International student associations

Did you now there are 37 international student associations on campus? From the the Russian Student Association to the Caribbean Student Association, the Asian American Student Association, the Brazilian Student Association and the Japan Club, many on-campus efforts flow into the creation of global citizens:

"Learning about other cultures and being culturally competent is essential to success in the 21st century," said Michelle Cook, associate provost for institutional diversity.

Industry leaders say they want employees who are prepared to come to the workplace equipped with cultural competencies to work with anyone, regardless of their background, Cook said.

"The ability to engage with someone who is different from you and to still be able to be successful-I want that for every UGA student," Cook said.

Institutional diversity is about so much more than representative student demographics, which is itself an important metric. But what is being created on campus once students get here, no matter their points of origin, is a population of engaged global citizens. The ability to think expansively about the world even as we work and play locally, is what shapes our ability to picture ourselves as a thread in the broader fabric. The university environment creates the perfect conditions that allow society to flourish. Discovery. Critical thinking. Creativity. Empathy. Passion. Compassion. All of these are consituent parts to the confidence necessary to make our individual disciplinary specialties live up their potential. 

Image: Signer's Globe, via Wikimedia Commons.