World Experiences: UCO iHouse Style

by Sanam Bhakta – 

The University of Central Oklahoma’s International House is a bridge that facilitates global engagement and intercultural proficiencies by bringing together Central’s students, staff, faculty, and community to create opportunities for transformative learning. Because of that, they are an official STLR-tagged location. Their mission is to provide international opportunities to every UCO student and to bring the world to UCO’s campus through international programs and activities by going global and living locally.

For example, their CRISP program, which pairs international UCO students with local families, is hosting a Yukon Christmas in the Park event between Nov. 27 – Dec. 05. Students will be sipping hot chocolate, interacting with their host family, and then self-declaring attendance online for Global and Cultural Competencies STLR credit.

Alexis Loudermilk, the graduate student International House Program Manager, recently told us about her favorite International House event on campus.

“My favorite event was Around the Globe on November 6th. Since we were unable to host the annual International Festival due to the pandemic, we organized a similar event called Around the Globe in the Liberal Arts building. Instead of serving meals, country associations gave out bags of pre-packaged snacks. One could travel around the world by learning about different cultures and countries. We had over 150 attendees this year!”

The International House is located in West Hall, although they host events at lots of locations, as you read above. Stop by that STLR-tagged location, visit their website at uco.edu/ihouse, follow them @UCOiHouse, or email at ihouse@uco.edu to learn more.