Duke International Association

REMINDER: APPLICATIONS DUE IN 3 DAYS!

Want to meet Duke students from around the world and make new friends? Want to enjoy free food, chat with friends over monthly dinners, and watch movies by filmmakers from all over the world? Want to have fun and participate in one of the largest Duke on-campus global festivals -- SpringTernational -- in Spring 2023? Want to hear from companies from all over the world regarding professional mentorship and job opportunities?

Signup to be a general member or apply to be an exec member of Duke International Association! Signups are due on 31st October at 11:59 pm. For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Applications for the Duke International Association are now open!

The Duke International Association is committed to representing the needs of international students and all others interested in creating a multicultural space on campus! We host open events and festivals showcasing diversity on campus; plan panel discussion, professional events, and summits around pressing current affairs with experts and scholars around the globe; and collaborate with the administration to bring large scale policy changes to make Duke more international friendly and globally minded.

Applications are open for general body membership, committee positions, and executive board. The general body member application is a 5-minute survey for us to get to know you better and is not meant to be selective. For the executive board positions, please visit this page for more information.

All applications are due on October 31st at 23:59pm via Qualtrics:
General Member Application: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bHKJdJc0lxM8Y1E
Executive Board and Committee Application: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0PxTfDTZqdWcDJk

You do not need to complete a separate application for General Body Membership.

For any question, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected].

Join Us in The iHouse Painting Kickback!
WHEN: Friday, October 22, from 4-6 PM
WHERE: International House, 2 Epworth Dorm Lane, Duke East Campus.
Event Link: cglink.me/2do/r1342147

Are you an international student, q***r, both, or neither (but really like painting and international snacks)? Join us to eat, chat, and paint canvases to hang up on the walls of the International House. All are welcome and no registration is required.

Painting Kickback Friday - Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Are you an international student, q***r, both, or neither (but really like painting and international snacks)? Join us to eat, chat, and paint canvases to hang up on the walls of the International ...

Skylar Montague — South Africa and Morocco

I grew up in South Africa and Morocco, but my parents are from the United States. I am Class of 2024 and am planning to major in Biology and Minor in Arabic. With this, I hope to do research in genetics in the future. I am specifically interested in conducting research on genetic diseases and doing genetic engineering, such as using CRISPR to modify DNA. My favorite food is Thai food, like stir fry and curry, especially curry with shrimp. I really enjoy playing sports, and like going to the gym and playing basketball. I also really enjoy art, like drawing, painting and playing the piano. I also love doing outdoor activities such as hiking, going for walks and just being in nature in general.

I was born and raised in Morocco. I went to an American school there. When I was sixteen, I decided to apply to a boarding school in South Africa because I was looking for a bit of a change, be more independent, meet new people and be in a different schooling environment. I got into the school I had applied to, which was called African Leadership Academy, so I moved to South Africa and attended. There, I was able to meet so many amazing people from all over the African continent, and I was able to solidify what I wanted to study in the future as I was able to meet with many really interesting professors and explore my interests.

COVID hit when I was in my senior year of high school. I was in South Africa at the time, and the situation there was pretty bad. All flights were suspended, so I could not go home to Morocco, so I was stuck there for a while. Eventually, I was able to get a flight to the US, and I stayed with my Aunt for a while until I was able to find a job. It was very hectic, and it definitely impacted my life in the sense that my family was supposed to come to visit me in South Africa for my graduation and come to see my school, which they had never done before, so that was unfortunate. The entire situation definitely forced me to become more independent, especially during the summer, because I had to find my own housing and a job and things to do because I could not get home. It was very stressful, but it made me thankful for the time I did spend at home when I was finally able to get back home in August. So I did decide to take my first semester of classes at Duke online from home, which did make me feel isolated from the community here, but it was also some really valuable time that I got to spend with my family because my brother was also home, as he goes to school in Paris.

Remote learning last semester was definitely a challenge just because I felt so disconnected from the community. I didn’t really know anyone here, and I had never visited campus before. This made me feel like I wasn’t really a Duke student. However, now that I am on campus, remote learning has made it challenging to concentrate on my classes, but it has not been too much of an issue just because now I feel like I am part of the community of students here, so it has been really great.

I applied to duke ED my senior year of high school through the Common App. I wrote a story about my transition moving to South Africa when I was 16 years old for my essay. I think my application was unique because I had moved around growing up, and I had met a lot of interesting people in South Africa and worked on a lot of cool projects.

As an international student, meeting other students who didn’t grow up in the US is really meaningful to me because I did have a little bit of a culture shock moving here because even though my parents are from US, I didn’t grow up here so I didn’t know what living here would be like. However, I also am trying to immerse myself in the culture because I think that provides a lot of meaningful experiences. I think my experiences growing up and where I’ve lived make me unique. Additionally, I have a very diverse network of friends because most of the friends I made in South Africa weren’t only from South Africa and were from different countries. Therefore, I think this, along with my experience growing up in Morocco and South Africa, allow me to bring a different perspective to Duke because a lot of people are unaware of what life is like there.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Thank you duke SHAPE and planned parenthood duke for painting this incredible mural to help raise awareness about this issue. IA stands with survivors in the fight to end sexual violence.

As spring is coming and flowers are blooming, the International House and DuWell invite you to take a study break and join us in wellness walks at the Duke Gardens.

Date & Time: April 20th, 3:45 to 5:15 pm
Location: Duke Gardens (Hanes gate)
Register: bit.ly/ihousewalk

This walk is open to undergraduate and graduate students, and spaces are limited on a first-come-first-serve basis. Walks will happen rain or shine (unless there's the threat of severe weather). Contact Ling Jin at [email protected] with questions.

Christina Akira Yoh – Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore

I’m a freshman tentatively double majoring in Biology and Computer Science, but I’m still pretty undecided. I might want to do an Innovation & Entrepreneurship certificate as well. I’m thinking about going into consulting and then hopefully going into the Biotechnology field afterwards. I like to run, and I did a lot of running in high school, but now I just run for fun. I also have a YouTube channel! I like to make food, and when I was at home, I made a lot of brunch foods, like oatmeal bowls, açai bowls, and avocado toast. Nothing really fancy, but I would make it every morning. I honestly love all foods, but I really love sushi and Japanese food. I love eating salmon rolls, sashimi, and poke bowls. I also love Greek and Mediterranean food. I’m a big chocolate lover, so I’m down for anything with chocolate, from chocolate chip cookies to cakes to brownies. Recently, though, I’ve been hooked on the Thai iced tea from Bella Union!
I have a twin sister, so growing up with her, doing a lot of things together, and having someone always there was a big part of my childhood. I also have a brother who’s a senior in high school, so we’re all really close in age. We fight a lot but we’re also really close and get along pretty well, so being very close to my siblings defined my childhood.
I think COVID has definitely impacted my college experience. Last semester, I did remote learning in Singapore. I wasn’t here for the first semester, while everyone else was eagerly meeting new people. On the other hand, I can’t look back now and say whether it would’ve been better to come to campus last semester. I’m just glad I’m here now, and I’m adjusting pretty well.
Of course, remote learning and social distancing aren’t fun for anyone, but I think I’ve been able to make do with online learning. I try to get myself to go to as many classes as possible and keep myself accountable. I try to go to all my classes (except the 8:30s), so I think that has kept me pretty well-engaged. Getting out of my room during the day and studying a lot more, either outside or in a common space has also helped. Other than that, it’s been fun to hang out with a smaller group of friends—we’ve been able to get food together, go thrift shopping, and even visit the Eno.
I applied to Duke RD. I was heavily debating applying ED. I should’ve, but I didn’t. The process was pretty good—Duke was one of the top schools I wanted to get into, but it was also one of the latest acceptances I got, so it was really nerve-wracking to wait for. It was a long process, as I didn’t have any decisions until the end of March, save for one ED, so it was a lot of waiting. But once I got into Duke, I had to decide between a few schools. Ultimately, I went with my gut instinct, and thinking back, Duke was the school I was happiest to get into, so I based my decision on my visceral, emotional reaction to each of my acceptances. I love the culture here and the balance people have between academics and socializing and having a more well-rounded college experience. I really appreciate all of that. I filmed all my college decision reactions, and they’re all on YouTube. Duke decisions went out on “Ivy Day”, and it was definitely nice to get that acceptance. I opened the decision with my family around me, and they knew Duke was a school I really wanted to get into, so it was really exciting for everyone and just a really nice experience in general.
I joined IA because I wanted to find an international community here at Duke, as I definitely identify as a TCK. I’m definitely someone who’s grown up internationally, from growing up in Singapore with no actual Singaporean citizenship to going to an American international school, so I really appreciated a community where you can interact with people with different perspectives and cultures. Right before my freshman year, when the big concern was visas and international students coming to campus, I realized we needed to be heard. I wanted to advocate for international student issues and having a community here really helps. Another key reason for joining was just being able to have people who’ve gone through the experiences you’re going through or being able to help other people when they start meeting the challenges you’ve faced.
As an international student, I really value diversity of opinion and perspectives. If you’re brought up in a place where everyone’s very homogenous, where everyone thinks the same way, it’s hard to break out of that cycle and see other people who think differently and think there’s nothing wrong with that. I was brought up internationally, interacting with people of different journeys, cultural and religious backgrounds, so it really opened me up to valuing all of those different perspectives while having my own personal values and beliefs.
I think my background makes me unique, at least when compared to the typical student body, but I also think every single person is unique due to the experiences they bring. I just hope to be someone that can help others and hope to be known as someone who is helpful, approachable, and always open to meeting new people.

**This is IA's International Student Spotlight project to introduce international students and their experiences to the Duke community. We hope to continue this for the rest of the school year, bringing you a post once a week, every week. We plan to showcase Duke international students, their diverse and unique interests, experiences with COVID and remote learning, as well as their identities and passions- Brought to you by IA.**

Iris Education is a Northwestern-based startup, building an app to help international students learn more about US college culture. They are currently looking to hire campus ambassadors that are open to chatting with international high school students about their transition to college, student life and academic pace! They offer 90% of our revenue to the ambassador and the time commitment is completely based on your availability. You can learn more by checking out their website (https://iris.education/), Instagram () or emailing: [email protected]

International Students! Here is a CPT video to help you guys out! We recommend that you to watch it if it applies to you :)

Curriculum Practical Training (CPT) - Summer 2021 Duke Student Government's Equity and Outreach Committee created this video to inform Duke students about the CPT course offerings and procedures for the summ...

Sua Cho - South Korea

Hey guys! I’m a freshman planning to do an IDM in Psychology and VMS! In my free time I love to read, paint, dance or mess around with my friends. My favorite food is meat but I really don’t mind what I eat because I love eating. Fun fact about me, I’ve told this story so many times, but in 5th grade a gang of my friends and I got in trouble for trying to summon evil spirits in the men's bathroom 😉

I applied ED to Duke so I got my acceptance letter before Christmas! It was so nice to get to chill over the winter and also do absolutely nothing my last semester in high school 🙂 I had a few in person classes last semester, but all my classes are online this semester. Surprisingly, I got used to remote learning very fast and sometimes even like that I never have to leave my room. But of course, I wish COVID would be over soon and we get to see what normal college life looks like.

Welcome to Duke International Association! Welcome to Duke International Association!!Duke International Association works towards creating a social, cultural and academic environment at Duke that add...

This evening marks the beginning of Passover, a Jewish holiday! Passover ends next Sunday, lasting eight nights. It is the celebration of the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Please be mindful that some students will not be eating any leavened food products during this time. The image depicted above is the Seder, which is a ritualized dinner with a lot of symbolic meaning. Happy Passover!