2008 Woodie Awards
International students fulfill dreams at KCC
Tenesee T. Wilson
Issue date: 8/22/05 Section: News
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Over the past 25 years, Kirkwood Community College has been hosting international students from various countries around the world. The International program at Kirkwood started four years after the college was founded. In the early 1970s, KCC hosted the first two international students and since then, the number of international students has increased.. Gayle Glick, who has been the International Student Advisor for International Admissions for 30 years said, "Before the Sept. 11 attack, Kirkwood hosted 80-100 international Students per semester but after the attack, that number dropped by half. However, the number is gradually increasing." During the 2004-2005 school year, Kirkwood hosted 500 students from 100 different countries, and this year, Glick is expecting the number to increase. She also said the Global Leaders for International Students set up extra curriculum activities for them.
Neo Guinko, an international student from Burkina Faso, commented that he chose to attend Kirkwood because "Iowa is a quiet place, a good place to study and best of all Kirkwood tuition is affordable." He also said he expects to get the education that he dreamt about back home and hopes to live on a friendly campus. Lastly, he said after his graduation from Kirkwood, he is going to get a job to practice what he learned in class and maybe someday goes back to his country.
At Kirkwood, the international students who are from countries that do not speak English as the first language are expected to go through the English as Second Language (ESL) classes, which are categorized into four levels. These students are placed in a level based on their ACT test scores.
Assistant Professor of English Dr. Catherine Schaff-Stump stated, "The ESL is going to have a new name." The new name is going to be ELA which stands for English Language Acquisition.
ELA's vision for this school year is to reach out to the student body, try to get help, curriculum revisions and to internationalize the college.
Neo Guinko, an international student from Burkina Faso, commented that he chose to attend Kirkwood because "Iowa is a quiet place, a good place to study and best of all Kirkwood tuition is affordable." He also said he expects to get the education that he dreamt about back home and hopes to live on a friendly campus. Lastly, he said after his graduation from Kirkwood, he is going to get a job to practice what he learned in class and maybe someday goes back to his country.
At Kirkwood, the international students who are from countries that do not speak English as the first language are expected to go through the English as Second Language (ESL) classes, which are categorized into four levels. These students are placed in a level based on their ACT test scores.
Assistant Professor of English Dr. Catherine Schaff-Stump stated, "The ESL is going to have a new name." The new name is going to be ELA which stands for English Language Acquisition.
ELA's vision for this school year is to reach out to the student body, try to get help, curriculum revisions and to internationalize the college.