| RELATED INFO |
| * Purdue International Friendship Program |
September 24, 2008
Record number of Purdue international students to meet friendship families
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
The reception will be at 7 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union's South Ballroom. Michael Brzezinski, associate dean of international programs and director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, said Purdue matched a record 175 families and individuals with students. The previous high was 125 matches.
"To my knowledge this is the largest number of matched student friendship relationships in the country," Brzezinski said. "We certainly can say we are one of the largest, if not the largest."
Brzezinski said Purdue has a long history of having a large international student population, and the community has embraced those students.
"Many families see this as an opportunity to experience a new culture and to welcome students to our community," Brzezinski said. "Since 1995 we've seen this program blossom from 25 matches to close 1,200 people overall through the years.''
The International Friendship Program was developed to create cross-cultural learning opportunities for both students and the local community. The program matches an international student with a friendship family or individual from the Greater Lafayette community. Staff from International Students and Scholars recruit and train community residents as well as students who volunteer for the program. Throughout the year, the students and community residents interact in activities ranging from dinner to outings. There are no financial, legal or housing obligations for the families participating in the program.
Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu
Source: Michael Brzezinski (765) 494-5770, mbrzezinski@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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