Summer NU program exposes foreign exchange students to U.S. culture

406 students from five countries learn about American lifestyle through fieldtrips, classroom instruction

By Kylee Dalmata
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

More than 400 foreign high school students came to Norwich University for two weeks this summer as part of a program that tries to teach skills needed to survive a year in the United States.

The two-week program ran July 14-28, and taught the 406 students about American society, geography, culture, history, the political system, and language.

Dave Magida, Norwich's Chief Administrative Officer, was the man responsible for bringing the students here this summer.

"Having these students here was a great experience for everybody," Magida said.

Tecla Ris, the EF Director of Programs who coordinated this trip, made it clear just how far from home many of the students were.

"The group that came to Norwich included European students from Germany, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands," Ris said. "There were also students from Brazil."

Ris also said she believed that Norwich's rural location offered the students something very different from what they were used to in their native countries.

"Many are from big cites," Ris said. "They aren't used to the rural landscape of the US. Norwich was a gorgeous campus and offered the most amazing experience to the students."

After looking online for possible groups that might wish to utilize Norwich's facilities, Magida found EF, the world's largest international student placement organization.

Based in Boston, EF allows roughly 4000 students each year to travel to new countries and experience other cultures around the world.

EF has three campuses in the US that it uses each summer to run basic camps for foreign students coming to the United States. According to Ris, these optional camps give the students that participate a heads-up on what to expect while in America.

According to Ris, the move to Norwich was a big change for this branch of the EF program, which was formerly located at Yale.

"The coordinators of the program were looking for a more rural and safer location," Magida said. "Norwich appeared to be a great place. They were thrilled with the friendliness and service of the Norwich and Northfield community and people in Vermont. They felt very much at home."

While participating in the program, the students were kept very busy. Academics lasted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., when activities picked up and lasted until 9:30 p.m.

"There were a lot of other things scheduled to keep these 15 to 18-year-olds busy," Magida said. "They went on bus trips to Vermont Expositions, Boston, Montreal, and Great Escape. They also had on campus events, including athletics, movies, dances, and a talent show."

The foreign students stayed in Dodge, Goodyear, and Wilson Halls while their staff stayed in Crawford.

The international students were very interested in fitting in and wanted to spend as much time around American students as they could; however, according to some summer school students, their schedules seemed to prohibit this.

"They spent so much time with their planned activities," said Walle Akinde, 21, a senior economics major from Providence Rhode Island who was here all summer taking classes. "They should have been allowed more freedom. They were civilians and they were treated like military cadets."

Despite having little free time, the EF students found time to make friends with Norwich students. Timid at first in their strange surroundings, the EF students were soon under the Norwich influence and created some great friendships with their American hosts. Even now that the program is over, most of the students involved still talk.

"They were a good group of kids, and they are still my friends," said Michael Letoile, 19, a Freshman Criminal Justice major from Rhode Island.

According to Akinde and Letoile, the only problem most Norwich students really had was that there was not enough time to talk and introduce these new students to the culture in which they were about to be submerged.

Despite the lack of free time, Norwich and EF administrators considered the program a success.

"Thanks to the campus and students for a wonderful time and education." Ris said.

"These top notch students helped start a great thing," Magida said. "Norwich and EF are planning an even bigger version for next year. Hopefully, when theses kids are ready to go to college, they will remember their trip here and think about Norwich. It's a win-win situation."

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