Counseling services promote academic success among international students

Erica Terrini

News Editor

International students attended the second meeting of the Academic Success Program for International Students Tuesday in the University Student Commons, hosted by University Counseling Services and the Office of International Education.

The Academic Success Program is a series of meetings held Tuesdays at the end of each month. The last meeting covered the process of critical thinking for attending students.

Clara Kreis, originally from Germany, is an intern at the University Counseling Center. Kreis facilitated last Tuesday’s meeting.

“A lot of international students come from parts of the world where they have not been trained in critical thinking, they have been trained to memorize and to answer multiple choice tests,” Kreis said. “When they come to the U.S. and they are asked to write essays or critically analyze research, they don’t have the background.”

Kreis said she covered the basic steps of what critical thinking means by using an activity in which students responded to two questions individually, in a small group and then in a large group.

“Using those two questions, we were able to have an applied example of how research develops and the steps you critically go about when you make an argument,” Kreis said.

Hong Zhang, an adjunct faculty credit instructor for International Support Services is originally from Beijing, China. Zhang said she attended the meeting to learn more about American culture and to better understand her American students.

“I have to understand the local students here,” Zhang said. “The Chinese students and American students are totally different. I came here to learn more about the culture and critical thinking. I understand the concept but for applying it in daily work, I feel I still need a lot more (help).”

Kreis said her experience as an international student inspired her to reach out to other international students in need of assistance with the acculturation process like Zhang.

Jinhee Kang, the academic program creator and staff psychologist for University Counseling Services said reaching out to international students was what inspired her to create the program at VCU.

Kang, originally from South Korea, said as a former international student she understands the difficulties many international students face because of language differences and other cultural differences.

“When you try hard based on your own experience in your own country and your hard work is not helpful, it is difficult,” Kang said. “Through my own personal experience I found it was really important to learn the (educational) system in the United States.”

Kang said the meetings focus on cultural adjustments, cultural difference and communication.

“It’s basic academic skills but it’s not just learning skills because a lot of skills are culturally related and when you come from a different culture and different system, you get lost,” Kang said.

Kang also hosts the International Studies Women’s Support Group in the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the University Student Commons to address not only cultural differences but gender-related differences for female international students. The support group is held each Tuesday.