By Chelsea Hunt Staff Writer
Senior Brande Balas is not the only student at Western benefitting from a persistent increase in international students.
Fall term, Balas took a class with international student Meznah Almuqbil, a first-year student from Saudi Arabia. Balas was born in Saudi Arabia, where her father had been working at the time, which has given her a different perspective of cultures, she wrote in an email.
Even so, she still felt nervous talking to Almuqbil for the first time, said Balas. “I was afraid I’d say the wrong thing and offend her.”
However, after getting to know Almuqbil, Balas learned that “she is a beautiful person with such an insightful point of view.”
Almuqbil is one of many international students at Western, 90 percent of which come from Saudi Arabia and China.
The increase began in about 2004 when the university wanted to draw more international students, said Rob Troyer, professor of linguistics. Due to the increase, Troyer was hired in 2007 partly to help international students be successful.
According to associate provost Dave McDonald, in 2005 there were only 59 international students, but as of 2014, there were 350.
This growing number of students at Western translates to a 493 percent increase in less than a decade.
Western’s interest in bringing in foreign students is about “wanting to be more international,” Troyer said.
“Having international students on campus is one way Western students can connect to the rest of the world,” he added.
Just as having international students exposes domestic students to the diversity in the world, international students get to see the diversity in the United States.
Almuqbil said that America is interesting to her because she loves learning about different cultures within the United States.
Internationalism isn’t merely an end in and of itself, though. The influx of international students brings with it financial benefits, helping Western to be financially stable, Troyer said.
In addition to diversity and financial stability, Troyer also listed the increasing globalization in the world as a reason why international students are important to Western. It’s not just “the flow of goods and products, but knowledge,” he said.
Junfen Zeng, a senior from China who goes by the name Tina, said that she thinks that America’s education is good.
At the university she attended in Shanghai, she participated in a three plus one program where she did her first three years there and is completing her degree in finance here at Western.
Zeng said her favorite thing about being in America is “I can meet different people.”
Both international students like Zeng and domestic students like Balas have gotten this opportunity to interact with people from different cultures.
Over time, Balas has come to know several other international students in addition to Almuqbil.
“The students that I’ve talked to have been very open and understanding,” Balas wrote.
Balas’ advice to other students is to assess their biases and let them go, as well as to get to know the international students for who they are.
“I’ve found that we are far more similar than I would have ever guessed,” Balas added.
