Global Mentor Program: making international students feel at home
Virginia Tech student Zhoumaocuo, who goes by Pema, arrived in Blacksburg from Tibet in the fall of 2023, feeling as if she had landed in a whole new world.
A Marketing major minoring in International Business in the Pamplin College of Business, Pema was overwhelmed by campus life in a new country. She enrolled in the college’s Global Mentor Program, where she was paired with another student who helped her get acclimated to college life in Blacksburg.
Pema’s mentor took her to dinner, helped her manage her class load and even showed her the best study spots, all of which made it easier for her to truly feel like a Hokie.
“My experience with the Global Mentor Program has been nothing short of transformative,” said Pema, who is now a mentor in the program, which she describes as “a beacon of warmth and understanding in what initially felt like an unfamiliar world.”
Pamplin’s Global Mentor Program began in 2017, and now consists of 35 mentors who work in-person with 100 international students and virtually with another 300 international students. That’s up from just six mentors four years ago when Alessandra Rosetti, who was born and raised in Italy, was selected as the program’s coordinator.
“The Global Mentor Program is more than just a resource,” Rosetti said. “It's a platform for personal growth and learning designed to help students adjust to American and academic life.”
Mentors come from diverse backgrounds, countries and cultures, and each mentor might work with as many as six students. When possible, Rosetti tries to pair a student with a mentor who has a similar background or is from the same home country, which can ease language and cultural barriers.
“A peer is someone who might have gone through something similar at that age,” said Dr. Jennifer Clevenger, Pamplin’s Director of International Programs. “Someone who might have the same international experience and can guide you through the American experience. We want our students to get out and be around everybody, to become a Hokie and not just be transplanted from their own country.”
Students, mentors and staff socialize together — going to movies, bowling, attending football games and doing other activities that help build bonds. When several international students spent Thanksgiving break alone in Blacksburg because they did not have time to travel to their faraway homes, Rosetti took them to a “Friendsgiving” dinner at a local restaurant.
Kshama Purohit, a senior from Mumbai, India, majoring in Cybersecurity Management and Analytics, said that her two mentors became close friends.
“Himani and Opal weren’t just mentors, they became my support system,” Purohit said. “From helping me adjust to campus life to sharing stories about their first roommates, rushing for sororities, and they made everything feel less overwhelming.”
The Global Mentor Program also coordinates events for other specialty offerings, such as a joint degree partnership between Pamplin and Xidian University in Xi'an, China, and another with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in India, that bring students to Virginia Tech to earn degrees. Pamplin’s program also welcomes 24 German students each year through the German Fulbright Summer Institute program.
The mentees are not the only ones who benefit from the experience — mentors also gain a sense of professional and personal fulfillment by helping international students.
“Through this mentorship, I am proud to say that I have grown to be a more empathetic, culturally diverse, and better friend, coworker and person,” said Gabi Rolader, a mentor who is double-majoring in Management, Consulting & Analytics and Marketing with a concentration in Digital Marketing Strategy.
“To be a part of something bigger than myself during my time here at Virginia Tech is something I am so grateful for.”
Written by Ralph Berrier
