

For most international students, this is how their

stories here at South begin.

Every year, South accepts multiple international

students into their program through Global USA. The

Global USA department serves as a way for students to

have a well-rounded college experience by providing all

the necessary resources for international students to

succeed here at South, as well as providing domestic

students with opportunities to travel and study abroad.

For most international students, the first step in

succeeding at South is going through the English

Language Center. The ELC is a department set up

through Global USA to teach students comprehensive

English as a second language.

Ahmed Aldossari, a criminal justice major from Saudi

Arabia, started his journey at South in 2013. His sister,

Fatemah Aldossari, a pre-med student, followed in 2016.

It was both of the siblings’ first time in the U.S., and the

ELC provided them with the tools they needed to begin

their college careers at South.

Both Ahmed and Fatemah believe that traveling

abroad to study here as international students has given

them a new perspective on the world and what they can

achieve.

“It’s important to travel to know the culture. If

you’re only seeing culture through social media or TV

it’s different. Before I came here I thought it was all

‘Hollywood’... and that’s not true,” Ahmed said.

Fatemah explained that in her home country of Saudi

Arabia there are strict rules and age limits for attending

medical school, so coming here allows her to pursue

those dreams without limitations.

“In my country, if I graduated high school and stayed

home one year, I could not enter into medical school. I’d

be too old, so that is one reason why I wanted to study

here,” Fatemah said.

Global USA strives to be there every step of the way

for international students wanting to be a part of South’s

community for any part of their college career. This is

evident in Yolany Ortiz’s story. Ortiz is a Ph.D. student in

instructional design from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

“I decided to come to South because of the

communication I had with the program coordinator Dr.

James Van Haneghan. He was extremely helpful and he

was interested in having me as part of the program,”

Ortiz said.

Incorporating more diversity into South’s campus is

one of the biggest goals of Global USA. It is important

that they expand the culture and experiences of

students at South, hoping to make diversity a key factor

in everyday success.

“Having the representation of different people at

South will allow others to feel like there are others that

look like them, speak like them and there might be times

when they can get together and share experiences,”

Ortiz said. “It is also important as part of the college

experience that will help you grow, learn from other

people and be able to make friends with people who are

different from yourself.”

For Axel Yarahuaman, a graduate student in civil

engineering, having the opportunity to study at a

university in the U.S. was one that has changed his idea

of education and its importance.

“The education level in the United States is really

high, and I see that at South. The quality of the

professors and the classes, it is impressive. They

have challenged me and made me want to discover the

world,” Yarahuaman said. “Even my classmates here

have motivated me. Everyone here wants to discover

more.”

Having the opportunity to receive higher education

through a university is something that these

international students will never take for granted.

Studying at South has opened up doors and allowed

them to create friendships that will last a lifetime.

Yarahuaman described the importance of traveling

and experiencing new cultures with a quote by Saint

Augustine he has held on to during his time as a student

at South.

“The world is like a book, and those who do not

travel are only reading a page.”

Link to the original story: https://issuu.com/duesouth.southalabama/docs/2019_fall_due_south__issuu_?embed_cta=read_more&embed_context=embed&embed_domain=jagmedia.org