Social programming

The ISSP staff members, separately or in tandem with a variety of organizations serving international students and/or scholars, provide a number of ongoing cultural and social programs throughout the academic year:

International Coffee Hour

Every Friday when classes are in session in the Winship Ballroom of the DUC (unless otherwise advertised), from 11:30 to 12:30. This event is sponsored by various on- and off-campus groups; complimentary food and beverages are provided and ample opportunity exists to meet, mix, and mingle with international students, scholars, and their friends.

World View Discussion Group

Offered twice each semester when classes are in session (for time and location, check the latest Ac'cent on-line newsletter). Students and scholars come together to talk about current political, health-related, cultural, or social topics. Sharing the experience of people from different countries and cultures, this group comes together to broaden minds and world views.

Carter Forum

Normally the third week of January. President Jimmy Carter comes to campus to talk specifically with international students, respond to their questions, share his views on current political issues, and listen to their views. A group photo is taken as a memento of the occasion.

Fall Break and Spring Break Trips

Organized and planned by ISSP, students and scholars are invited on trips to some of the region's most interesting spots - possibly the coast, the mountains, a small town, or a big city.

Student Orientation

Each fall, spring, and summer, newly arriving students are welcomed during a program designed to introduce them to Emory; to give firsthand information on immigration, academic and cultural topics; to facilitate first contacts; and to ease the mind and the jet-lagged body into life at Emory University.

Thanksgiving Dinner

In November, scholars and their families come together for a typical turkey dinner and all the trimmings to enjoy an evening of conversation.

Christmas Lights Trip

In mid-December, ISSP takes a group of 20-30 scholars to see elaborate Christmas lights displays either at Lake Lanier Islands or Callaway Gardens. Both venues annually create numerous holiday scenes and Christmas village spaces to be enjoyed by people all over the South, especially international scholars for whom these spectacles may be entirely new.

Martin Luther King Center Trip

In honor of the Martin Luther King national holiday in January, ISSP organizes a day trip to the MLK Historic site in Atlanta, which may include a visit to Ebeneezer Baptist Church, the church where Dr. King preached.

International Peers Program

Experienced students are trained and matched with international freshmen to assist them in finding their place at Emory, in planning for their long stay here, and introducing them to Emory's and Atlanta's cultural and social life. The peers assist in Fall Orientation programming. For more information and online application, visit www.campuslife.emory.edu/ISSP/PeersApp.aspx

SPICE (Student Program in International Cultural Exchange)

Where international and U.S. students live together, come together for intercultural and cross-cultural events and thus form a tightly knit group of friends.

AMIS Program

ISSP collaborates with the Atlanta Ministry with International Students (AMIS), in which members of the metropolitan Atlanta community come together in an organization aimed at introducing international students to Atlanta and its people by bringing students into contact with Atlanta families in the AMIGO program, an annual bus tour of Atlanta, and the Welcome Reception that celebrates all international students and scholars at Atlanta colleges and universities.

Ac'cent Online Newsletter

Provides information on current changes in immigration regulations, travel issues, and events of interest to the international community both on- and off-campus. Ac'cent is the main vehicle of communication between ISSP and international students and scholars.