C APÍTULOS Y DOTES MATRIMONIALES EN LA COMUNIDAD DE A LBARRACÍN

J

Z

N

M

The Columbia College Honors Program has been lucky over the past several years to have among its members a number of highly motivated and talented international students who have enriched the diversity and intellectual caliber of our classes and activities. Having interna- tional students in the program offers all of our students a range of per- spectives drawn from the varied experiences of students who come from different cultural backgrounds and whose expectations for a qual- ity education in the United States often match the goals of honors pro- grams and colleges. While generalizing can be a mistake, we have found that, in the main, our international honors students are bright, capa- ble, and ambitious. Recruiting them is not always easy, especially for a small liberal arts women’s college with few extra resources, but Columbia College has enjoyed a steady, albeit modest, stream of quali- fied international students in honors.

Who are these students? What are they like? How do they end up in honors? Frequently, they have already completed the course work in high school settings that academics in higher education in the United States call general education or core requirements, and they are ready for intensive concentrations in disciplinary majors. They are accus- tomed to rigorous standards, having landed as enrolled or exchange students in the United States on the strength of superior academic records back home or on distinction as an Olympiad winner or Red

Diploma recipient.1_{Such backgrounds have helped these students rise}

to the top of their native country’s educated young populace. They are familiar, too, with demanding tests, lectures, and other traditional ped- agogies of what today is called the teacher-centered learning environ- ment. At our college, anyway, they are not privileged students able to pay their tuition in full; rather, they are typically in need of financial aid but have limited access to funding opportunities and often battle finan- cial issues that complicate their lives in a foreign country. And, espe- cially after the arguably draconian rules and censures of a post-9/11 world of security concerns, immigration woes, and restrictive travel,

they also face additional challenges in simply settling into the rhythms and joys of college learning and life.

Columbia College now supports a fledgling Global Studies initiative and a growing International Students Association (ISA), but for a long time it did not have a significant support structure for international stu- dents. Honors, in fact, because of its coherent programming and com- munity-building features, has offered international students an effec- tive means of finding their place among talented, serious students in a genuine learning community. The programming and features include a special first-year orientation and induction, incorporating the

National Collegiate Honors Council’s (NCHC) “City-as-Text”TM_model;

designated honors first-year and capstone courses; a residence hall option; Honors Student Association (HSA) events; and NCHC and Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC) conference opportunities. Building a strong cadre of international students in honors has not been easy, however, and we have been fortunate to benefit from several serendipitous influences. A few years ago, we sponsored two female international students married to spouses attending the nearby public university as part of a special collaborative program involving both insti- tutions. The two students were outstanding—one going on to graduate school in linguistics at Penn State, the other finishing graduate degrees at the New School for Social Research in New York and later at an elite European university. Word traveled fast as they relayed their positive experiences at the college to others back home. Then, one exceptional international student—already boasting several NCHC and SRHC pre- sentations, our Washington Semester, and a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship in Costa Rica on her list of academic achievements—was selected as a runner-up for NCHC’s Honors Student of the Year Award. Once the news reached her native Bulgaria, she was featured on national radio and television, raising the visibility of our small honors program in her country and prompting a number of new, exceptional applicants who have since equally distinguished themselves. Also, a local public school teacher, whose origin was Romania, heard the buzz about honors at the college, and now her daughter is one of our excellent students.

The Columbia College Honors Program is pondering the possibility of crafting a set of guidelines for granting honorary status in the pro- gram to selected exchange students who come to the college to study for only one year. This new initiative responds to the sudden increase in requests from bright international students to take advantage of the unique challenges and academic enrichment that they have heard

about in honors from their international peers in the program. Columbia College is also proud that some students have taken advan- tage of opportunities to study and travel abroad through consortium or articulation agreements with other institutions offering honors semes- ters abroad, such as the University of North Carolina-Wilmington’s Wales Honors Semester or the Semester-at-Sea venture. Having interna- tional students in honors programs is not the only strategy for exploring the value of connecting international students and honors; having stu- dents engage in the academic and personal gains of studying and living in an international cultural context is an equally effective approach.

We mention such details not just to share success stories (the truth is we have had one or two disappointments, too) but to suggest ways of promoting and supporting the exciting participation of international students in honors. The goal of increasing diversity in honors is a perennial topic of conversation among honors directors, and perhaps some schools with massive institutional structures and ample resources can realize their aims more easily than smaller schools with focused missions and limited resources. Nevertheless, many avenues do exist for strengthening honors through international diversity.

The following sections of this chapter explore the opportunities and challenges in connecting international students and honors to make programs more dynamic and diverse learning environments. Drawn largely from several international students’ perspectives shared in preparations for various panel presentations in diversity forums at regional and national honors conferences, the observations and insights represent not only Columbia College students but interna- tional members from other colleges and universities. This wide range of students informs the generalizations about the hurdles facing inter- national students as well as the potential benefits of involvement in honors. The students’ own voices and personal experiences provide an authenticity that may resonate with directors, faculty, and students looking for practical approaches to expand the international presence in their honors programs. Students reflected on questions such as the following:

• What do international students gain from an honors program? • How do international students find out about honors?

• What are the appealing aspects of being in an honors program for an international student?

• What struggles and hindrances do international students face when considering an honors program in this country?

• What resources exist to help international students succeed in honors? • Are there ways that international students can help inform and attract potential students from abroad who are interested in honors in the United States?

• Where can international students find information about scholar- ships to help them with financial issues as they consider applying to an honors program?

Benefits and Opportunities for