The Cauldron

State Senator Skindell (Marshall Law alumnus), President Schwartz, Vike, Teresa Obrero, Huong Nguyen, Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Mrs. Schwartz at a reception in Columbus for a meeting of state university leaders with legislators in March.

The demands of college life can be a struggle for anyone, but for the approximately 740 international students that attend CSU, there are even more challenges to face.

"[International students] are from different countries, so there are communication challenges if they don't know the language," said Niketa Barekh of the Office for International Services and Programs. "Sometimes they don't know the rules here, and there are also personal things that come up, but they have no parents or anyone they know here."

Some international students overcome these challenges by immersing themselves in the extraordinary experiences of attending school in a foreign country.

A poster child for international student success, Huong Nguyen is a 19-year-old junior double majoring in international relations and Spanish. She came to America from Hanoi, Vietnam for a student exchange program when she was a senior in high school.

While attending South Lyndhurst Brush High School, she applied to CSU and has been here ever since.

An honors student, Nguyen lives in Fenn Tower. When she isn't working at the Center for Leadership and Service in the Department of Student Life, she fills her days with an impressive array of extracurricular activities, including the Vietnamese Student Association and the newly-formed Club de Espanol.

She just finished her term on the Provost Search Committee and is an associate for Campus Activities Board. Nguyen is also the leadership chair for the Alpha Lambda Delta national honor society and serves as a Student Government Association Senator for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Though she knows of international students who went back home because they couldn't adapt to life in America, Nguyen said she "fit right in."

"I already had background of how [American] culture worked before I came," said Nguyen. "And it's not hard to be at a university. You just have to have fun."

Though Nguyen's schedule might seem demanding, she looks at is as a way to give back to the university and make the most of her college experiences.

As a student in the Honors Program, Nguyen attends CSU on a full scholarship, which compels her to achieve even more.

"I feel like [CSU] spends money on me, so I want me being here to be worth every penny," said Nguyen. "CSU is a great school, but a lot of people don't even realize it."

She encourages other international students to get involved on campus, and to be aware of all the support systems and services the university offers.

It's also important, she said, to contribute to the community and appreciate the opportunity to learn and live in a different culture.

"I have friends in Vietnam who are dying to be in America, but they don't have the opportunity [to come here]," said Nguyen. "I see international students here, and they go to school, work a lot, go home and hang out with only students of their own ethnicity, but it's fun to immerse yourself in a different culture and have friendships with people of different ethnicities. CSU is very diverse, and students should embrace that and be open to what's around them."

Nguyen added, "[Students] shouldn't just look for jobs. They should look for experience. Whatever you put into CSU will be what you get out of it."

Nguyen has grown quite fond of America, so much so that she no longer sees herself as an international student, but more of a "contributor to the community."

She plans to stay in America at least until she gets her master's degree. Though she isn't sure yet where she wants to go, Nguyen has noticed that Johns Hopkins University has a good international relations program.

But despite her hectic schedule and the hard work that goes into preparing for graduate school, she still makes time to entertain visitors.

"My mom visited last weekend and she was surprised to see how well I've adapted and how busy I am," said Nguyen. "There's so much to do here and she's pleased that I'm independent and conscious of what I'm doing."

College students aren't the only ones getting in on the international study action. The Bova family of Parma Heights recently welcomed Thomas Strattman, a 17-year-old German exchange student, for a month long visit.

He's attending Benedictine High School in Cleveland, where he's a junior.

In the two weeks that he's been in America, Strattman has already cleared up an understandable misconception he said people in Germany have about Americans.

"Everybody [in Germany] thinks there are only fat people in America, but it isn't that way at all," he said.

"Everybody has been friendly and really nice to me," he added.

Strattman has big plans for his time in America. This week, his spring break will be filled with a whirlwind of activities, including a trip to Washington, D.C.with three other German students and a journey to Niagara Falls with the Bovas.

Strattman, an accomplished badminton player in Germany, has spent his first few weeks in America getting acquainted with sports like baseball, basketball and football. He has also played pool and visited a shopping mall.

"He's only played badminton in Germany, but after one day of playing [the American sports], he was doing really good," said 16-year-old Michael Bova, who also attends Benedictine and is Strattman's actual host. "My little sister, Annie, taught him how to throw a football, so that was pretty interesting."

Strattman had plans to attend Saturday's Indians game at Jacobs Field, which was called off due to an unseasonable winter wallop, but he has already formed an impression of downtown Cleveland from a visit earlier in the month.

"There are nice parts [of Cleveland] and not so nice parts," he said.

Frank Bova, the patriarch of the host family, describes Strattman as "a great kid" whose American adventures are encouraged by his parents.

"His mom and dad called the other day and said they wanted to switch places with him for the week," said Bova. "Germany is only about as big as Ohio, and he lives in the center of Germany in a town that markets Christmas trees, so America seems so big."

Though Strattman has no plans to return to America after the program concludes, he is glad he took advantage of the opportunity and encourages others to experience it for themselves.

"It's very interesting to go to America," he said. "It's such a popular land, and I think everyone should do it."

Strattman's experience has already inspired someone else to think about travelling abroad.

"If I ever want to go to Germany, well now I know someone there," Michael Bova said. "That opens up the door."

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