The University of Washington Bothell has a chance to shine when it hosts 18 international advisers for a weeklong EducationUSA training institute.
During the training, June 26 – July 2, the advisers will stay in Husky Village and visit the Seattle UW campus and partners that include Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Shoreline Community College and South Seattle College.
Photo: International Student Services advisers Jennifer Kim, left, Mariah Crystal, center, and Assistant Director Dana Brolley
“It allows us to highlight our campus and develop partnerships more closely with these advisers who are helping students come to the United States to study,” says Dana Brolley, assistant director of the International Student Services.
UW Bothell currently has about 500 international students, plus 100 more in an optional training program, says Brolley. Most students transferred from a community college. In addition to helping build bridges around the world, hosting foreign students brings their culture and customs to the classroom.
“They bring a lot to campus by increasing enrolment and bringing diversity,” Brolley says. “To see students from different parts of the world and see those students learn from each other or have moments of awareness, it’s a magical thing to experience,” she says.
Many foreign students choose UW Bothell because it’s a smaller, more manageable community.
“Increasingly, students are valuing our small classes and more opportunities for student to do research and engage with faculty members,” Brolley says.
The International Student Services, located in Husky Hall, monitors immigration status and provides help with health care, housing and what Brolley calls wrap-around services for students to whom “everything is new and different from what they’re used to.”
“I believe we’re hosting the students – we invited them here – and we should be treating them as much as guests as students,” Brolley says. “So when they go home they have a positive perspective that they’re going to share with their family and culture and communities.”
Photo: Visiting advisers stay in Husky Village during training institute.
