EDUCATION AT MIZZOU

EDUCATION AT MIZZOU

EDUCATION AT MIZZOU

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Educational Experiences at Mizzou

Receiving a readily available and quality education has been a privilege that I have received my

entire life. Feeling comfortable and included at school has also been a privilege. The privileges I receive

are the resources and opportunities given to me based on my race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and other

statuses. In America, I have a geographical privilege that gives me the opportunity to receive an American

education with minimal barriers. For International students, receiving an American education is a much

more difficult process. I attended the Mizzou student-run Multicultural Hour, a resource for international

and study abroad students to discuss their education, meet people from all over the world, and ask

questions about settling into life at Mizzou. The Multicultural Hour is run by students and faculty from

the Asian Affairs Center and supported by the International Center. Anyone can attend the Multicultural

Hour and while there, I noticed a good mix of international, study-abroad, and American student. The

Multicultural hour is easily accessible on Mizzou’s campus in the Memorial Union building close to the

Student Center. It is held once a week on Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and often hosts culturally

celebrative activities. The Multicultural Hour aims to provide a culturally dynamic atmosphere to provide

education, appreciation, and resources to those who need it. I decided to attend the Multicultural Hour for

my cultural humility activity to further step out of my comfort zone and hear from international students

the various barriers of receiving an education in America. For me, American education has been an

assumption and an over-looked privilege. For many of the students I talked with, receiving an American

education can be a difficult and strenuous struggle to receive and maintain.

According to Harro (2004), socialization is the way of which we learn rules, roles, and

assumptions of people through education, media, family, friends, and other influences. Growing up in

America, I have been socialized with certain traditions, actions, stereotypes, and assumptions that have

pioneered my social interactions. For international and study-abroad students, adapting to a new society

where the majority of the population has been socialized in a similar, if not the same, way is a difficult

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aspect of their educational experience to navigate. Becoming familiar with certain Holidays, celebrations,

food customs, social customs, and American culture can be a large barrier for them to feel comfortable

and accepted during their education. According to the Counseling Center of Mizzou (2016), many

international students experience culture shock, which is the initial shock someone has when becoming

immersed in a culture much different than their own. From culture shock, international students often

experience extreme homesickness, stress, changes in appetite, intense loyalty to home culture, depression,

and many others. When talking with some of the students, they told me that adapting to American society

was a rather difficult thing to do, ranging from language barriers to religious barriers to cultural ones. For

example, a student I talked to told me he’d never heard of tailgating before arriving at Mizzou and for the

first few months felt intimidated and left out of the festivities. Social events at Mizzou and in Columbia

are a large part of the educational experience and is something I have been privileged to take part in

without considering why it was so easy for me to feel like I fit in. However, international and study-

abroad students can often miss out on these activities either because they don’t know they’re happening or

because they aren’t invited. Being introduced to a new society can be overwhelming and difficult. Many

students I talked to said it was difficult to meet people outside of Mizzou sponsored events and classes.

This social barrier can skew the educational experience for an international or study-abroad student.