Without a doubt, new students are exposed to a brand new environment once classes begin at Ashland University. After graduating from high school and coming here to AU, a new chapter of life begins: a chapter in which we don’t live at home with our parents anymore.

However, some students have an even more life-changing experience.

In addition to being enrolled at a university for the first time, some students are delving right into a new country, different from their home.

Ashland University has an abundance of international students, representing 35 countries in all.

Fortunately for international students, the seventh floor of the library here on campus is the International Student Services Center, an excellent resource for international students.

The floor is equipped with a very friendly staff that is happy to assist students with anything.

The floor is also an inviting vicinity for international students to study, mingle or just relax. In addition to that, these students often spend extended amounts of time on the seventh floor to learn English.

Melanie Markusic is the Director of International Student and Scholar Services here on campus.

Her job includes welcoming international students and helping them to become acclimated with the university.

She also works with assisting international scholars.

“Scholars in essence are international visiting professors and/or researchers that come to the university to teach or engage in the exchange of knowledge and ideas for a temporary purpose,” Markusic explained.

After moving to Ashland, many international students naturally feel more welcomed into the community.

Freshman Martina Baca is an international student from Ecuador.

“I have to admit that I was really nervous the first couples of days, but I found really friendly people that made me feel more comfortable here,” Baca said. “I had been in the USA with my family for vacations before, but I had never stayed longer than three weeks. So this is all a new experience for me.”

One of the fears of many international students is the language barrier that they face when they come to America.

Fortunately, however, there is the Ashland Center for English Studies (ACCESS) available to international students to help them read, write, speak and think in the English language.

This program assists international professionals, undergraduates and graduates to become prepared for a future in the academic world with an understanding of English.

There is also an AU Ambassador program here on campus, a program devoted to serving as a vehicle of communication between international and American students.

Each academic year, approximately twenty AU American students are chosen after an application and interview process.

These students are then assigned international students for them to meet and help acclimate to their new country.

While the Ambassador program is indeed beneficial for international students, American students that work as Ambassadors grow and learn from the experience as well.

“I was initially interested in this program for the business aspect of it: learning the cultures of other people will help me in the future,” says former AU Ambassador, senior Rodney Digman. “I had the opportunity to meet some great people, and experience how they live their lives in other countries,” he said. “I’ve been sheltered most of my life, so it was great to branch out through interactions with students that aren’t from here. It helped give me an understanding of the world around me.”

International students can easily acclimate themselves here at Ashland.

AU students are encouraged to make every effort in meeting new international students. As they learn to live in a new country, they are also learning to live in a new home.