'All of us could relate': International Students' Organization aims to foster community

Last semester, two international students — Jim Appiah and Satvik Chethan —  launched the International Students' Organization at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Chethan, a UNC junior from India, said the pair felt a need for an organization to help international students navigate living in a new country and foster a sense of community. 

According to UNC Media Relations,UNC welcomed 2,942 international students in the fall of 2022, with the number of students expected to increase as fall 2023 enrollment numbers are finalized. 

International students face more than simple challenges of acclimating to the American college lifestyle. These students must procure a Social Security number and financial accounts all while doing things like overcoming cultural differences and finding a support system, Appiah said. 

Appiah, who is from Ghana, said he learned that he had to prioritize obtaining legal documents and cards over buying basic dorm essentials when he first arrived in the United States.

After figuring out how to get home from the airport and buy food, he said that many international students he has met don't have bedding to sleep on their first night. 

“Maybe you have some blanket in your bag," he said. "You use that, and that is it."

When Chethan arrived on campus, he said he felt he was doing well becoming socially accustomed to the University. Despite this, he said he was unable to find students he could relate with about missing his home country.

"Who can I talk to about the fact that I'm missing home?" he said. "What about home am I missing? Who can I share it with?"

Chethan said he felt that there was a lack of spaces for international students to share their experiences and struggles. He said the only space he had that shared community through was a WhatsApp group chat of international Indian students in the class of 2025.

Yosha Sandra,who is also from India, was in that same group chat. Now, she is a member of ISO.

Sandra said she was able to make international friends from different countries and found the group to be crucial when looking for people she was able to relate with.

“We've all talked about how hard it's been," she said. "I remember many times where I've had to lean on some of my international friends' backs, and especially freshman year, there were times when I was really lonely, and I'd cry to some of the people from the group that I mentioned. I think all of us could relate.”

The ISO currently works with UNC's International Student and Scholar Services, which aims to help international students and faculty through the immigration process and will advise the organization, Media Relations said in an email statement.

According to Media Relations, the ISSS organizes around 30 programs per semester including sessions on financial knowledge, wellness sessions and social events.

However, Chethan said that he wasn’t aware of the ISSS' existence until a year after he came to UNC. He said that he thinks its events need to be marketed to international students more. 

“Apart from all that is creating a community, UNC needs to take that responsibility to do it,” Chethan said. 

The ISO not only hopes to build a mentorship and support system for international students, but also to welcome domestic students to meet and engage in dialogue with international students, Appiah said.

“[I’m] hoping that [by] the beginning of next fall — I won't be around at UNC — with the little legacy I leave at UNC, there'll be a support system for new international students who come around," Appiah said.

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