International Students at CSM
Office in CSM’s Center for Global Engagement devotedly serves 280 students from 44 countries
College of San Mateo has always attracted international students thanks to its proximity to San Francisco, a global hub of immigration and trade. For spring 2023 enrollment, CSM boasts 280 international students from 44 countries. These students are supported by the devoted staff of CSM’s Center for Global Engagement. Its work includes serving global students throughout their CSM careers, from pre-enrollment orientation and housing assistance to transfer workshops and graduation celebrations.
The center in Building 10 houses CSM’s International Education Program, which assists with needs ranging from visa support to advice on renting an apartment or buying a car. It also contains a meditation room, student lounge, meeting room and lobby that are open to all members of the CSM community. In addition, the Center for Global Engagement houses CSM’s programs for study and internships abroad.
“We are lucky to have international students from so many different countries,” said Center Director Manasi Devdhar-Mane. “They enrich the classroom experience and the environment with their different perspectives.”
At its height, CSM has had as many as 650 international students, or roughly 10 percent of the student body. COVID hit this demographic hard: International enrollment is still rebounding from a low of 150 when the pandemic struck.
The San Mateo County Community College District works hard to recruit global students, from countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore that don’t yet have strong representation in the student body. It has long hosted delegations of overseas educators, including a VIP visit in 1980 from the People’s Republic of China that led to some of America’s first Chinese students enrolling at CSM.
Because the Bay Area is so culturally diverse, these international students feel welcome.
“Students get attracted to the Bay Area because its percentage of first-generation immigrants is so high,” Devdhar-Mane said. “CSM is well-known abroad. A lot of effort from the district goes into recruiting. But it’s also word-of-mouth. Students talk to relatives and friends and hear good things about CSM.”
Yet these students have needs unique to their status that require dedicated support to help them thrive.
“It’s not easy to leave everything you know to attend school in America,” Devdhar-Mane said. “In many cases, this is their first plane ride. They know of California, but they don’t really know it. One of our responsibilities is to teach them how to be culturally savvy.”
For incoming students, CSM hosts a pre-departure orientation on Zoom in various time zones. On arrival, they have an in-person orientation and a “check-in” week or two with staff and CSM student ambassadors.
“The ambassadors become their mentors in practical things like how to get a driver’s license,” Devdhar-Mane said. Workshops cover topics including earthquake, fire and other safety concerns, sex education and consent issues, and consumer rights.
The college district coordinates a homestay program that matches international students at its three campuses with local American families. “Usually in the first two semesters we recommend that they do the homestay program,” Devdhar-Mane said. “It’s safe, it’s easy. You can choose to have meals covered, too. Then once you make friends you can move out.”
Many CSM initiatives help these students make friends. Weekly World Chat is an informal lunchtime event in which students get to know one another and hone their English communication skills. Each World Chat showcases one or more students from a particular country who talk and take questions on their culture. Before midterms and finals, the center hosts World Movies and World Music events over hot chocolate so students can relax. Collaborations with other CSM entities include the Child Development Center’s World Story Hour, in which CSM’s global students read about their countries and cultures to the kids.
Like many of the center’s staff, Devdhar-Mane has a heart for international students because she was one herself.
“I came to the US from Bombay, India, to pursue a master’s degree at Golden Gate University in marketing communications,” she said. “I came here with two suitcases. I remember looking out the window of the plane and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, and it all became real.”
Devdhar-Mane’s adjustment was easier in some ways, she said, in that she grew up speaking English. “But I was just so afraid to be here and make a life for myself,” she said. To assimilate herself, she became a student ambassador at her university. It transitioned into a full-time job, and Devdhar-Mane’s former goal of going into advertising morphed into something new: “I told myself, ‘I want to give back to my community.’” She eventually became director of international education at Menlo College, then did similar work at Cañada College before moving to CSM last year.
Other center staffers are American but have lived and studied abroad, and thus have experienced the need for support in a new country and culture.
“It’s so important in our department to treat students well,” Devdhar-Mane. “If I don’t have my students here, I don’t have a job.”
The center’s main social event is its annual World Gala, a glittering cultural-attire-requested evening showcasing music, art, drama and cultural dance, with a DJ’ed dance party at the end. “It’s like a mini-prom,” Devdhar-Mane said. After a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, CSM was pleased to resume the World Gala in April 2023.
On the academic front, an International Transfer Fair helps global students explore their options for four-year degrees. Throughout the school year, dedicated academic counselors hold CSU and UC application workshops to ensure students are on track to meet transfer requirements and deadlines. Staffers also work with universities in several countries to ensure they will accept CSM units for transfer.
As life-changing as American college education is, Devdhar-Mane means for CSM and the center to have a broader and deeper impact.
“My goal is to prepare students for life,” she said. “My question to them is, ‘What are you doing five years from now? It’s OK to not have an answer, but let’s start thinking about it.’”
“I enjoy interacting with folks from around the world,” she said. “We learn how not to stereotype. My international students help me break those barriers, and I think that’s true of anyone who interacts with them on campus.”
