International Student Graduation Reception Draws Record Numbers

Over three hundred people attended the May 18 reception at the ICC that was hosted by Texas Tech's Office of International Affairs for all graduating international students (graduate and undergraduate) and their visiting friends and family. Interim President John Opperman, Provost Lawrence Schovanec, Graduate Dean Mark Sheridan – in addition to Vice Provost Tibor Nagy and Associate Vice Provost Sukant Misra – made remarks congratulating the international Red Raiders on their well-deserved accomplishment. While successfully completing university is difficult enough for US students, internationals have the added challenge of operating in a “foreign” culture, environment, and language. Our international students bring tremendous benefits to our campus – not only by enriching academics with their intellect and research capabilities – but also by expanding our domestic students' international awareness. This is especially important given today's accelerating globalization where global competence and competitiveness are essential skills for all US graduates.