International Students at Russell Sage

Written by Samantha Brierley

The fall 2009 semester at The Sage Colleges brought in many new faces from a variety of countries around the globe. Eleven students from Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, Russia and Turkey are among the countries that will be studying with The Sage Colleges this fall. In addition, ten students from China will also be studying at The Sage Colleges.

Josie Han, an exchange student from Shanghai, China is among 10 of those from the SIFT (Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade) program. She is a finance major. She is excited about her experience, so far, in the United States. “I love American culture, we can be whoever we want. This is a kingdom full of freedom; people here are very nice and enthusiastic and energetic.” Han said.
For Chinese students, Han said that studying abroad is normal. She has many goals and one of her goals is to learn more about United States culture. “The sparks between different countries’ culture is exciting and thoughtful.” For Han, there isn’t any language barrier except for one thing; expressing her thoughts to the full extent. However, students in China speak and think in English all the time, she explained. “Our listening skill is much better than our speaking skill; sometimes we have lots of ideas we want to share but it is hard to find the appropriate word to describe it. I think we can do it very well; we just need sometime. Han said. She is no stranger to the English language, which was learned in her Primary School years which is about 11.
She explained that in China, English is and important skill in the job market and that almost every student in China wants to learn English.
For years, The Sage Colleges has had an agreement with the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade through Sage Graduate School Dean John Tribble. “It was his hard work which lead to this exchange program.” Said Sabrina McGinty, Director of Cultural Enrichment and Diversity at The Sage Colleges. She explained that students in Shanghai must go through an informal selection process by SIFT before completing their study abroad application, submitting a Test of English as a Foreign Language scored and also write an essay as to why they would like to study in the United States, visit Sage and their goals.
“Sage has a way of helping people feel welcomed, and our visitors have experienced a wonderful transition to our community as a result.” Mcginty said.