Student organization brings national and international students together

By Yuzhou Tian

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The International Student Council, an on-campus organization that promotes communication among all international student organizations, will hold many events that will bring international and national students together.

Equine Science and Business Management junior, Tiffany Molina is president of ISC and said the event will offer music, dance and performances by UK students and organizations or people who work in Lexington.

“Our goal this semester is to make ISC stronger,” Molina said. “To let more international organizations in UK cooperate with us and trust us, integrate more international students who are new here and hold events with more fun.”

A social “speed dating” activity is another highlight of ISC.

“It’s not an actual dating,” Molina said. “ The audience might have short conversations with each other. Our big mission is to integrate the international community and national community.”

Bridge the gap, is a panel discussions between international student representatives and faculty and staff at UK. These discussions are focused on issues related to academic, social, housing, dining and campus life for international and diverse students. Molina said the event provides a safe place where students can talk about concerns without scruple.

“In this activity, you can feel that you are not just one random student of a huge university, you actually like being heard.” Molina said.

Molina said she thought their best event last semester was the Global Gala, a dress-up event where students wear traditional outfits from their countries

“It was a huge success because around 300 international and national students came, enjoyed international performances, a fashion show and international food together with a ticket of only 7 dollars,” Molina said.

Molina said that planning the events involves many meetings. The members of ISC brainstorm event ideas, coordinate volunteers and money to hold the events. Companies and organizations such as Sweet Mango support their events by giving them the goods they might need to take their plans into actions. The ISC also plans the notification for the events through posts on Facebook and messages sent to members’ mailboxes.

As president of ISC, Molina herself enjoyed taking part in the events.

“Since I like traveling, so it is cool to see people in different nationalities and culture,” Molina said. “Also it is a good chance to make friends and train your ability of teamwork.”