By Maggie Forrester, University Communications Student Assistant

I nternational Student Day is today, Nov. 17. Georgia College & State University has been hosting international students for more than 70 years.

A 1945 article from “The Colonnade” about Georgia State College for Women’s International Relations Club – whose membership roster included famed alumna Mary Flannery O’Connor – said, “The purpose of the International Relations Club is to foster interest in and knowledge of international affairs among students on this campus.”

Farah Dawood, a current GCSU international student hailing from Behera, Egypt, recently shared her experience saying, “Everyone at GCSU is so welcoming of international students. It was like that from the first minute I got here.” 

Currently, there are over 40 students from 23 different countries represented at Georgia College. These countries include Argentina, Congo, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Kenya, Republic of Korea (South), Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Vietnam and Zambia. 

Dr. James Callaghan, director of the International Education Center at Georgia College, spoke about the invaluable contributions of international students. 

“Students coming to us from other lands bring us new knowledge, perspectives and experiences,” Callaghan said, “allowing us to better recognize and understand not only the vastness and complexity of our world, but also the beauty, uniqueness and interconnectedness of each element in the world, and of each of us.”

International Student Day serves as a time for cultural exchange, diversity and solidarity from other students. Dawood added, “It makes me happy to see more and more American students in our meetings, they’re curious to know about students from other countries. It fosters a bond between us.”

The history of International Student Day can be traced all the way back to 85 years ago when Nazi Germany occupied the country of Czechoslovakia. On Nov. 17, 1939, Nazi soldiers closed the University of Prague (Charles University) in Czechoslovakia, executed several students and professors, and sent hundreds of students to concentration camps. 

In 1992, Czechoslovakia came to a peaceful agreement and dissolved into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, on Dec. 31. Today these two countries honor Nov. 17 as a public holiday.