Advantages of Being an International Student at Lynn
Break Free From the “Limitations” of Being a Foreign Student
By Javiera Sarmiento, Staff Writer
Lynn University provides many unique resources for international students to succeed in personal, social and academic fields, which are advantages that international students often overlook.
For international students, to have the opportunity to study in the U.S. is a great benefit, and in a place like Lynn University, it is a true privilege. Not every institution has the tools Lynn does to make the lives of those hundreds or thousands of miles from home feel much less complicated.
To gather the most useful resources provided at Lynn, iPulse spoke with the Lynn’s library staff, faculty and an international student. Here are the top tools for international students to take advantage of.
“Our library’s website has several resources for international students,” said Library Director Amy Filiatreau. “They are all under the academic help icon and include options such as the free writing and speaking labs hosted by Lynn professors themselves, as well as our librarians and library chat, which goes above and beyond to give students the academic help they need.”
The aforementioned information about the Lynn Library and the opportunities it offers for international students to improve academically is only one example of how Lynn is designed to make foreign students succeed at the same level as domestic ones.
In August 2022, the library began a food closet initiative, which offers food for any student — domestic or international student — who find themselves in need. Not many universities consider the fact that international students can be hit particularly hard by food inflation as procuring a job is not as easy as it is for domestic students. Creating an on-campus option like the Lynn Library has is an enormous help.
Lynn also provides language and grammar learning apps through the library, which many international students find helpful.
“Lynn gives us access to Grammarly premium and Mango, which are very useful language learning apps,” said Maria Gabriela Duenas, a junior.
By having the chance to practice spelling, writing and pronunciation, students whose native language is not English will most likely gain self-assurance from using Grammarly and Mango.
“Something great about Lynn is how strong the Office of Accessibility Services is, so whenever a student needs an accommodation, they work with the student and train professors to make sure we acknowledge those necessities,” said Aimee Jones, and assistant professor in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Some accommodations are handy for international students and include options such as recording classes, using speech-to-text technologies, having extra time on quizzes and more.”
The university also offers counseling and international services consultations for students to feel as comfortable as possible and keep their F-1 student visa status on the right track.
Lynn constantly finds ways to celebrate international students. Examples include the promotion of the International Students Organization, which hosts events like the Parade of Flags and Celebration of Nations, which annually highlight and honor the nations that students come from.
