Welcoming the World to Wheaton!

The Center for Global Education says, "Welcome to Wheaton!"

New International Student Orientation 2009

Arriving from places as far away as China, Bhutan, Japan, Nigeria, Botswana, Bulgaria, Ireland and Italy over 50 new faces arrived on the Wheaton College campus over the last two days.  While the majority of this group is made up of new first year students, it also includes four exchange students (from Germany, Ireland and Botswana) and six Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (from Spain,

Italy, France, Argentina, Russia and Germany).  This year’s international student population reflects an increase of about 40% from last year.

Here to welcome the students to Wheaton College and the U.S. was a dedicated group of International Orientation Assistants (IOAs).  This group of students took time off their summer break to return to campus early in order to make sure our new friends from around the world received a warm welcome.

This year in order to make the transition more seamless, the Center for Global Education (CGE) provided a scheduled van pick-up at Boston Logan Airport.  Also in collaboration with the Office of Student Life, the CGE was able to streamline the check in process, so after what was almost two days travel for some, students could be taken directly to their rooms.

As international students, issues regarding visa status, their ability to be employed, getting a driver’s license or even purchasing a cellular phone are all very different from our domestic student population.  So over their first two days at Wheaton, this global group of students engaged in activities and presentations designed to introduce them to the variety of resources and opportunities they will have during their studies here at Wheaton.  In addition, discussions of cultural diversity and possible adjustments issues took place.

While these students have a special place in the hearts and minds of the staff of the Center, one goals of the orientation is to make our international students aware that here at Wheaton College many doors are open to them.  So we hope you will join us in welcoming this new eager group from around the world.

The photos shown here provide only a partial glimpse into all that took place over the their first two days but will hopefully  server as introduction to some of the new faces you will see on campus.