UIS welcomes new international students during orientation

The University of Illinois Springfield is welcoming nearly 45 new international students for the spring 2011 semester. The students spent their first week at UIS learning about the services available to them and meeting campus leaders.

“It’s very important because otherwise students have to basically get the information on their own. This is just a convenient way for students to meet everyone in a short amount of time and get the information they need quickly,” said Rick Lane, director of the Office of International Student Services.

The new students spent their first day checking in and were then taken on a shopping trip. Lane says the trip is designed to give students a chance to buy things they will need on campus or may have left at home. On the second day, they heard from Health Services, Admissions and learned about the library among other topics.

“Today in orientation I think it’s the first day in our college. It would be the best day for us and the most memorable day too,” said Nikhitha Akula, a graduate student from India.

Akula has a cousin who attended UIS and knew it was the right school to help launch her career in Computer Science. Other students like Wenzhong Tang from China came to UIS because they have family members living in Illinois.

“It’s a nice campus and it’s quite attractive because it’s academic. It’s a strong academic environment and people here I met last summer are quite friendly,” said Tang.

International Student Orientation lasts a total of four days with additional sessions on careers, student organizations and information on cultural issues and immigration.

As of fall 2010, UIS had a population of 195 international students from 29 different countries. Lane expects the numbers to continue to rise and more international students discover UIS.