Diversity: Onward & Upward

College is about going away and finding oneself, but some students go a lot further than others. For 130 Luther students, being away from home has an entirely different meaning.

Living thousands of miles from home, international students face more than the usual challenges of college life. Many, however, feel that Luther is a good place to be.

Jon Lund, international admissions counselor, works closely with international students long before they set foot on campus. Lund feels that all students benefit from Luther’s strong international student population.

“The reality is that the United States is only five percent of the world population,” Lund said. “If we are preparing students for lives of service in the global community, it is important for them to interact with the other 95 percent of the world. Luther becomes a more interesting place culturally through experiencing differences.”

Lund also feels that an international student population highly benefits language study and compliments study abroad programs, two popular choices among Luther students.

On a magnetic global map in his office, Lund marks the hometown of each one of Luther’s international students. Lund has visited many of these cities, as he spends six to seven weeks each year traveling for international recruitment.

Many current international students remark that Lund played a key role in their decision to attend Luther. Lund met with Aparna Ashok (‘11) of India while on a recruiting trip to a college fair in her home city.

“He [Lund] was different from the other recruiters,” Ashok said. “He made Luther sound so interesting and added a personal touch. I sent in my application and was surprised to get an e-mail response the next day.”

After making the decision to attend Luther, all first-year international students attend a weeklong orientation session prior to the beginning of school. This week supplements the usual first-year orientation, allowing more time for international students to ask questions and get settled.

According to International Student Coordinator Amy Webber, the Diversity Center offers many programs and services to assist international students with their transitions.

Some services include assistance with class registration and filing taxes, as well as group outings and other social activities.

In addition, the Diversity Center created the Family Friendship Program, which matches international students with a family in Decorah to act as the student’s host family.

Darren Wang (‘13) of Hong Kong commented that the largest challenge faced by international students in this transitional process is stereotyping by ethnicity, which often leads to misunderstandings and even fear between international and domestic students.

“There is often a fear from each side that they don’t know how to overcome this international difference,” Wang said.

However, Wang finds that Midwestern students have been open and eager to learn about new cultures.

“Once we do step forward and reach out, the result is very fruitful in the end,” he said.

Many international students, including Aída Dominguez Ortiz (‘11) of Mexico, agree that Luther as a whole has been a welcoming community to join.

“I definitely feel that I have become part of the community,” Dominguez Ortiz said. “I am just one more Luther student.”

There seems to be a shared belief that much is to be gained by students from all cultural backgrounds.

“It really takes a while to learn how to turn that unfamiliarity into a useful avenue for questions,” Ashok said. “You have to ask how you effectively use that to try to understand. We can then use that to bridge gaps [between cultures].”

Many international students are eager to share their culture and experiences with students of different backgrounds.

“I am totally proud of who I am and where I come from,” Dominguez Ortiz said. “It’s nice to be one of the factors that changes peoples’ minds.”

With students from over 50 countries, Luther brings diversity to rural Iowa.