Iowa State's international student office prepares to reinvigorate student match program

An Iowa State University program that socially connects international and domestic students is planned to make a comeback this spring.

Brendan O'Brien, director of Iowa State's International Students and Scholars Office, said the cultural ambassador program that began in 2013 has not been promoted for a few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and staff turnover. The International Students and Scholars Office helps international students maintain their immigration status, navigate U.S. employment, and receive social, cultural, financial and personal support, according to the office's website.

All international and domestic undergraduate and graduate students and scholars are welcome to participate in the office's semester-long cultural ambassador program. The program pairs an international student with a domestic student from the U.S. and has them meet through a mix of office-sponsored activities and social gatherings.

"The intention is to help people build connections, make relationships," O'Brien said.

"Hopefully, those relationships go on over time," he added.

Recent office-sponsored group activities include bowling and billiards, a fall break community meal, a dinner in Des Moines and a trip to Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge.

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Anonymous responses to a survey at the time the cultural ambassador program started nine years ago detail how some international students find it difficult or intimidating to approach their American peers because of the language barrier, even though they want to improve their English.

A lack of familiarity with American cultural customs is another barrier.

O'Brien is unsure whether the ambassador program was a reason any student continued their studies at Iowa State or chose to attend in the first place, but he said the office has gotten good feedback and international students appreciate that "Iowa State is a very welcoming community."

He doesn't expect any major changes to the cultural ambassador program this spring, but he said the office may try to more frequently meet together as a large group.

He said students can join the program at any point in their studies. More information is available at isso.dso.iastate.edu/get-involved/cultural-ambassador-program.

Countries with the most students enrolled this fall at Iowa State include India, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Iran, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Ghana, according to enrollment data.

All together, 1,749 students from those countries are enrolled at the university. The student body totals 29,969.

Iowa State has 2,443 international students enrolled this fall, according to Iowa Board of Regents data released in November. It's the most of any of the state's three public universities.

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International enrollment at Iowa State and at the other public universities in Iowa has been declining for years, driven by a loss of students from China.

The University of Iowa has lost the most international students since fall 2013, with 1,918 fewer international students enrolled this fall. The University of Northern Iowa lost the biggest share of its international students, down more than 72% since 2013 to 145 students.

Iowa State has lost 35.8% of its international students — the least of the three universities — which represents 1,362 fewer students.

Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.