Arriving in London from India and taking up residence at International Students House, Aparajita Singh says she immediately felt at home in a foreign country. While a University of Westminster undergrad, Singh says her three-year stay at an International House, or I-House, was very special and gave her personal and professional growth “like no other place.”
That’s a common sentiment that I-House international student residents express. International Houses Worldwide comprises 19 I-Houses — near universities in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia — that share a mission to bring international students together to learn from each other. I-Houses hold lectures and host films and festivals with an international focus and offer students opportunities to build leadership and intercultural skills.
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“The living experience is enhanced by the programming that takes place in the House. We are more than a residence,” says Nancy J. Hannemann, director of global education at the University of Alberta International in Canada.
Here are three ways prospective international students can plan to use an I-House during their undergraduate or graduate studies.
1. Long- and short-term accommodations: International students may choose to stay in I-Houses for long or short durations. Costs and length of stay vary depending on the location, and students should contact I-Houses directly for accommodation details. Experts advise students to ask about accommodations by early spring for the fall semester, since resident occupancy varies per location and availability may be limited.
At the International Student House of Washington, D.C., for example, costs range from $1,266 to $1,717 based on room type, says Tom O’Coin, the house’s executive director. The monthly rent includes 13 prepared meals each week, laundry facilities and shared access to the house. Residents can stay one month to two years. O’Coin estimates costs are “approximately one-third less than the average rent of the neighborhood,” considering that I-House covers meals, wireless internet and utilities.
I-Houses offers scholarships to students based on merit and financial need as well as room credit programs that reduce rent for students who serve as resident assistants. Singh obtained a scholarship to study at Westminster, which included her I-House accommodations.
Japanese national Kazuki Izumi, an undergrad at the University of Queensland Australia, was awarded $1,000 and serves as a student representative at the Brisbane, Australia, I-House. He’s lived in the I-House for four years and calls it his “second home.”
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2. Cross-cultural exchange: During their stay at I-Houses, international students can expect to interact with and learn from students from around the world through a range of multicultural activities.
I-Houses host various film, arts and music events to promote cross-cultural understanding and global community. For example, at the Sydney I-House International Food Fair, students showcase their traditional national cuisines.
“This year we had around 10 teams, with competitions for best food, decorations and national dress,” says Stephen Sanders, chairperson of the International House Members Association at the University of Sydney.
Residents also have multiple opportunities to socialize with each other. Some 700 residents live in I-House New York during the academic year, like Columbia University grad student Mehemed Bougsea, who is Libyan-German. He says some of his most eye-opening conversations have been over breakfast in the dining room or during salsa classes in the house’s pub.
“The people you meet are extraordinary in every respect,” says Bougsea. “Every day, someone will teach you something you did not know before.”
As a politics and international relations major, Westminster student Singh says her classroom studies were “always complemented by the many activities” at the I-House in London, such as the meetup events. She says she mingled with students from Yemen and Afghanistan “who told me much more about the political conditions in their countries than books could ever tell.”
Students don’t have to be residents to participate in I-House events. And a few I-Houses, such as the I-House in London, offer individual student memberships to students attending a university that is not an I-House member institution, says Alex Menace, event manager for the I-House in London.
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3. Leadership opportunities: Through the I-Houses, international students can plan to take advantage of leadership opportunities that enhance their overseas education.
Malaysian-Chinese Choon Pong Tan, a grad student at Northern Arizona University, was awarded the 2016 and 2017 Community Leader Award, given to the top student who builds friendships and establishes a sense of community in the house. Tan, a two-year NAU I-House resident, serves as a global adviser and, apart from arranging events, says he assists students “with life in the U.S. and making sure they are doing well overall.”
At I-House Bucharest, director Ioan Bejan says the I-House organizes various workshops, such as “Meet Your Mentor,” which introduces students to local and international leaders in various fields.
I-Houses also provide opportunities to challenge future leaders to analyze issues and develop workable solutions. For example, through the I-House in London and the Davis Projects for Peace — an initiative that challenges students to design grassroots projects anywhere in the world that focus on peace and conflict resolution — Singh was awarded $10,000 in 2015. She designed a project to locally produce and supply low-cost sanitary napkins to several villages in central India.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do all this without the help of International Students House,” says Singh.
Singh is now a grad student at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and plans to work for the United Nations. She says I-House goes far beyond being just a place for accommodations and equipped her “with important skills required for academic and professional success.”
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Find Global Student Community Via International Houses originally appeared on usnews.com
