Published: October 20, 2007 09:45 pm         

MSU welcomes international students on campus

Adjustments to new culture encouraged

International students come to Mountain State University from all over the world — Nepal, Cuba, China, Vietnam, Cameroon, and numerous other countries for the promise of a better career and a better future.

“An education in the U.S. holds so much value over seas, and learning another language makes them more marketable,” said Dwight Heaster, MSU’s coordinator for international student services.

In all, 287 international students currently attend MSU.

Most of the students learn about MSU by word of mouth. They complete the Nonimmigrant Visa application, travel thousands of miles to the United States, and somehow come up with the money to pay for books and tuition.

Most pay out of pocket for their education, and share a house with two or three other students so they can split the rent, Heaster said.

For many of these students, adjusting to life in the United States is difficult.

Cultural differences, the language barrier, and the newness of America can sometimes cause problems.

Heaster recalled that one student hailed a cab in Washington, D.C., and asked to go to Beckley, thinking it would be a 30-minute drive. The cabbie brought the student to Beckley, and asked for $800 when the trip was complete.

Ralph Diehl, a professor at MSU, has worked with hundreds of international students as they are just beginning their time at the university. Diehl’s job is to help the students become proficient in English, so they can pass a standardized English competency exam, and be successful in their future studies.

When some of the students first walk into Diehl’s classroom, they speak very little English. But Diehl has often had the pleasure of teaching students who quickly learn the language, earn their degrees, and go on to successful careers.

“It’s amazing to see the changes that they make,” he said.

Diehl enjoys working with students from all over the world, and teaching them about America. But he also wants them to retain elements of their own culture.

For example, many of his students are from Nepal, where it is customary to use both hands when handing an object to another person.

Diehl noticed that the Nepalese students followed this practice when turning in their homework or test papers.

However, one day a Nepalese student attempted to hand a paper to Diehl with only one hand.

Diehl looked at the student and said, “I can’t accept that,” and required him to hand in the paper with both hands. Diehl wanted the student to be proud of, and hold on to, the customs of his homeland.

Diehl and Heaster believe the international students provide an important benefit to the MSU community — the chance to learn from another culture.

“The number of students in Beckley who can travel out of the country is very low,” Heaster said. “They (international students) bring something to us that we are not normally exposed to.”

MSU holds events throughout the year that give international students a chance to showcase their culture to the local community.

The university holds the Multicultural Fair each February, which is attended by local grade school students. Heaster believes that such experiences can have a profound effect on young minds.

“The earlier an individual is able to expose children to other cultures, the better they will be able to eliminate prejudices,” Heaster said.

Of state universities, MSU has the third largest international student population, surpassed only by that of Marshall and West Virginia University.

The largest group of international students at MSU is from Nepal, a remote country in the Himalayas between China and India, and home to Mount Everest.

“The students do enjoy it here. It is a lot like home,” said Heaster. “Nepal is rural — their mountains are just bigger than ours.”

— E-mail:

bbilleter@register-herald.com