From Around the World to Your College

By Lesley Isaacs
MC Media Specialist

For the average person, Midland, Texas doesn’t seem like an exciting locale, but over 60 international students now call Midland, Texas and Midland College (MC) their temporary home. Most people wouldn’t think that there would be many international students attending MC. However, there are currently 24 nations being represented by the international students who are enrolled at MC with student visas. Throughout the years, there have been 90 nations represented by international students at MC.

Africa has consistently led all regions in sending international students to MC. One such student is Amadomo Saye. Amadomo is from Mali in West Africa and is currently the International Student Club president.

Saye said, “When I graduated from high school, I went to the university in my country (Mali, West Africa) to learn languages. That’s where I learned English and French, I took some classes in German too. In 2001, which was my first year of university, I met a missionary named Bill Johnson at my church. He was from First Baptist Church, Midland and was looking for somebody to interpret for him in the mission field in my country. I served as an interpreter for him and others for 9 years. It is through being an interpreter that I met this missionary and learned about Midland College.”

Amadomo Saye is studying Business Administration at MC and plans to stay for two more years to get a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and Applied Technology.
“After getting my bachelor’s degree, I plan to go home and open an electrical company to help develop my country and help other young people who went to school like me but did not get the chance to be employed. In other words, open job opportunities and help decrease the unemployment rate,” said Saye.

The International Student Club was founded in 2002 by Michael Makowsky and Lynda Webb. Many of the international students are required to take a college level ESL class, which is where Makowsky and Webb got the idea to form a club for these students. They started with a food fair and used the proceeds to pay for a field trip for the students. Now the food fair and field trips are annual events.

“We want to show them a part of West Texas they haven’t seen,” said Makowsky.
The Mission Statement for MC’s International Students Club is: Located in the heart of West Texas, the International Student Club (ISC) at Midland College is dedicated to promoting the international spirit among our fellow students, the campus community and the local community at large, and to building a truly international community of students at Midland College.

Saye said that the ISC “makes me feel at home, in a family and makes me strong to see that I have other people from Africa and other countries I can hang out with. We can share our problems and help each other as international students. The most important part is that we learn from each other. I learned different cultures, traditions, backgrounds, perceptions, visions, lifestyles and beliefs that I was not aware of before I came here. Being in the club allowed me to get connected and meet many people.”

Many international students face different obstacles but all say that they are far from home and must rely on the community to help them with unique issues that may arise.

When asked what he wanted the community to know about international students, Saye said, “First, many international students are struggling in their school life. Some of them have a language barrier, transportation and financial difficulties, etc. A few people are struggling with lifestyle, food and social problems because they have a problem integrating with others. The biggest difficulty is where to live/stay or where to go when the dorms are closed for Christmas or summer holiday. It is hard and expensive to live the entire summer in a hotel or go home for Christmas holiday every year. International students need to be told all these things. Another thing is the number of hours we can work as students in order to cover our tuition and other expenses. It is really difficult to work 19 hours a week and pay for room and board and tuition. These are some of the difficulties we face in everyday life as international students.”

Michael Makowsky, the ISC faculty sponsor, said, “They are everyday kids like all the other students here. They want to finish school, get a degree, a job and have a family but they face unique situations like visas, insurance that includes repatriation and higher tuitions.”

Membership in the ISC is open to any Midland College student, staff, family member or friend who has an interest in the student life issues of international students.

The international students at MC are going through a journey unimaginable to most of us. The support for these students from MC and the community is invaluable to their success while they are here.