Cultural Encounters:
From the Sand to the Snow

August 14, 2006

International Services Office

Besides being a full time student, I also work part time in the International Services Office at UNI. International Services (ISO) helps international students with the immigration aspect as well as helping these students with culture transition. ISO is part of the Admissions Office and it is also responsible for academic admissions of international students.

Retention of international students is also one of the jobs done by ISO. We plan trips, birthdays, as well as tournaments all year round. Students’ opinions are always taken into consideration during event planning, and we are always open to new suggestions.

The busiest time in ISO is when the semester begins. As with American students, international students also have an orientation which lasts a week. The content of it is quite different than an American orientation which lasts 2 days. The focus of the orientation is to ease this transition which every international student goes through. We have different sections starting from explaining American law all the way to helping them open a banking account.

We also pick up students in either Waterloo or Cedar Rapids Airport and help them to check in at their dorms. There are welcome bags given to International students as soon as they arrive with information about the university as well as from Cedar Falls tourism.