There is no denying it, Diablo Valley College is a school teeming with diversity.

Walking around campus is like traveling across the world, with no telling what different culture you might encounter.

However, many native students do not fully understand what it’s like to be an international student.

Part of what assists international students in their transition to the United States are the many clubs and programs available for them on campus.

Programs such as International Christian Fellowship, bring together students of all different backgrounds so they can feel less alone in their adjustment.

Hamees Momin, 17, mechanical engineering major, goes to ICF every Friday. “Most of them who go are not Christians. It is just a gathering they do for international students, so they don’t miss their families. I have a twin brother and a small sister in Dubai, and I miss them a lot, but when I go to ICF it helps me forget about the distance and relive memories of them,” he says.

For Jeffrey Tiu, 20, communications major, the experience has been pleasant.

“I was accepted by most of my classmates. One of the reasons has to be that I don’t really speak broken English, or at least I’m more fluent than other international students,” Tiu explained.

For students who are more proficient in English and American customs, the adjustment is much easier.

For international student Zarko Sadikovic, 20, kinesiology major, the adjustment was not so easy. Although his English is getting better, he says he still has a long way to go.

“My ideas don’t go through in the way I want them too, and it is often very frustrating for someone to not understand you,” he said.

Business accounting major Felipe Almeida Alterthum, 19, compared professors in Brazil with those at DVC. “Here, the teachers care about you, whereas in Brazil, the professors don’t care about you at all. It’s not that they try to make you fail, but they don’t try to help you either,” he said.

The challenges faced by international students still remain as abrasive as ever, but programs such as ICF can make it easier.
Gloria Zarabozo, advisor at the International Student Admissions and Services office, says that some changes can be made for the better.

Zarabozo advises students and faculty to be mindful of the challenges facing international students: “I would like more people on the campus from students through upper management to pause and put themselves in the position of an international student… Fearful that maybe they will do something wrong that might result in them not even being able to finish their studies here.”