Program aimed at pairing students

By Drew Hampton, Staff Writer

International students at OCCC face a potentially jarring transition from the life they knew at home to life as a foreign student in Oklahoma.

This fall, the college is beginning a program called Latitude to help alleviate this sense of culture shock.

Latitude will pair first-year international students with native student volunteers, said Student Life Programs Coordinator Jon Horinek.

“We have between 300 and 400 international students who are here from more than 60 countries,” Horinek said.

“One of [their] biggest challenges is making friends … we’re going to help these students find mentors,” he said.

While Latitude will be similar to a student organization with weekly and monthly meetings, potential volunteers will be put through a screening process to try and match them with students who have with students who have similar interests.

Paired students are encouraged to stay in touch and hang out, said Horinek.

“It’s a neat way to meet someone who has a world view and experiences that are probably completely different from your own,” he said.

After a period of training, the volunteers would have the responsibility of advising their partners on the rules and regulations regarding international students, showing them how the college’s services and systems work, and helping them adapt to the culture.

International students who have spent two semesters or more at the college also are welcome to volunteer for the program.

Horinek said a Latitude website is currently in the works and promotion of the program will begin in the next few weeks.

Both efforts will be aimed at determining how interested students are in the program, he said. Sign-up sheets will be available at that time.

“We don’t want to advertise this … and then not be able to have enough students to pair people with,” Horinek said.

For more information about the Latitude program, contact Horinek at 405-682-1611, ext. 7697, by e-mail at jhorinek@occc.edu, or drop by his office in Student Life.

Staff Writer Drew Hampton can be reached at StaffWriter1@occc.edu.