A Worldly Perspective of Fort Lewis College By Ryan Versaw

“I had to laugh when I saw all of the jeeps around here because I kind of felt like I fell into a Wild

West movie a little bit.” - Ursula Kiener

oughly 50 international students walk around the campus to a different tune in attempts to learn the American beat as well as the beat for their major.

Leading the incoming international students on campus is International Student Advisor, Scott Miller. He is in charge of assisting newly arrived students from all over the world with all essential tools neces-sary to have a successful educational experience at Fort Lewis College. Both degree-seeking students and exchange students are able to utilize Miller as a resource for their college experience. Miller has served international students since 1993, originally heading off the Japan Program, and has since put in time with the international club on campus. Since the summer of 1998, Miller has served international students from his office in Miller Hall.

“I did study abroad while I was in college and I lived in Japan for a couple of years. While I was there I faced a lot of difficulties and there were a lot of kind people that reached out to me. I decided that after I came back I wanted to do the same for them while I was there,” Scott said.

Approximately 50 students from other countries inhabit the Fort Lewis Campus with more to come to spread the connection between the college and other students of the world.

Ursula Kiener is an international student who is originally from the University of Applied Sciences at Regensburg, near Munich who hails from Bad Toelz. Kiener is a marketing and finance major who came to the United States to finish her “diplome,” which is a German degree, the equivalent of an American student who was between a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

Currently, Kiener is working on her thesis regarding the sales of books on tape in America and how they compare to those in Germany. Kiener was invited to study in the United States by Chuck Yoos, a visiting professor of business management, and is responsible for assisting the travels of international students abroad.

Kiener refers to the culture shift she experienced upon arrival in Durango in saying, “I had to laugh when I saw all of the jeeps around here because I kind of felt like I fell into a Wild West movie a little bit.”

Kiener described the stereotypes regarding America that she was raised with, but remained objec-tive while referring to the social scene in Durango.

“I must say that I grew up with a bad image of the United States, many extremes, unhealthy food,

A Worldly Perspective of Fort Lewis College

National flags represented from bottom left to bottom right:

United Kingdom, Finland, China, Canada, Brazil, Austria, Afghani-stan, Germany, Greece, Ireland,

Israel, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain and

Sweden.

religious extremists,”Kiener said. “In general I just made an experience here.”As with most international students, Kiener noted differences between the academic and social lives

between Americans and students back home. For example, Kiener said that she missed being able to go out dancing at 5 a.m. In some social settings, Kiener noticed that there were misunderstandings due to cultural differences.

“I am a pretty ironic person, a sarcastic person, and pretty often I will say something ironic and people will think, ‘Oh, that’s just a person speaking in a foreign language,’ so there is some misunder-standing due to that,” Kiener said.

Kiener has at least one more semester left before finishing her thesis.Another non-traditional student of this type is Michelle Valeine. Unlike most exchange students,

Valeine decided to attend college in the United States and graduate here with a degree in four years. Originally graduating from high school in Riga, Latvia, Valeine is a tourism and resort management major. Valeine made the decision that she wanted to come to the United States in eighth grade, but arrived in August of this year. Valeine’s decision to come to the United States was influenced by the high quality of the American education system and her attraction to the American college life.

“Well, I was looking for a school that was laid back and a lot of Eastern Europe is not laid back at all. I was looking forward to get out of the club scene, the dressing up and fancy rich people scene and I definitely got my laid back atmosphere. My first reaction was that this place was more laid back than I expected. People are just very low and relaxed and easy going here and extremely outdoorsy,” Valeine said.

Valeine’s curiosity of American lifestyles came from a different place than Keiner. Elements like food, tastes, and the way American’s spend their time came into play as Valeine spoke of her experiences.

Valeine mentioned encountering financial strains put upon foreign international students. National law permits any international student, on an exchange program or not, to work no more than 20 hours per week. Specifically on the Fort Lewis campus, the law limits international students to two jobs in the Student Union Building cafeteria, Miller said. Scholarships are not available to students who do not have residency.