International Student Council Creates Partnership With SGA

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 19, 2014) — University of Kentucky senior JoAna Jesus was recently selected to serve as the liaison between the International Student Council (ISC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) for the 2014-2015 academic year.

“Until this fall, my position didn’t exist as part of SGA or in ISC,” Jesus said.

With this partnership, Jesus will attend both weekly SGA and ISC meetings to foster and develop ideas in order to better serve international students.  

“We decided to create an additional liaison position within SGA in order to provide international students with a way to communicate their needs and concerns," Seth Greene, the SGA liaison director, said. "After meeting JoAna, I knew she was perfect for the position. As a senior political science major, she possessed the attributes needed to successfully represent and convey the needs of the international community. We are very excited about working closely with international students and representing them the best we can.”

The creation of the liaison position is only the first step that ISC has taken in order to become a prominent source of representation for the international student body on campus. The ISC has spoken with many parties on campus to discuss the need for coming together and finding solutions for various issues that international students face on campus.

“Current and ongoing conversations with any student or student group are beneficial for a better understanding of the issues each face. It is clear we have additional work to do to better understand and appreciate the challenges encountered by our international student population and create a strategy that better meets their needs,” said Victor Hazard, dean of students and associate vice president for student affairs, who has already held meetings with representatives from ISC to help develop ideas for resolving issues. 

With all of the work that ISC has done in their new role to promote its mission of being an umbrella organization that celebrates diversity and provides a forum for exchanging ideas and planning events, there is still much more work to be done.

“ISC has really made a lot of progress as far as becoming more systematic in our organization, but there’s still a lot more for ISC to do. I’m excited for the possibilities that this new collaboration with the SGA brings,” Jesus said.

Currently, Jesus is waiting to meet with senators in SGA to discuss plans for a workshop that will help international students new to UK easily adapt to life in Lexington.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Geegan, (859) 257-5365; sarah.geegan@uky.edu