Dear friend,
This is a hello from the International Student Peer Network (ISPN) of the School of Education (SOE) at the University of Pittsburgh! We would like to give you our warmest welcome from the School of Education. The ISPN will always be a friendly space to support your academic and social lives during your time at Pitt.
We, the International Student Peer Network, established our group in the Spring 2021, during the pandemic. It was founded to provide academic and social support to international students in PittEd while they were far away from home. Initiated by the Institute for International Studies in Education (IISE) and Department of Foreign Language Education, it has been run as a student-governance network since then. We are also supported by many faculty members in the School of Education, as well as the Council of Graduate Students in Education.
We see ourselves as a bridge across students from different cultures, the School of Education, Pitt, and the Pittsburgh community. By enriching both our academic and living experiences, we hope to support PittEd international graduate students, as well as those with interests in international education by:
- Creating a multilingual, inclusive, friendly, and tight network
- Providing resources and opportunities for academic success and career preparation
- Fostering a belongingness within the school and university, and thus strengthen international diversity in PittEd
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With these general goals in mind, we strive to connect international graduate students in every way we can. During the past year,
- We brought international students together online and onsite in two “Hello friend, we are your peers!” events, and created a space where they could get to know each other (in both English and their mother languages)
- Through “Hello Pittsburgh! Hail to Pitt”, we had great introduction sessions on the city of Pittsburgh, the University, and Posvar Hall – the building in which PittEd located. We also established a line of communication with the PittEd administration by organizing “A Talk with the Assistant Dean for Student Engagement.”
- With consideration of our mental health, we invited guest speakers from the University Counseling Center to share resources that the university provided in “Wellness & Pets” and “Mental Health & Coffee Break”.
- As we returned to in person events, we organized a visit to the Phipps Conservatory during their holiday magic and winter flower light show.
- We also planned fun social events like “Speed Friending” and plan on many more to come, so that international graduate students of PittEd can relax and make connections with each other outside of classrooms.
- We responded to academic and social questions from our peers on their individual demands, and shared many cultural information with SOE graduate students.
- Moving forward, we hope to continue to build the ISPN with you, and continue to strengthen the connections between all international students and those who are interested in international education.
We know that you may have many questions and concerns in mind at this moment, so we would like to introduce you this Q&A Sheet which may help you to get familiar with the Pitt and the city.
Last but not least, we—your peers—are always here to support you! If you have any questions regarding your social and academic life @ Pitt, just let us know!
Look forward to meeting you soon!
Hail to Pitt!
Our warmest regards!
ISPN in SOE
Organizational Team
Yuan Gao, doctoral student in SCAE, yug50@pitt.edu
Ximing Li, doctoral student in SCAE, XIL206@pitt.edu
Terrence Zhang, doctoral student in LLC, TIZ56@pitt.edu
William James Schoy, master’s student in SCAE, WJS43@pitt.edu
Jackie Spiezia, master’s student in SCAE, JRS363@pitt.edu
Supporting Faculty & staff
Dr. Maureen McClure, mmcclure@pitt.edu
Dr. Maureen Porter, mporter@pitt.edu
Dr. Loretta Fernandez, lof7@pitt.edu
Ying-Tung Chou, YIC84@pitt.edu