PHOTO BY LARRY KWOK
EISS Founding Executive Members
INTERNATIONAL BEGINNINGS
Edwards Launches Students’ Society for International Students
T
hanks to marketing major May Jiao, the Edwards School has a new students’ society! We spoke with May about how the Edwards International Students’ Society (EISS) came to be and what she learned as its inaugural president. THRIVE:Tell us a bit about
yourself. Where are you from? Why did you choose to study at Edwards? MAY JIAO: I’m from Shaanxi, China. I chose to study here because I would love a career in international business. My father owns a small business in my hometown. When I was a little girl, I always went to business events with my dad. I thought it was very interesting. How did the EISS come about? When I was in my first year, I wanted to join the Edwards Business Students’ Society (EBSS) to practice THRIVE
my soft skills but I thought it might be difficult for international students. When Marc Usunier from the Hanlon Centre asked me about international student issues at Edwards, I shared my experiences and noted that we didn’t have enough connection with other international students. Marc surveyed other international students and took our feedback. He started the conversation about creating the students’ society.
The international welcome party in September was the highest attended student-run international student event ever. There were over 90 international students in attendance. What did you take from your experience as president? I’ve improved a lot of my skills, such as leadership, organization, English speaking, and networking. I also made many new friends. More and more
May Jiao
President
Anni Zhang
Vice-President
Zhijun Liu
Marketing Portfolio
Rashid Ahmed
Academic Portfolio
Hans Wang
Social Portfolio
I’ll become a new street marketer for the EBSS. I’m so excited about learning new skills and helping more international students at Edwards. What’s coming up for the EISS this year? Given that it was a huge success, we plan to have another welcome party. Edwards Career Services will give weekly talks about career development, and we’re considering an international student
“WE WANT TO HELP INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS GET INVOLVED IN THEIR NEW COMMUNITY MORE QUICKLY.” What’s the goal of the EISS? We want to help international students get involved in their new community more quickly. We provide them with social networking opportunities as well as academic and community services. How did the EISS celebrate its launch?
international students are getting involved in activities at the school.They ask for help from EISS and share their suggestions. How does EISS work with the Edwards Business Students’ Society (EBSS)? The president of EISS is also a member of the EBSS and attends weekly meetings, so I did that last year. In the 2017-2018 academic year,
job expo to connect with local companies who are willing to hire international students. We also want to work more with other student groups to hold social events. And at the university level, more international students’ societies may be implemented because EISS was so well received and organized.
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