Marian goes global

by Hadeiyah Ameen

Marian University is going global.

At the State of the University address on Feb 14 2012, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management Dr. Jack Powell stated that Marian expects 20 of 350 incoming freshman will be international students.

Currently eight international students are enrolled at Marian University. Their origins include Kenya, Uganda, France, UK, Venezuela, and Bolivia. According to Director of International Admission and International student advisor Mia Morrison, Marian hopes to recruit at least 40 international students a year with a long term goal of 200 international students.

According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), Indiana has the tenth largest foreign student enrollment with just over 20,000 international students. They also reported five countries make up 53% of the total international student population in 2010-2011; some of the countries include China, India, and South Korea.

Some researchers note the importance of international students colleges and universities across America. Higher education aims to prepare culturally competent
individuals with the ability to work effectively with people from different
backgrounds (Smith & Schonfeld, 2000).

Annabelle Ondari, from Kenya, will travel to Argentina next semester as part of her Global Studies Minor. Ondari shared her excitement about the incoming international students as she believes they will bring much needed diversity to
Marian. She also looks forward to becoming an international student mentor, so she can help other international students by sharing some of the lessons she has learned.