NEIU students found a way to unwind after a grueling finals week at the End-of-Semester Party hosted by the International Club on Friday, May 3, 2024.

Approximately 145 attendees enjoyed a night of food, danced to rhythmic sensations and socialized with friends they have made throughout the semester. For international students on expiring visas, this was potentially their last opportunity to congregate with these friends.

“I feel very excited that we can gather international students together since this is our last chance to see each other before we say goodbye and head back to our countries,” Danaryan Tan, a foreign exchange student from Cambodia, said. “We don’t know when we will be able to meet each other again, so this party is very important. We can have the best memories with each other that’ll last forever.”

Nimra Shahid, the Treasurer of the International Club, detailed the challenges faced by the club, including opposition to the party, “Every time, there is someone who is going to say ‘let’s cancel the party.’ I had to convince everybody [repeatedly] until the day of the party.”

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“[The International Club] was started by mostly exchange students to bring together the domestic students who were interested in international things,” said Mary Green, Program Coordinator for the Office of International Affairs. “So that they can do activities together and learn from one another.”

Green elaborated how several of those friendships were established through the Buddy Program, “The Buddy Program is something that we do each semester in the Fall and Spring primarily to support the new students that are coming in making those connections and friendships with students on campus and feel comfortable in the city, helping them with any questions that might come up.”

The program included two types of Buddies. The International Buddies are the foreign exchange students here on visas for their first semester. The Domestic Buddies are often former International Buddies who have been at NEIU at least one semester who wish to pay it forward to new students. Students with J-1 Visas are at NEIU for one semester, while students with F-1 Visas are at NEIU for the entire duration of their studies.

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The event featured Persian catering, but due to a higher-than-expected turnout, pizza was also served later in the evening. 

“In my head, we were going to have 70 to 100 people, but more than 100 people showed up,” Shahid said. “But my team was expecting less than 30 people. I had to order [Domino’s pizza] to feed everyone [during the party].

“The students got to put it together,” Green said. “They don’t get the chance to do any kind of ceremony or official end to their year or semester being here. So it’s a great way to have a party and celebrate that together.”

These End-of-Semester parties are just one of the many events featured by the International Club. “Almost every semester, we do a potluck. We take over a section of the cafeteria, hang up some flags, we have people bring food from around the world and share that with others,” Green said. “We’ve gone downtown to see the Christkindlmarkt. And we like to support other clubs on campus with their activities, so sometimes we partner with them.”

Upon discussing future aspirations for the International Club, Green expressed the desire for the students to have more autonomy for their meetings and events. “The first few meetings, I step in and model how to organize a meeting or how to plan an event, but then I like to step back and let them run with it…,” Green said. “It’s a great opportunity to learn about being engaged in a community and managing events.”