By Lauren Sears
Staff Writer
The College’s first international center officially opened its doors to the campus community in a ribbon cutting ceremony held on Wednesday, April 8. Parisa Khosravi, former senior vice president of CNN Worldwide, began the ceremony with remarks about today’s global society.
“The world is so global now. There’s so much, we’re in contact with students around the world all the time now through social media,” Khosravi said.
The building at 429 Western Ave. was a residence hall a year ago. Plans for opening the Center for International Programs on campus began in the spring semester of 2014.
“Last year it was a residence hall. I know about this time last year Dr. Salavitabar was talking about creating a center and putting various offices together. So this building was identified as one that could be used for this purpose. And a couple of people went on to other opportunities at the College, so we had to start this from scratch,” said Colleen Flynn Thapalia, director of the Center for International Programs.
One of President Stefanco’s platforms is to make Saint Rose become a center of global connectivity.
“The fundamental value given to us by our founders of serving thy dear neighbor is alive and well, and we are reaching out more than ever, to neighborhoods in Albany as well as to neighborhoods in other states and other countries. This is a testament to our core mission and those values,” Stefanco said.
Due to the growing number of international students attending Saint Rose, the International Student Organization was created in 2012.
“We wanted to make our campus connect with the world, in its truest sense. Make our campus conscious of our culture and global concerns. We wanted to encourage ourselves to have a habit of thinking out of the box,” said Michaelle Mugisha, an international student from Burundi. She is one of the student leaders who founded the organization.
Thapalia encourages all students to stop by the center.
“I think students who are not international students might feel like there’s nothing for them here, but that’s the opposite of the truth. Anyone who is interested in getting involved in international issues should come over here. You don’t have to be an international student to join the ISO (International Student Organization), and we do weekly advising for students interested in going abroad,” she said.
Khosravi also spoke about the importance of having a global understanding.
“To have the opportunity to be with each other in a classroom or in a college setting brings that much more understanding for other cultures and customs, which we have to have. We are not an isolated society anymore. I believe through communication and information flow comes more understanding and compassion for each other, and I believe the world needs more of that today. To have an international center is a wonderful start,” Khosravi said.
Working for CNN for 28 years, she has traveled the world extensively. Khosravi said one of the more interesting things she did during her time at CNN was stopping a commercial airliner to make an unscheduled landing to pick up a CNN crew so they could get to a location on time.
She also had some advice for future journalists.
“I highly encourage everybody to get themselves in the environment as often as possible and to make sure it’s what you want to do. Do internships, go volunteer, and go sit and observe,” said Khosravi. “Do whatever it takes and get as much exposure as you can while you’re still in school.”
