Taking initiative, bridging the gap among cultures

Spending the first half of her life in Guangdong, China, then moving to Botswana with her parents as a teenager in 2005, Penn State student Yanying Chen says multicultural awareness has always been something she is passionate about.

Chen is finishing her third year as an accounting major at the University Park campus. She has participated in the Global Engagement and Leadership Experience (GELE) and has served as a transition partner for the Intensive English Commination Program (IECP) for three semesters. She recently received the W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award for her contributions to the advancement of the international mission of the University.

Coming back in the fall after participating a language immersion program with IES in Japan the past summer, Chen founded a new student organization called Global Integration.

“Seeing all the multicultural clubs on campus, I started to wonder, ‘What if there’s something that could bring all different cultures together?’ ” she explained.

Having experienced transitioning from different cultures, Chen encourages every student to really step out of his or her comfort zone and engage with the local culture while studying abroad as much as possible.

“The best memory you will have when studying abroad is always about the people,” Chen said. “I became really close with my host family, and it completely changed my understanding of the Japanese culture from movies and previous education.

“Once I fell asleep in the car on the way to the museum; when I woke up, I realized that they had been sitting quietly waiting for me even though we had probably arrived for more than 30 minutes,” she added. “But no one wanted to wake me up, and it touched me so deeply, the respect for a guest in Japanese culture.”

“Lifelong friendship and cultural integration will be the legacy you carry on from study abroad for a long time,” Chen said.

After realizing the importance of open dialogue across cultures as part of study abroad enrichment — and the lack of it in State College area, where international students from 140 countries encompass nearly 15 percent of the student population — the idea of Global Integration first emerged in her mind.

“I never thought about actually starting a club before,” Chen said. That was until she met Marc McCann, executive director for Global Connections, a local nonprofit organization affiliated with Penn State and the United Way of Centre County. It aims to bring together people of diverse national origins to foster intercultural community and understanding, promote awareness of everyone’s roles as citizens in the wider global community and facilitate partnerships and resources that enrich the vitality and diversity of the Centre Region.

Chen took the initiative to follow up with a meeting. With a similar goal in mind and deeply impressed by her passion and vision to better the community, McCann first suggested the idea of Global Integration and continued to assist her with advice and resources.

After weeks of preparation, Global Integration was established officially in the fall of 2014. It has since hosted several events including panel discussions, volunteer activities and cultural celebrations. Recently, the group hosted its last event of the semester, Cultural Spotlight: International Dance Party, in collaboration with the Panamanian Student Organization and Afrique Fusion. Students from different backgrounds participated, sharing and learning cultural dances from each other.

“The contemporary workplace values multiculturalism, and studying abroad is a great opportunity for you to grow both professionally and personally,” Chen said. “It was definitely a life-changing journey for me.”

Connecting first-year students through cross-cultural leadership

Cross-Cultural Connections is a student club with similar goals co-founded by Niyantara Singh and Polina Tai.

Singh, a senior in psychology and criminology from New Delhi, India, participated in a faculty-led program in the Netherlands last summer.

“It was interesting to be able to compare criminal justice systems among the Netherlands, United States and India,” Singh said. “Studying abroad as an international student provides you the opportunity to look at everything comparatively.”

Singh has been an international student orientation leader since her freshman year. “It’s great to be able to help other international students who have newly arrived because we’ve shared similar experiences,” Singh said. “It’s been the best part of my memories at Penn State and I have stayed friends with many of them. I want to help international students make the most of their time at Penn State.”