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Applications pour in for International Appalachian |
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Thursday, 13 September 2007 |
 The organization’s vice president, senior political science major Amanda B. Edgell, works in the International Appalachian office during fall recruitment. Alisha Park
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by ASHLEY BENNERS
Lifestyles Reporter
In 2005, Nicole Hawkins, April Kappler, and Katelin Kennedy pitched the idea for a new organization called International Appalachian and were literally stopped mid-presentation.
The founders were not even required to finish their presentation before they were granted university funding.
Charlie Medlin, a senior double major in political science and French and current IntApp president, was there from the beginning.
Along with the three founders, Medlin helped to create the constitution for IntApp.
According to it’s Web site, IntApp’s goal is to help implement the
Board of Governor’s adoption of Internationalization by increasing
international understanding and direct involvement with other cultures
at Appalachian State University.
IntApp, as the organization is most commonly called, works alongside of
the Office of International Education and Development, the Office of
Diversity, the Office of Student Development, the Office of Admissions,
the Alumni Association and with students and faculty to create world
citizens and global competence at Appalachian State.
“IntApp has three main goals: to promote study abroad, to acclimate
international students to Appalachian and to bring together
international and American students,” said Meredith L. Burkhart, a
junior finance and banking major and IntApp treasurer.
In 2006, IntApp was presented with the award for Club Council’s Best New Organization.
IntApp has also been asked to present at the 2006-2007 National
Associate of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA): Association of
International Educators Regional and National Conferences.
This year, interest in IntApp has reached a new high.
Over the two-week recruitment process, over 100 applications were handed out by request.
“We are hoping to select a huge handful of new members, probably
somewhere around 35,” said Burkhart. “The application process is pretty
intensive, though. We review applications, essays, and references
before we even schedule interviews.”
“We really look for applicants with an international focus in their own
lifestyle,” said Medlin. “It is just amazing how quickly [IntApp] has
grown.”
Members of IntApp are required to take on one office hour a week and to attend weekly meetings at 5:30 p.m. each Thursday.
Though the application process may appear tedious, current members feel that the payoff is well worth the work.
Each year, IntApp organizes events such as the International Ball and
International Café, bringing Appalachian students from varying
backgrounds together to enjoy food and company from around the globe.
IntApp members also have the opportunity to take international students to their hometowns to meet their families.
Also contributing to events is the International Friendship Association
(IFA), a division under IntApp that focuses directly on international
students.
IFA offers leadership positions to the international students themselves, making the IntApp experience more unique and diverse.
“My favorite part of IntApp, and one of the reasons it is so rewarding,
is when we take the bus to pick up the new international students,”
said Medlin. “You are the first people they get to know upon entering
the country and Appalachian.”
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