A cross-culture program created to pair Ball State international students and U.S. students together is being introduced through the university's Counseling Center this semester.
"We want to provide a comfortable environment for international students coming to United States as well as introduce U.S. students to different cultures," Robyn Geelhoed, staff psychologist, said.
The Peer Pairing Program seeks to find Ball State students who are interested in partnering with an international student as a means to help adjust to the experience of being in the U.S. and attending Ball State, she said.
The program is an extension of the Crossing Borders Outreach Team, also through the Counseling Center and the Center for International Programs, which was established last semester. The outreach team was set up to provide support and information for international students as well as U.S. students studying abroad.
The team is made up of three licensed psychologists, staff from the Center for International Programs and graduate and doctoral students, some of whom are international students, Geelhoed said.
"This new program provides an opportunity for both parties to benefit from learning about someone else's culture," she said.
Geelhoed said she has already received responses from interested students from a campus-wide e-mail. Students fill out an interest form, which allows the team to match students with basic similarities such as their major or particular interests.
After being matched, participants will attend a training/orientation meeting that provides information about their involvement and answers any questions they may have about the program. Then throughout the semester, the Crossing Borders team plans to give events that center around different foods and social activities.
"This program creates structured social opportunities for those who may not normally interact with one another," Geelhoed said.
According to the Center for International Programs, there are 401 international students at the university, as of Fall 2004. Of those students, 6 percent have used the Counseling Center, Geelhoed said. Debra Goens, foreign student advisor and immigration specialist at the center, said topics such as being homesick are one of the issues international students may face.
"Working with the Counseling Center and the new program creates another avenue for international students to learn how to live in a different culture," she said.
Shonali Raney, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Counseling Psychology, is an international student and a member of the Crossing Borders team. Raney first came to the United States from India in 2000 to pursue her masters, so she understands the challenges of adapting to a new culture.
"It's almost like being a baby and having to learn everything over again," Raney said. "It's the everyday things that most people take for granted."
One event that stood out in her mind was going to Wal-Mart for the first time. She said she had never seen a large place with so many food choices. In her native country, she bought fruits and vegetables from local vendors. She said she needed help from how to shop to bagging her own groceries.
"Now I can walk in and close my eyes and do my own shopping with no problem," she said.
She said by providing students with the right assistance she hopes situations like these will not seem so difficult to incoming international students.
"I hope, with this program, Ball State students will be able to learn about other cultures and help one another," Raney said.
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