Fair delves into various 'facets of international education'

By: Nick Veronin and Andy Chu

Posted: 4/17/07

San Jose State University continued International Week activities on Monday with a Study Abroad Fair hosted by SJSU International Programs and Services.

Campus organizations such as the International House, Study Abroad Office, Peace Corps and international networking club AIESEC, set up booths on Paseo de Cesar Chavez to hand out information and talk to students interested in traveling abroad.

The fair offered students access to more than 223 universities in 40 different countries.

"International Week is a celebration at SJSU of all the international components that we have," said Helen Stevens, director of international programs and services for SJSU.

Stevens said the week will focus on facets of international education at SJSU and will involve the International House, the Study Abroad Program and members of the international scholar community.

"It's getting more evident that students need broader world perspectives," Stevens said.

Stevens said it behooves the modern college graduate to have a wide scope of global understanding since more businesses than ever before are operating on an international scale.

Lisa Baum, an advisor for the SJSU Study Abroad Program, said her program provides students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in intellectual diversity.

"It's an advantage personally as well as professionally," Baum said of the program. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

Chet Hansra, a senior majoring in nutrition and immunology, came to SJSU from Roehampton University in London. He has been here since January.

Hansra was working at the Study Abroad Fair to promote the benefits of studying in other countries.

He said everybody who is able to study abroad should take the opportunity to do so, adding that his travels have made him a better person.

"I've actually learned more from studying abroad than I have from studying at home," Hansra said. "It's not even what they teach you. It's what you learn on your own. It's seriously the most fulfilling and most rewarding thing ever."

Hansra said he was especially happy with the connections he has made in San Jose and the greater Bay Area because he knows that he will have a place to stay should he decide to come back to California in the future.

Lindsay Culp, a regional recruiter for the Peace Corps, was at the event trying to recruit volunteers for her organization.

She said the Peace Corps serves more than 70 developing countries by sending volunteers on a 27-month tour of service to a given country to offer their expertise in helping that country.

Culp said volunteers may assist a country in fields such as education, agriculture, youth development, health care and many others.

"We were invited to come to International Week because we believe in getting Americans more educated about the rest of the world," Culp said. "We're not a study abroad program but in a lot of ways people are gaining a ton of life experience."

She said the Peace Corps has three main goals: to provide assistance to developing countries, to teach local communities about the United States and to learn about other cultures and brining that experience back to the U.S.

Senior Dennison Que, an international business major and member of AIESEC, said that his club offers internships on top of traveling opportunities.

"This is the best opportunity to improve your resume with our professional network," Que said. "The world is integrating globally so international experience is what the employers of tomorrow are looking for."

International Week events will continue on Wednesday at noon in Room 202 of the Boccardo Business Center with a workshop for international students entitled Successful Job Search in the USA.

On Thursday at 3 p.m. a discussion will be held in BBC 4 to discuss the possibilities for international students beyond practical training.

The week concludes on Friday at noon with an international quiz game. Teams of four-to-eight players will compete against each other in the University Room answering worldly trivia.