Dylon Harrison
Staff Writer
Going off to college for the first time can be intimidating enough on its own, but students starting college in a completely new town, state or even country face a unique set of challenges.
The Student Acquisition and Cultural Assimilation Association, or SACAA, is a new club at ISU dedicated to helping students from all over the world come together and feel more comfortable with joining the school’s community.
The club was first started in the Fall 2017 semester by a group of international students hoping to make the transition to a new culture easier for future students that will follow in their footsteps.
“I have had many students from my background be basically stuck about getting jobs on campus, being pessimistic about going to the career center to find jobs,” said SACAA public relations officer Saroj Lamichhane. “Talk to people, you know, they didn’t have any good knowledge.”
SACAA’s primary focus is on international students, but they welcome all students to join. The hope is to create a diverse community of students from every part of the country and the world.
“We try to help them in every way possible,” said SACAA secretary, Sushil Pathak. “We want to help each and every one of the students who come from all over the world to study at ISU.”
SACAA is dedicated to helping students new to the area with every aspect of the transition into college, from registering for the correct class to finding suitable housing.
Pathak said when he first started at ISU, he signed up for random classes, most of which were not needed for his major.
“When I came to this university, I didn’t have any idea what classes to take,” Pathak said.
SACAA is currently working with the College of Business and the International Programs Office with hopes of expanding to all colleges and departments at ISU. They can also help students communicate with offices around campus, to work around language barriers and other obstacles they may face.
“We came up with the idea to help the new students so we can be the bridge between students and the departments,” Pathak said. “We can help them reach out to the departments they are interested in.”
Since it was founded, SACAA has grown to about 25 members from countries all over the world, as well as the United States. The members range from first-year students to some who have been attending ISU for more than four years.
“Friendship is the main goal,” said SACAA president Rachana Luitel.
They’re always accepting new members and welcome anyone interested in joining to contact them. If interested in joining, contact SACAA via email at ude.usinull@aacas.
“It’s about giving opportunities for everybody else at ISU to kind of volunteer or get involved in leadership activities,” Lamichhane said. “They can get involved in our club, and they can help themselves and others.”
Although they are currently meeting sporadically, Lamichhane said they hope to move to having regular weekly meetings in the future and to benefit even more students.
Being an international student away from home is difficult, compounded by our complex culture and language problems. Welcoming and assimilation assistance must come from numerous sources to aid these young people embarking on life’s journey. Most struggle in their efforts and need guidance from schools’ international departments, immigration protection, host families, concerned neighbors and fellow students, and even informative books to extend a cultural helping hand so we all have a win-win situation.
Something that might help anyone coming to the US is the award-winning worldwide book/ebook “What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More.” Used in foreign Fulbright student programs and endorsed worldwide by ambassadors, educators, and editors, it identifies how “foreigners” have become successful in the US, including students.
It explains how to cope with a confusing new culture and friendship process, and daunting classroom differences. It explains how US businesses operate and how to get a job (which differs from most countries), a must for those who want to work with/for an American firm here or overseas.
It also identifies the most common English grammar and speech problems foreigners have and tips for easily overcoming them, the number one stumbling block they say they have to succeeding here.
Good luck to all wherever you study or wherever you come from, because that is the TRUE spirit of the American PEOPLE, not a few in government who shout the loudest!