Stepping out of one's comfort zone for the average American student means adjusting to a larger university setting - for an international student it means adjusting to a new country with an entirely new culture and language.
UB has over 4,000 international students enrolled each academic year, many of whom who have had to move halfway across the world without the support of family and friends.
For Sophia KO, a freshman nursing major who relocated from Korea with her family, leaving behind all she has ever known and starting new was a struggle.
"I've been in Buffalo for three years now and the adjustment has been tough," KO said. "In high school I was the only international student. It was very lonely."
Before graduating and coming to Buffalo, KO admits to feeling depressed at times when the transition became too overwhelming.
Although proficiency in English is required of all international students before they begin their undergraduate studies at UB, language barriers are inevitable. Programs with the English Language Institute (ELI) aids students like KO with cultural adjustment, as well as building their confidence with their speaking and grammatical skills.
This boost of confidence helped KO to make friends at UB.
"Things changed when I came to UB, I no longer feel alone," she said. "Now I feel as though I am part of a group."
Abdullah Balkhyour, a 19-year-old ELI student from Saudi Arabia, came to America for the first time last year by himself, beginning his studies at Oregon State University before transferring to UB. He is currently on conditional enrollment as an intended biology major until he meets his English proficiency exam requirements.
"I have a dream to become a pediatrician and help poor families who cannot afford to take their children to the doctor," he said.
Balkhyour is fighting culture shock by jumping into campus life, playing soccer with Americans, and taking a salsa class with his favorite resident assistant.
"The only way to get through it is to have fun with it," he said.
Following the recent death of his father, Balkhyour traveled back home this past summer - the lost time set him back a term in his studies - but he is willing to overcome the challenge to make his dreams a reality. The language barrier does not deter him.
"It was hard to leave home again, especially because I am now the man of the house," he said.
While settling into his new life in the United States, Balkhyour will keep feelings of missing home at bay with regular phone calls. His sister, Hadia, will soon be following in his footsteps by applying to UB. She is one of the first forty Saudi Arabian women to study law.
"I have made my parents proud by coming to UB and I will continue to make them proud by doing whatever it takes to succeed," Balkhyour said.
Kathy Curtis, associate director for ELI, said international students living on campus are placed in adjoining resident halls to help them build relationships and join campus events while they become familiar with their new environment. Additionally, resident halls are open during breaks for those students unable to travel back home.
"Resident halls have their own activities that are predominantly floor or building based," Curtis said. "This helps them to become culturally acquainted."
For students like Ahmet Sahin, a senior international business major from Turkey, adjusting to UB was effortless.
"Coming to the university was not hard at all. I have plenty of friends here who are just like me," he said. "We go out all the time and enjoy ourselves."
Joanna Lin, a freshman pharmacy major from Costa Rica, stands outside the Commons with her new group of friends as if she has lived in America her entire life.
"I have had a very easy transition because of my friend who is a senior here at UB. He shows me around and answers any questions I have," she said. "Also the big community of my friends who are like me helped me a lot to cope with being away from home."
Unlike Sahin and Lin, the transition to America has been stressful for sophomore biomedical science major, Helia Leftavi.
Leftavi moved to the States two years ago from Iran to live with her father, a prominent neurosurgeon in the area. She began her studies at ECC where the international student population is small, and had trouble integrating with American students.
"Last summer was the worst summer of my life," she said. "I did not have friends or anything to keep me occupied. I missed my home, my mother and my friends so much."
After transferring to UB, Leftavi finally began to make friends who introduced her to American food, downtown Buffalo and shopping. Now if she misses home, she turns to American songs that she and her friends can "jam" to.
Want to help an international student find his or her way? Join ELI's Chatroom, ESL 320, and earn course credit. Meet new people from around the world while helping them fine-tune their language skills.
