Calling all crusaders all around the world: learn about NGU’s International Club
Casey Burton, Staff Writer
North Greenville University’s expansion of diversity has grown immensely over the past few years. Currently, we have around 50 crusaders from Canada, France, Thailand, Germany, Portugal, Brazil, Italy, Puerto Rico and so many other countries all around the world here on campus.
NGU celebrates the fact that our campus symbolizes so many different cultures and ethnicities in many ways. One of the several ways North Greenville encourage these different backgrounds is the International Club. This club is an outlet for all the international students to come together and (if not already) feel more included and supported.
The club is a safe place to embrace and learn about all the different cultures here. Anyone can join the club, and everyone is encouraged to join. It mainly consists of the international students, students who are American with a foreign ethnicity, or any student who’s studying a different culture.
Leslie Brown, a co-head, and founder of the International Club said, “The club has a multipurpose. It was originally for international and internationally minded students and staff to have community and help them to share their cultures among themselves and the NGU community.” This helps students who may need or want extra help adapting to America. Not to mention, laws and rules that are different would be difficult to get used to, like plagiarism for example.
Plagiarism may be allowed at home, but could get a student kicked out of school here. Therefore, it is important to be aware of it and get used to what the rules are here. The international club was established in 2011, but during the covid pandemic, the club took a pause and is currently in the works of getting reorganized.
Kalvin Semedo, a senior at North Greenville, is from Paris, France. When asked if America is what he expected it to be he said, “Not really, I had to adapt to the culture for sure. When I was back home, I used to think America was this extravagant and cool place like Miami, but when I first came here, I went to Kentucky, it wasn’t as cool. The biggest difference between home and here is the culture. I prefer here, though, because I have more freedom. There’s a sense of ‘do whatever you want’ here. Plus, the people are nicer and more friendly, they make the effort to come talk to you. I guess that’s a southern thing.”
When Semedo was asked what has helped him adapt to a different country better, he said, “I learned English in school back at France, but being on the soccer team has helped and it gives me the foundation of getting to meet people and other foreign people. There’s a lot of us international students on the team. They all make me feel accepted and I actually like standing out, people are intrigued to know about France and it’s cool.”
After talking to Kalvin, it shows the importance of community and that is what the international club is working to provide for these students. So go check out the club and learn the different kinds of cultures NGU has to offer
