Date: July 30, 2021
Over the last couple of months, I have been working with Associate Dean of Students Ruthanna Hooke and International Student Proctor Mike Gumulauskas to prepare to welcome our incoming international students through their orientation program. We are excited to welcome Carolyne Adhola ’23 from Kenya, Claire Wang ’24 from Taiwan, and Saleem Kasabreh ’24 from Jerusalem as they arrive on campus.
We are planning informative sessions to introduce them to staff members in different departments, including Finance, Chapel, and members of the AASL team. We are also bringing in members of our wider VTS community that show strong support for our international students year after year.
As we plan orientation, I am conscious of the fact that these students are moving to a new country to start something new in the midst of a pandemic. They are leaving behind loved ones to respond to God’s call to attend seminary in the United States. From my own experience of living abroad for two years, I know the trials that can come from culture shock and attempting to develop a support network in a new and foreign place. My goal through our orientation sessions is to create a space where the students can learn from us and ask questions freely. Mindful that support must continue after our orientation sessions end, I am excited to see the entire Seminary community encourage the international students as they begin a new and exciting chapter.
As we near their arrivals this weekend, please keep our international students in your prayers, as days of quarantining, meeting new people, and starting something new in the midst of a global pandemic are coming.
Elly Hahn
Executive Assistant for Academic Affairs and Student Life