It can be difficult attending college far away from home. Students studying at Elizabethtown from different countries know this all too well. The change in culture and sometimes language can be overwhelming, but the Office of International Student Services is working to brighten these students’ days with its Random Acts of Kindness initiative.
Kristi Syrdahl, director of International Student Services, has made the conscious effort to surprise the college’s 62 international students with a random gift during the academic year. These small tokens can go a long way.
The department does many things to help the international students, from making sure they are registered for documents that ensure they can stay in the United States to helping them understand American culture. Syrdahl works tirelessly to ensure the students are enjoying their time at E-town College and in the United States.
Kindness inspires kindness.”
Syrdahl fills many roles for the international students and the College. She is an officer of the government, serving as primary designated school administrator. In this role she keeps the college informed on all immigration related government regulations and helps students maintain the status of U.S. citizen. “I get a lot of very diverse questions; every day is different,” she said.
She also is an adviser to the students, from helping them with class selection to showing them how to apply for drivers’ licenses. She also helps them understand what it means to be an American citizen. Another role she fills is programming. She plans an abundance of activities for domestic and international students that demonstrate the cultures represented at the College.
One of these programs is Random Acts of Kindness. Students involved in the international leadership assistance team are given names of all international students. They have a set amount of time to deliver some sort of gift to the students. In doing so, they don’t give credit themselves. Instead, they acknowledge Random Acts of Kindness and International Student Services.
A theme is set when the names are distributed to the leaders. They use this theme to determine what they will get or make for the students. These Acts of Kindness can be as simple as a homemade card. This year’s theme is “it’s not about the money.” Syrdahl wants students to create a card or some sort of craft for the international students. She strongly feels that creativity is something students need, and crafts are a way for them to channel some of that creativity.
“Everyone brings their own spin to it,” said Syrdahl. “It can be something like a card, chocolate, ramen noodles, etc. No matter the gift, though, the student enjoys it.” She encourages students to make their own gifts because it adds a personal touch to the idea of the act. Although most of the gifts are handmade, Syrdahl has allocated a micro budget to fund this initiative.
“Very small things go a long way” she said. “Kindness inspires kindness.”
All the activity in this group can be seen on its Tumblr page. Families and friends are able to see the gifts a student might receive and hear other updates about the student. This initiative has had great success this year and students have already begun receiving some of their gifts.