With such an ethnically diverse population, it’s not like you can walk around a Southern California campus and identify its international students. And while some may not know it, more than 1,200 international students call Cal State Long Beach home.
It is the International Student Association’s mission to bring together the campus’ international community, all of those students, all of those cultures.
“The purpose of the club is to introduce multiculturalism to American students and to help international students to learn about local culture, so they can interact with each other,” said Woosung Jung, a junior microbiology major, native of South Korea and president of the ISA.
Jung, like many of CSULB’s international students came to the U.S for education and found that life cannot only be about academics.
“I joined because I wanted to make more friends from all over the world, and this club was the quickest way to do that,” Jung said. “It gives me the possibility not to only get to know their culture but to show my culture as well.”
Kenny He, a sophomore international business major and Dominican Republic native, saw a networking opportunity in ISA. “You never know what will happen in the future [and ISA] gives the opportunity to develop a transcontinental web of friendship, because the world is becoming a smaller place,” He said.
International students are not the only ones that join this club. Jung mentioned that the number of local students have been increasing every year.
For Ayano Matsumoto, senior international studies major from Japan and ISA officer, the reason behind this pattern is that people are becoming more aware of the world.
“Generally speaking, people’s interest in international affairs is growing. They are becoming more willing to spend time to catch up on global issues, and the ISA events are a fun way to do it,” Matsumoto said.
ISA organizes a series of events every semester that focus on the acclimation of international students to some American traditions in the U.S., like Halloween parties, Thanksgiving celebrations and other holidays. At the same time they host different events like bowling, kayaking, bonfires and beach days where local and international students can mingle in a relaxed atmosphere.
“Predominantly, we coordinate events that are open and free for all students, by doing this we try to expand everybody’s horizons,” Matsumoto said.
Kee Chang, an international student adviser at the Center for International Education and ISA, agrees with Matsumoto. He said that although Long Beach and California are very diverse, there are few occasions that people get the opportunity to actually talk and meet people from all these places.
“How often do you get a chance to learn directly from people of other countries about their customs, language and lifestyles?” Chang said. “By knowing how different people really are, you learn to see more than the stereotypes.”
Matsumoto recognizes yet another reason why ISA is so popular among international students; It provides comfort and guidance for new students.
“This campus is so big, and things are so different compared to their home countries,” Matsumoto said. She mentioned the difference between talking to people sometimes in class and actually having the opportunity to get to meet people at ISA events and creating stronger connections. “In ISA people have something in common and they are not alone in the new anymore.”
