|
Receive the latest Shorthorn
updates in your e-mail inbox.
Enter your Email address below
STUDENTS
LOCAL
|
Finding Their Way to UTA
International students talk about
what it takes to study far from home
The Shorthorn staff
Accounting senior Jamal El Yousef has experienced a new sense of freedom
since arriving at the university.
He spent his life censoring his speech and monitoring his actions for
fear of repercussions from the government.
However, like other teenagers, El Yousef spent a lot of time playing basketball
with friends, going to clubs and visiting coffee shops at home in Jerusalem.
“Because of the situation between Israel and Palestine, the security
there is much more strict,” he said. “You don’t feel
like you can move around freely as much as you can here.”
El Yousef’s mother didn’t want him to move thousands of miles
away, but his father, who attended the university in the ’70s, supported
his son’s decision to get an education overseas.
The university makes a face for itself outside the U.S. Representatives
on the university’s behalf take frequent trips to high schools,
universities and major cities around the world to promote the Maverick
lifestyle.
The International Education Office, graduate schools and individual colleges
target
different areas to send staff members. Being a part of the UT System and
near D/FW Airport are good selling points for potential students, office
executive director Judy Young said.
The Shorthorn: Robert Rodriguez
Accounting senior Jamal El Yousef chose the university for its strong accounting
program.
“The best way to promote the university is through a satisfied student
or alum telling his or her family members, friends, classmates from high
school and the university about UTA,” she said. “That’s
the No. 1 promoter that we have.”
El Yousef’s main interest in the university, besides his alumnus
father, was the accounting program and what he considers a low cost of
living.
“I was 17 when I first came to UTA,” El Yousef said. “The
first few days, it was a bit of a culture shock because I didn’t
know anybody. You get used to it really fast. I lived in a dorm, so it
wasn’t really hard to make friends.”
Living in the U.S. wasn’t completely new to him because he had visited
Texas and California several times before.
Architecture senior D.A. Miranda-Figueroa left behind the tropical green
forests of David, Panama, to attend a Texas university and in order to
live closer to his father.
After being accepted to Rice University, Texas Tech University, UT-Austin
and UTA, Miranda-Figueroa chose UTA because it stood out among other colleges,
with its tuition price and proximity to Dallas and Fort Worth, where there
are lots of activities.
His father preferred his own alma mater, Texas Tech. But Miranda-Figueroa
didn’t find the atmosphere there inviting.
The Shorthorn: Robert Rodriguez
Architecture senior D. A. Miranda-Figueroa stands in front of a poster
detailing one of his projects.
As a senior in high school, Miranda-Figueroa did his own research to investigate
several Texas colleges to study architecture. He said the paperwork for
the university was long and tedious.
“It took a while,” he said. “I graduated high school
when I was 16. I had to wait until I was 18 before moving to the United
States because if you do it before 18, you’re still a minor. I moved
and went to a junior college in East Texas. I wasn’t supposed to
go there, but since everything at UTA was taking so long, I had no choice.”
All students from non-native English-speaking countries are required to
take the Test of English as a Foreign Language, and all international
students must take the Texas Higher Education Assessment, SAT, acquire
a student visa and provide proof of financial
reliability for one school year — about $27,000 — before being
accepted to the university.
Miranda-Figueroa said the easiest part of the enrollment process was the
English test. After he spoke fluent English to the test proctors, they
joked at the idea of him needing to take it.
“I talked to the people, and they were like, ‘I don’t
think you should’ ” he said.
|
Today
Final withdraw for non-payment -Summer II
Last date to drop or withdraw (Graduate)
Wesley Foundation Event Bible Study: 7 p.m., 311 UTA Blvd. Gospel of John. Free
food. For information, contact Kent Seuser at 817-274-6282 or wesfnuta@swbell.net.
Full Calendar
|
