By Tetyana Dovbnya
Ohio Program of Intensive English and A&S Academic Advisor for the College of Arts & Sciences
Every semester Advanced/Pre-Academic group of OPIE students is not only working hard on improving their English language skills, but also getting ready for taking academic classes in the following semester.
At the Bridge Level in OPIE the students take six credit hours of academic courses on top of 12 credit hours of the English language courses.
Tanya Dovbnya
In order to get ready for academic classes and learn more about academic expectations at Ohio University, the students attended a series of academic workshops in the fall, culminating in the OPIE Academic Orientation on Oct. 21. The workshops for the students were designed and conducted through the College of Arts & Sciences and OPIE, while the nuances of the OPIE Academic Orientation were tackled with the help of the Office of Undergraduate Orientation Programs.
It is worth to mention that OPIE Academic Orientation this autumn differed considerably form the past experiences of the OPIE student academic preparation. It was enhanced through adding a series of workshops on various academic topics, such as U.S. academic culture, OHIO resources, reading DARS, and registering for classes.
Another addition was inviting a wider variety of the speakers to the orientation, such as Rachel Scholten from the Office of International Admissions, Dawn Bikowski from the English Language Improvement Program (ELIP), Jamie Patton from the Office of the Dean of Students, and Jodi Pavol form the Career and Leadership Development Center (CLDC). Another innovation of the orientation was having the OPIE Alumni Panel Discussion.
The panel turned out to be a big success, and current OPIE students were able to address their concerns to OPIE alumni, who now study in various colleges at Ohio University: Xiyang Li/David (College of Arts & Sciences), Huimin Peng/Penny (College of Business), Zihang Yin/Rick (College of Business), Omar Almohealdeen (College of Communication Studies), and Talal Alnakhli (College of Engineering).
Alumni generously shared their experiences and gave the incoming students invaluable advice on how to make the most out of their OHIO life. After the main Orientation session, alumni joined individual college presentations and continued their dialogues with the students. Li, for example, helped College of Arts & Sciences’ students understand the college requirements and some nuances of getting a science undergraduate degree. He also shared with them his out-of-class research and social experiences. Orientation attendees, who were predominantly Chinese and Saudi, even got a chance to speak a little bit of their native language with the alumni, which enhanced their understanding of the academic concepts described and practiced during the preceding workshops and at the Orientation. Given the feedback of the attendees, this new tradition is definitely worth to be continued in the future.
The Ohio Program of Intensive English welcomes Ohio University faculty, staff, and students to join OPIE events this week.
International Student Union (ISU) CARE for Syria
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Front Room (Baker Center 4th Floor): A Teach-In, fundraiser event hosted by the Arabic Language Student Association
Baking Club Meeting
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 12:45 to 2 p.m. at 1st Presbyterian Church (Court Street): If you have not already signed up for the Baking Club, please e-mail Holly Delong (delongh@ohio.edu) or Sandy Nesbitt (nesbitts@ohio.edu) to join. Students who arrive early (by 12:15 p.m.) can eat a free lunch.
OPIE Student Union
When and where? Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Gordy 205
What? Open to all OPIE students who are interested in leadership opportunities in OPIE and on campus. Questions? Contact Kristina at jetter@ohio.edu. Open to all students who would like to participate in international students’ leadership skills development.
OPIE Lecture Series
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2 to 3 p.m. in Ellis Hall 024: Speaker: Megan Buettner. Workshop: Bragging Rights: Creating the Perfect Resume & Cover Letter. Facilitator: Cecily Long
International Conversation Hour
Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Bobcat Student Lounge (Baker Center 1st floor): Engage in a cross-cultural dialogue. Facilitators: Irina Konstantinova & Olga Holland
International Student Union (ISU) Diwali “Festival of Lights”
Sunday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. in Baker Center Ballroom: An Indian Cultural Event featuring dinner and performances. Tickets are $7 per person. The Indian Students Association will be ticketing Monday through Friday (11 a.m.-4 p.m) on the first floor of Baker.
OPIE Lecture Series
On Oct. 21, the OPIE Lecture Series hosted a lecture about Community Food initiatives (CFD) with Andrea Reany and Javi Devia. It was an interesting lecture that included important information about CFD, such as how they help other people, how people can find them, the days they are available and how they help gardeners grow healthy food. Also, they spoke about many services for each stage of life. For example, they offer classes to teach how to cook certain types of food.
Participants at the OPIE Lecture Series saw different types of healthy vegetables and fruit. At the end of the lecture, the OPIE students played Veggie Bingo and then they took what they wanted from the healthy food. The participants all enjoyed the valuable information and fun game. The next OPIE Lecture is on October 28 at 2pm in Ellis 024. It will be a workshop on how to write a cover letter and a resume.
Contributions from Aldanah Alqahtani and Kristina Guyton
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