The USJ International Department is looking for volunteers to participate in the “Mentor Program” for the 2013-2014 academic year. This is an opportunity for students to get to know other young people from different cultures and countries. Several students have signed up from the Health Science Faculty although the majority of incoming Erasmus students study in the School of Communication.
Noël Soria, the newest member of the International Department team, explains the program: “The Mentor Program is offered to exchange students who come to San Jorge University from Europe and Latin America, especially for those who are not familiar with Zaragoza, our language and/or our culture. We pair an exchange student with a USJ student in order to help them from the beginning of their stay.”
One of the advantages of participating in the mentor program is getting to know other cultures and languages. “Our students should be the friendly face, the helping hand, and the first friendship that can make a world of difference for new exchange students. Moreover, our students can meet people from other countries and cultures as well as learning and practicing other languages (English, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, etc.),” Soria says.
Abdi Erkal is an exchange student from Istanbul University with a major in journalism. Unfortunately he didn’t have a mentor assigned to him but he thinks it would have made things easier for him, “my country and Spain are very different. For a new person at the university it can be hard.”
Another Turkish student from Istanbul University is Damla Baba, a TV and Film major who studied at San Jorge in the Fall semester of the 2012-2013 school year.
Damla had a mentor who helped her with social and educational situations. “It’s important for the mentor not to be afraid to speak English and to understand that international students are shy and experience culture shock. Language is a big problem but students and professors can help by including international students in groups with local students,” she says.
Hacer Betül Yildirim, an advertising student from Kadir Has University in Istanbul, has had a mentor this semester at San Jorge. “My mentor’s name is Sofia. She started helping me two months before I came to Zaragoza. When I arrived in Zaragoza at 2:30 a.m. Sofia and her family were there, at the Delicias Bus Station to pick me up. I lived with them my first week and we have had a great relationship since. If I hadn’t met Sofia and her family, my Erasmus experience wouldn’t be as perfect as it is now. They’re my second family and I’m very grateful to them. I’ll be the mentor when I turn back to Istanbul at my school,” says Bet, as she’s known by her friends here.
“Mentors can be great, especially if they’re following the same course as the international students because they can help them to choose their subjects and give their notes when needed, says Solange Maribe, a journalism student from Nantes.
Por Joseph McMahon
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