Going Virtual – iFriends

When we were facing the Fall 2020 semester and recognizing our work and interactions with students would be virtual, one great sadness we felt was towards our Supper Club initiative. Over the last three years, Supper Club was one of our most popular opportunities we provided to students and local volunteers. We still wanted to connect students and local volunteers together, so enter iFriends.

iFriends still provides the opportunity to meet local friends, expand your personal network of friends, and meet a number of new people–those in the local area AND other international student peers studying at Duke. 

The concept is simple, virtually meet with your group at least once a month. There are no set topics to talk about so you can take a break from thinking about schoolwork, research, or papers and you can learn new things from new friends! We hope in the near future containment of COVID-19 will allow you and your group to meet in person. But for now, as we navigate life over the internet, it is welcoming to have a safe space to socialize and meet new people.

BUT HERE’S THE THING: iFriends starts THIS WEEKEND when students and volunteers will meet for the first time. So if you want to join in on this awesome opportunity for the Fall semester, you need to register now! We can’t wait for you to join us! 

Register Here

-Rebekah

Name: A Brief History

Name.  What does your name mean?  Who named you?  How do you find your name to have in some way formed who you are and who you are still becoming?

Not long after World War II the first small wave of “foreign” students began enrolling in USA universities.  Among the Americans observing this phenomenon were a few who banded together to offer practical assistance – transportation, housing, language, food, friendship, faith nurture – to interested students.  That group of American servers, motivated in no small part by their reverence for the living God, launched a not-for-profit organization in order help fund their efforts.  Several of them became the first staff of that organization.  They named it, International Students, Inc.

Sixty-seven years later several hundred campus staff and thousands of community volunteers, many with cross-cultural life experience themselves, continue to be guided by that name.  Their serving efforts continue to focus on international students and visiting scholars (many with families too) – more than 1 million in the USA during 2019-20!

Yes, names may be modified; nicknames emerge. Do you have a nickname?  Acronyms for organizations may evolve too.  International Students, Inc. is no different: ISI was the shortened version for a couple of decades.  In the Durham area we have modified it to iStudents , but our focus remains clear.

Since ISI-at-Duke’s early years (1986) the demographics of the international population have changed dramatically: from a few hundred to 4000+ non-North American (one hundred nations) passport holders. The complexion of our efforts to come alongside students & scholars is constantly changing according to perceived needs & interests of participants.  Also, frankly speaking, the interests and abilities of ISI staff and our volunteers also change .  Past initiatives included, for example: Trips with a Difference, Orientation breakfasts, Wives’ Cooking Class, Florida Christmas Conference, International Coffee Hour, Airport Welcome, China Friends, 239 Steps and Christian fellowship groups.

If you have read this far, know that you and your name are important to us!  We look forward to becoming better acquainted and appreciated – mutually so!  Drop us a note to get it going!  My name is Scott Hawkins – how British is that!

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