FEATURE

WCC club celebrates international diversity

ISA welcomes all students from various backgrounds. Vardan Sargsyan | Washtenaw Voice

By Danny Villalobos
Staff Writer

LA 138 was filled with high energy, happy voices, and world pop music when students gathered to have their photos taken for the International Student Association photoshoot on October 11. Club members represented Brazil, Ethiopia, Jordan, and more.

“We try to make each meeting a unique event,” said club president Kristina Lewis. The semesterly photoshoot is just one of many meetings that happen for the ISA.

Smashing piñatas, playing charades, apple picking, and karaoke are many of the activities that the ISA enjoy.
Club members lead presentations and discuss their various international backgrounds.

The ISA is a place meant for students to express their cultural roots and showcase the diversity of WCC.

Photos of their last shoot are on display for everyone on campus to gaze at over on the second floor of the LA building next to the bridge.

For those who haven’t seen their display, the students of the club posed for photo portraits of themselves with a quote of their native language at the bottom of the portrait; some wore their culture’s traditional clothing.

15 percent of the student population is made up of international students, according to the advisor of the ISA, Devin Streur.

International students often face a culture shock when arriving. The ISA aims to provide “a home away from home,” said Streur.

“Even though there are people here that are from different cultures, it feels like home you know?” said Julio Roque-Buenrostro “we share one thing in common, we come from [a different] country”.

Roque-Buenrostro is a student from Mexico who found out about the ISA through another club member, Daniela Rivas-Balanta.

Rivas-Balanta is a student from Colombia. Like Roque-Buenrostro, she also believes that “there’s a piece of your home here.” She found out about ISA from a fellow Colombian student. He encouraged her to join the club two years ago.

The club is a way for students to meet peers of similar and differing cultures and ethnicities. The club isn’t just for internationals students, any student can join.

“I just want to help create a fun and welcoming space for those who want to share or learn about other cultures, or for those who just want to meet new people and have a fun time,” said Lewis.

International Students Association meets on Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in room LA 138.