The week of November 18 is International Education Week \u2013 a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our international partners, faculty, staff and students. This world emphasis is very important to Fort Hays State University because developing engaged global citizen-leaders is central to our mission. Although we are perhaps most known for our China programs, you may be surprised to learn that this semester our on-campus students hail from 35 countries, and our total student body represents 53 countries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our\non-campus students are from from Australia, The Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil,\nCambodia, Cameroon, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Finland,\nFrance, Gambia, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal,\nNetherlands, Nigeria, Paraguay, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa,\nSouth Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Togo, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\nhave a relatively new partnership with a university in Africa. Students in\nDakar, Senegal, study for the first two years in their home country and then\nspend the last two years here in Hays. The first group of students has just\nfinished their two years in Senegal, and 10 of them are here in Hays. One more\nstudent will join us here in the spring semester. We are expecting up to\nanother 30 Senegalese students next fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not\nsurprisingly, some of our international students are also great athletes and\ncompete at the highest levels as Tiger student-athletes. Here is a breakdown by\nsport: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soccer: <\/strong>13 students and two graduate assistants from Australia, Costa\nRica, England, Germany, Paraguay, Spain, and the United Kingdom<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cross country and\ntrack: <\/strong>five students from\nFrance, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Venezuela<\/p>\n\n\n\n Football: <\/strong>three students from Australia, Canada, and Denmark<\/p>\n\n\n\n Baseball: <\/strong>two students from Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n Basketball: <\/strong>one student from Iceland<\/p>\n\n\n\n Volleyball and tennis: <\/strong>each has a graduate assistant from Brazil <\/p>\n\n\n\n What\nmay surprise you is that we also have a number of international students who\nare part of our Academy of Mathematics and Science \u2013 the state\u2019s premier early\ncollege program for international high school juniors and seniors. This fall we\nhave 33 international students in this highly intensive, pre-college academic\nprogram. Can you imagine traveling across the world at 16 years old to attend\ncollege in a foreign country with a foreign language? That\u2019s courage \u2013 and also\ndemonstrative of their high intellectual talents. In fact, a Korean AMS student\nwas one of only 50 from across the United States selected to attend the Harvard\nScience Research Seminar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another\nnotable aspect of the student experience is found in our Virtual Student Senate\n(VSS). Four years ago, our Student Government Association created the VSS to\nexpand shared governance to our online students. VSS now includes students from\nall over the country and overseas. An affiliate of the SGA, the VSS currently\nhas 18 senators ranging in age from 25-50. One senator lives in Turkey and\ncalls in for meetings at 3 a.m. in the morning \u2013 that is commitment!<\/p>\n\n\n\n International\nstudents give us the opportunity to learn more about other cultures and customs\nand, according to NASFA, the association of international educators, they\ncollectively contribute $39 billion to the U.S. economy, supporting 455,622\njobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For\nevery seven international students enrolled, three U.S. jobs are created and\nsupported by spending in the higher education, accommodation, dining, retail,\ntransportation, telecommunications, and health insurance sectors. Nearly 3,000\ninternational students are enrolled in the state of Kansas, generating a\nfinancial contribution of more than $86 million and supporting approximately\n850 jobs. Locally, the impact is estimated at $7.1 million supporting 37 jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At\nFHSU, we also support our U.S. students by providing meaningful study-abroad\nexperiences and short-study travel programs. This fall we have 18 students\nstudying in nine different countries, and our faculty-led travel study programs\nhave doubled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FHSU\nhas been committed to a global mission for many years. Our world-wide\nenterprise includes on-campus and online students, cross-border operations\n(China), corporate partnerships, faculty and student study and exchange\nprograms, English as a Second Language and English as a foreign language\ninstruction, and service to the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, behind all these numbers and opportunities are fascinating and kind people who have much to share. Mother Teresa once said, \u201cpeace begins with a smile.\u201d Our smile is broad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tisa Mason is president of Fort Hays State University.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The week of November 18 is International Education Week \u2013 a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our international partners, faculty, staff and students. 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