WVUP Internationalizes

By John Hickey
The International Student Club counts 17 countries of origin among its 25 members, says student development administrator Emmanuel Ogwude, who advises the recently formed club.

The International Club’s recent focus has been the March 9 International Luncheon and performance of the Groove Project sponsored by WVUP’s Social Justice Committee, where the club reserved three tables to present the foods and crafts of its members’ nations.

Ogwude says the club’s international students meet about twice a month to share experiences as they encounter American culture, to support each other in their common experience of being far from home in a new culture.

The club’s members come from Cuba, South Korea, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Canada, the Dominican Republic, South Africa, Germany, Colombia, China, Pakistan, Belgium, Nigeria, India, Switzerland, Mexico, and Panama, says Ogwude, who is himself originally from Nigeria. Ogwude teaches documentary video production and theater appreciation at WVUP.

WVUP about a year ago formed an Internationalization Committee of about a dozen faculty and staff and community members, with the goal of nurturing the growth of an international campus community by creating a campus environment responsive to the needs of international students and scholars. The work of the Internationalization Committee, Ogwude said, helped lead to the formation of the International Student Club, which aims to facilitate the integration of international students to American culture and student life. Student Daniel Dafo, president of the club, who is from Ethiopia, now sits on the Internationalization Committee, as does Brian Oosthuizen, club vice president, from South Africa, and Reyna Bracamontes, club secretary, from Mexico.

For more information on the club, contact Emmanuel Ogwude, Room 1213, at 424-8243 or Emmanuel.Ogwude@mail.wvu.edu.