Florida State University’s Center for Global Engagement welcomed more than 440 new international students from 40 different countries to campus as classes began for the fall semester Aug. 28.
FSU’s incoming international students include 169 undergraduate students and 272 graduate students. FSU has over 2,400 international students from more than 120 different countries.
A Welcome Back International Coffee Hour was held Friday, Aug. 25, to provide new international students the opportunity to meet and converse with each other, along with other U.S. students, faculty and staff.
“I found this to be one of the most welcoming groups of people when I arrived at FSU,” said Jorge Roberto Maldonado Galiano, a new international student from Ecuador, who is pursuing his master’s degree in computer science. “It has been great to connect while being around classmates, faculty and staff from each part of the university. As an FSU graduate student, I look forward to gaining valuable skills in my field of study and developing a solid knowledge base that I can use in the future.”
Bastian David Blomberg, a graduate student from Germany studying marketing and management through FSU’s Global Exchange with the University of Wuppertal, expressed his excitement about being on campus.
“I hope to improve my English skills and learn about American culture,” Blomberg said. “So far, Americans have been very friendly. During the recent solar eclipse, a couple even offered to share their glasses with me and a friend of mine. I look forward to studying here at FSU.”
Blomberg is one of 44 international exchange students from 23 partner institutions in 12 countries studying at FSU this fall. FSU’s Global Exchanges also offer the opportunity for FSU students to study at one of 40-plus international partner universities while paying FSU tuition, earning FSU credits and using their financial aid. This fall, 30 FSU students will study at 17 universities in nine different countries.
More than 60 of FSU’s incoming international undergraduate students are transferring from FSU’s Republic of Panama branch campus, which serves as a hub for partnership development and U.S.-style education in Latin America. Students from the FSU-Panama campus come from various countries in Latin America, as well as the Republic of Panama.
International Coffee Hour is held every Friday classes are in session from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in The Globe, featuring a dessert and drink from a different culture each week.
For more information, visit cge.fsu.edu.