Charter Morris, director of Capstone International Services, said the week is about celebrating a number of programs at the University.
“It was really just a week set aside to focus on everything international,” Morris said. “So not just international students who are here at the institution, but also those who go abroad, those who are learning languages, anything that might fall under that very broad umbrella of international education.”
The Capstone International Center has three main units, the Education Abroad, English Language Institute and Capstone International Services. Though they have events year-round, Morris said the center adds more to this week to showcase the idea of getting involved and thinking internationally and globally.
“We serve 1,680 students here at the University who are international, and they know what we do because we help them, but there’s still the other 95 percent of the population who might not know what we do,” he said.
Morris said this week is an opportunity for students who don’t think they can study abroad to get a better understanding of foreign cultures.
The Center for Community-Based Partnerships is partnering with Capstone International Center, Better Together, the Muslim Student Association and the Saudi Student Association to show “Crossing Borders” Tuesday night at the CCBP.
Beverly Hawk, director of program services at the CCBP, said programs like international education week are increasing in importance. Although outreach is a component of their work, the CCBP is focused on valuable community engagement, fostering new connections between different people.
“Engagement is different than outreach,” Hawk said. “With engagement, you’re really listening, both sides are really listening and working together.”
Participants at the film will be separated from the people they arrive with for discussion groups after the screening to allow them to see different perspectives. She said the events and the connections that are made are an integral part of a college education going beyond course work.
“After you leave college, that’s the stuff you remember,” she said. “I love the classes and the credits and the degrees, but it’s the interacting with people, the learning about people who are unlike where you were raised is a key asset to college.
