According to Coordinator of International Student Programs and English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor Sandi Seiler, there are four Chinese students that will be attending their first day of school on January 23.

The process of having the students prepare to come to JC began last year.  “Last year John Carroll selected The Cambridge Institute of International Education to support our efforts in the recruitment of strong, international applicants . . . Once we receive an applicant’s file, a Skype interview is arranged.  I conduct the interviews along with Ms. Ball and Mr. Roberts,” Seiler said.

Seiler explains the significance of the interviews, which “help us get to know the applicants better and assess their language skills. Once we have reviewed each applicant’s file and completed a virtual interview, an admissions decision is made and Cambridge lets the student know about our decision,” Seiler said.

The students will be staying with host families while they are here.  Sophomore Xiaozhou “William” Du is staying with math teacher Susan Kraft’s family, sophomore Luyuan “Iris” Jin is staying with freshman Bethany Toy’s family, junior Jinyu “Maggie” Huang is staying with Seiler’s family, and freshman Yi Yang is staying with Nurse Laura Frank’s family.

Seiler is going to hold a New International Student Orientation starting on Tuesday, Jan. 17.  The orientation program is designed to get the new international students ready for their first day of school.

According to Seiler, their first day will include a general welcome to the community and a campus tour.  This will be followed by individual sessions with Seiler and Director of Guidance Carol Heflin-Shupe to review the students’ official transcripts and classes.

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, there will be “intercultural training, including information on living with an American family and cultural differences [and] expectations they will experience in the classroom,” Seiler said.  This will be followed by information on how to read the class schedule and bell schedule.

According to Seiler, on Jan. 19, the Chinese transfer students will receive their tablet computers and “learn about the use of technology at JC.”

“After the orientation program each day, host families will be busy getting students what they need for their first day of classes, [such as] uniforms, books, and supplies . . . and of course introducing them to their new surroundings,” Seiler said.

The Chinese students are expected to arrive on January 15.

Read the News story about the ESL program here.

Read the News story detailing the first day of classes for the Chinese students here.

Grace Kim is the Online Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.