George Amoako
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is featured in the Fall 2024 edition of The Tartan magazine. Read more from The Tartan at alma.edu/tartan.
Alma College’s reputation as an excellent liberal arts institution is well known — not only in the United States, but increasingly, abroad as well.
A growing number of international students have come to Alma College in recent years, driven not only by the promise of receiving an outstanding education, but by the college’s efforts to recruit them. In 2023, Alma welcomed 45 international students from countries as far-ranging as the United Kingdom, South Korea and Qatar — a dramatic increase from a decade ago, when the college had just seven international students on campus.
The college expects to add more international students, in pursuit of both graduate and undergraduate degrees, thanks to collaborative agreements that were signed with admissions consulting firms in India in January. These agreements may eventually go beyond simply enrolling students and extend into faculty exchange programs, as well.
“These agreements provide a much more robust, systemic approach to bringing international students to the campus of Alma College than what we’ve had previously,” said Victor Finch, associate vice president of graduate and professional enrollment. “What we find wherever we go is that international students relish the opportunity to study at a prestigious liberal arts institution like Alma College, for the interdisciplinary education that it provides and the training to become an adaptable leader in any industry in which they may enter.”
As more and more international students come to Alma, it’s imperative for the college to meet them where they’re at, in order to ensure they have positive experiences despite being far away from home.
The International Club is one example of ways in which the college fosters a sense of belonging for students from outside the United States. While being open to students, faculty and staff from any country, “I-Club” regularly hosts meetings for those involved to share stories and resources, as well as culturally appropriate events throughout the year.
Chih-Ping Chen, associate professor of English, is a faculty advisor to I-Club. She says the perspective that international students bring to the college is invaluable for the campus community on a whole.
“You don’t necessarily need to travel in order to see the world. At Alma College, students see the world come to them, because we invite international students to campus,” Chen said. “What we try to do in I-Club is to foster friendships within the international student community, so that these students are comfortable with branching out and making friends in other social circles.”
Mariem Hamdi
George Amoako is one of those international students. A member of the Class of 2024, Amoako came to Alma from Accra, Ghana. While he said that his early days in Alma were a little rough — he had never seen snow before arriving in Michigan — the campus community eventually made him feel welcome.
Amoako later became president of I-Club, on top of a number of other involvements on campus. He graduated summa cum laude and was a finalist for the Barlow Trophy, Alma’s most prestigious prize for a graduating senior.
“Alma is a great, great school,” said Amoako, who majored in biochemistry. “All of my friends from back home tell me they are jealous of the education I’ve received here. What I-Club tries to do is make everything that happens outside of the classroom just as fun as the things that happen in it.”
Mariem Hamdi is another example of an international student who took what Alma College had to offer and made it hers. Also a member of the Class of 2024, during her time at Alma, Hamdi revived the Muslim Student Organization, in order to share information about Muslim culture and faith throughout the world.
“This is a great school because of the attitudes of people who go here,” said Hamdi, a native of Tunis, Tunisia. “I’m thousands of miles away from my real home, but I feel like I am at home anyway. People want to learn from you here, and teach you what they know.”
