Interview with International Students Association Sina Mirzaei
Can you inform us about your society? As each international student in campus is automatically a member of International Students Association, Today ISA is the biggest society in the campus with all international and active Turkish and Cypriot members of this community. The main goal and the reason of establishment of ISA is to promote diversity and share the beauty of different cultures from different parts of the world together with variety of events. A journey that started with almost 30 international students, today it is an honor and great pleasure to tell that over 600 students from different parts of the world are utilizing this platform to their benefit. ISA’s humble beginning of appreciating diverse cultures was not an effort of one but to a handful of committed individuals who shared the common vision of celebrating diversity and seeing the best among all of us.
What are your activities as ISA?
As International Students Association we are organizing entertainment events, seminars, trips, festivals, meetings with country representatives and in addition to these, we are having holding small meetings to teach and learn Turkish together in order to lift the language barrier. International Food Festival, being held for the 11th time, is one of the most popular and traditional events in METU NCC with more than 10 countries coming together to represent their cuisines. Beside International Food Festival, ISA is organizing short trips around the Cyprus, international music festivals, METU GOT TALENT, and color festivals.
What are your plans for upcoming term?
As the society gets larger each semester by new international students coming to the university and new Turkish members joining the society to help us organizing events, ISA should focus on more collaboration and new events which can reach more audience and can bring more people together. Moreover, we are trying to work with Folklore, and Theater Clubs more to create sub branch groups in each society in order to get a platform for international students to establish and train their own dance and theater groups.
What else you want to say before we finish the interview?
As ISA’s current president I wish that this Association will improve the integration level of students in campus even more and continue the tradition of putting splendid events on the stage in future as well. Thanks.