By: Valeria Aranda
Contributing Writer
International students at Wingate University are adjusting to everyday English, unfamiliar social customs and the demands of maintaining a student visa as they look for ways to build a community on campus.
Valerie Graham, Wingate’s director of international student services, said culture shock can be more intense than students expect. Adjusting to life in the United States can mean getting used to different foods, figuring out transportation and learning new social customs.
For Maria Fernanda Vergara Figuera, a junior political science major from Venezuela, one of the biggest challenges was the gap between the English she learned in school and the English she heard in daily conversations.
“The hardest part was getting used to the practical use of English because what you learn in school is not how people actually talk in the USA,” Vergara said.
Luciana Lopez, a student from Colombia who studied biology on the pre-dental track, said unfamiliar words and pronunciation made it harder to communicate.
Students also bring questions about taxes, Social Security, employment and maintaining their visas to the international office, Graham said. She said building a support network can help students adjust to life away from home.
Wingate offers academic advising, tutoring, wellness and counseling services, and opportunities to get involved on campus, Graham said. Students can also get information about visas through the international office.
Vergara said she would like to see more clubs for international students and more cultural events on campus. Lopez said Wingate could give international students and their families more information about the resources available to them.
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