International Student Resource Office
YOUR LINK TO OPPORTUNITIES
Southeastern chose you because you have something to share. So watch for ways to give from your own experience. One step at a time, you can change the world.
– Curnal Fahie, president of International Student Ministries
When you’re ready to meet Curnal Fahie’s challenge, Southeastern’s International Student Resource Office is here to help you. Your Southeastern experience starts with a welcome that helps you know you’ve been specially chosen, followed by an International Student Orientation that covers all the major details. From there, your opportunities for sharing, service, recreation, and leadership unfold through ISRO programs all year long—every year.
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
ISRO's Welcome: you’re here!
Day 1: Blue lakes shimmering in the afternoon sunlight welcome you to Southeastern’s campus. With plenty of time to spare, you find your new room and make your first ISRO check-in. After dinner, the Welcome Celebration convinces you: we’re glad you’ve arrived.
International Student Orientation: everything you need to know!
Day 2: Our day-long International Student Orientation program gives you a head start through the maze of international students’ responsibilities: “legal status” and how to keep it; adjusting to American culture; medical insurance; Social Security cards; income tax; banking and credit cards; car insurance and driver’s licenses; networking and professional development. The final session—on U.S. consumerism—takes place, appropriately, just before your first shopping trip in Lakeland.
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
Have a good time with friends.
Join other international students for cultural events in downtown Lakeland, the Florida State Fair, and a day trip to NASA. In November, along with universities throughout the U.S., we celebrate International Education Week. During the weeks of final exams, we play stress-relief games. One weekend day each month—for both fun and ministry—we do community service in Lakeland.
Get to know a family.
ISRO will help connect international students with local host families who want to learn and share in a friendly relationship. If you’re interested in social visits with a Lakeland family, let us know.
Build your resume.
Looking for an on-campus job? ISRO can help you find out what’s available, guide your resume preparation, and let Southeastern employers know about your abilities.
Write for our newsletter.
Global Connections, ISRO’s monthly electronic newsletter, practices brevity. In each single-page issue, you can learn about one of our multicultural students, read what another student has to say, see what events and deadlines are coming up, and pick up helpful tips. We’d love to showcase your words.
Speak at a monthly luncheon
Each month an international student, typically a sophomore or above, has a chance to shine—by speaking at an open session during lunchtime. As a Global Envoy, tell us about your country’s beauty, industry, or culture. The character or the music of your people. Your family’s interesting history. Your education and your dreams. In short, whatever you want us to understand about you and your home. To help you prepare, the ISRO provides thorough coaching and training.
Reach out to the Lakeland community.
International Education Week presents another opportunity for you to speak, either here on campus or at local schools. In the native dress of your homeland, share your gift and help bridge cultures by telling your story to people who have never heard it.
Mentor another student.
Your first year, an upperclassman international student will help you navigate your adjustment to American life. The next year, ISRO can teach you how to return the favor, supporting someone who’s probably going through experiences very much like yours.
Find your place.
Southeastern international student Shalini Newbigging sees how much she has learned here—through her psychology/church music major, her performing tours with the Southeastern Singers, and her steadily deepening relationship with God. “Every step here has been a miracle,” she says. “I know I’m here for a reason. If God has called you to Southeastern, there’s a reason for you to be here, too. Believe in that reason—and enjoy it!”
Fellowship and serve.
International Student Ministries (ISM), open to all students at Southeastern, helps international students take care of each other. Working closely with ISRO, this organization offers advice on any problem; rides to the airport or the mall; potluck suppers and movies; and trips to the beach, ball games, and points of interest in Lakeland and beyond. To meet costs, ISM holds fundraisers. Its library passes along used textbooks to international students who need them. During the 2007 Leadership Forum on campus, ISM supplied the eminent speakers with volunteer student helpers.
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