EvyJo Compton
Reporter
Parkland’s International Student Association (ISA), is one of the oldest clubs on campus, but it has just recently gotten back on its feet. Students from all over the world are members of the organization, which meets every Thursday from 12–1 p.m. in C229.
Nafissa Maiga, the president of ISA decided to bring it back.
“When I decided to bring back the International Student Association, I wanted the club to be a fun place where international and American students would learn more about each other,” Maiga said. “Our first meeting, I was a little worried that no one was going to show up, so I was happily surprised by the diversity of students that joined. Initially I was quite anxious because it was my first time being president of a club, but I tried to make everyone feel welcomed.”
The club is made up of a diverse group of students from a number of countries according to Amber Landis, the advisor of the club. Everyone is welcome to attend.
“We have a very diverse student population, including students from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Algeria, South Korea, Ecuador, Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, Nigeria, Haiti, and even the U.S.,” Landis said.
The format for the ISA meetings changes every week. From potlucks to international trivia quizzes to movies, there is a variety of things that the ISA does.
“Our primary objective right now is to have fun,” Landis said. “That may sound frivolous, but it provides a community space where international students on our campus can socialize, make new friends, learn about other cultures and acclimate to Parkland and life in the U.S. One of the biggest problems that international students in the U.S. face is isolation and loneliness.”
The meetings can be hard to miss when walking through the hallway.
“Our club is boisterous, so you will hear us if you are walking by C229 and you will probably hear a lot of French and Spanish,” Landis said. “Anyone can join and anyone can become an officer. Just show up on Thursdays.”
The meetings are meant to be fun, but also educational.
“We want our meetings to be as entertaining as possible, while still focusing on the main purpose of the club, which is to learn about other cultures,” Maiga said. “For example, in a simple game of trivia, we learned about a lot of similarities some West African and South American cultures had and that’s really the embodiment of the ISA.”
In the future, the ISA hopes to do fundraising for some off-campus activities such as visiting local elementary schools for their international culture days, going to the movies, going bowling or seeing a K-pop band in Champaign.
Since the club has just been brought back, they have not been able to have big events yet, but this year, they are hoping to do a South Indian Culture Showcase event.
“Our special event that we are planning is a South Indian Culture Showcase event, which will be on Thursday, April 12 from 12–1 p.m. in C148,” Landis said. “All student clubs at Parkland will be invited and we plan to have henna tattoos, Pakistani food and some kind of interactive craft or dancing station. It is going to be a blast.”
The ISA restarted successfully and has now built bonds among its members and participants.
“Thanks to Amber Landis and the amazing people who keep showing up each week, we’re now like a family. I’m very lucky to have Amber as the advisor of the club…I get to learn how to be a better leader each time we meet,” Maiga said. “I give the opportunity to the members of the club to vote on what activity they want to do each week or I suggest some ideas and let them decide. I was surprised, when after a few weeks only, most of the members wanted to do karaoke and we got to hear the voices of everyone for better or wors[e].”
ISA has given students different opportunities such as meeting new people, learning karaoke and trying new food.
“From my experience, the ISA gave me the opportunity to meet amazing people that I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to ever talk to,” Maiga said. “Being a full-time student, most of my time is in class or studying so the ISA meetings force me to relax a little bit.”
Maiga said she has fun at each meeting, while also learning a lot about other cultures simultaneously.
“Starting the club helped me keep an open mind, and even discover some aspects of myself. I hope that it is also how the other members of the ISA feel about the club,” Maiga said.
Landis gets to have fun and learn about other cultures as the advisor for the club while still attending to administrative things like “help facilitate activities, get supplies and do other administrative things,” Landis said.
“Nafissa and I both work to advertise the club on campus to try to reach as many students as possible. Some students are resistant to spend their time, but the ones who have been coming have been regular. I think it is because we do social activities like karaoke, global trivia, watch international movies and music videos, and also we usually have food,” Landis said.
Maiga has high hopes for the future of the ISA.
“I’m extremely grateful that the club is so active and I really hope it stays that way for a long time,” Maiga said.
For more information, email Landis at alandis@parkland.edu or Maiga at nmaiga1@stu.parkland.edu
