Last month, Syracuse University was honored with the 2024 Senator Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization. The university was recognized for its International Student Success Model in the College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

"For international students, the transition to a new educational system, a new way of doing it, as well as an entirely new country that they may not have ever been to previously — that transition affects them at multiple levels," said Dr. Steven Schaffling, assistant dean of International Student Success in the College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell.

Schaffling says they wanted to ease the transition for international students coming to Syracuse University.

"When they get here, we have a specifically designed peer mentor program for international students that follows an academic model and what I mean by that is that we plan out for the mentors and the mentees, what are the topics that they should be engaging on over the course of their first semester," Schaffling said.

"So I came to SU last year and I was a student for the peer mentor program. I think it was very helpful to have an older student who was able to share her experience and answer all my questions and give me access to resources that I wouldn’t have known about unless she was there to direct me," said Ines Harouchi, student assistant for the International Student Success Program.

Harouchi, an international student from Morocco, says even though she went to an American school back home, it was still a bit of a culture shock coming to Syracuse.

"How you greet people, things that you should mention in front of everyone and shouldn’t mention. So I think it was helpful to have someone who could like give me those cues and tell me little rules on how to behave on campus and make sure I’m doing the right things," Harouchi said.

The program was such a positive aspect in Harouchi’s first year at SU that she decided to become a mentor herself.

"I’m still very much in touch with my students from last semester, actually one of them reached out to me when she saw the award we received and she texted me a picture and she said, 'I’m really proud of you, you all deserve this'," Harouchi said.

The Student Success Model was curated back in 2020 and last month, the model was awarded the Senator Simon Spotlight Award by NAFSA: National Association of Foreign Student Advisers, the largest organization in the world that supports international educators.

"After the job posting from Syracuse University, I was like, 'this is what I have seen for many years, I’m so glad it’s happening,' " Dr. Ling LeBau, director of International Student Success for College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell, said.

LeBau says as an international educator for many decades, she has always seen a gap in support for international students.

"This is the recognition of Syracuse University for its innovation and leadership role in providing a holistic approach to our international students," Dr. LeBau said.

LeBau says other universities have reached out to learn more about the student success model to hopefully bring to their campuses.