Paying Hospitality Forward
Being an international student herself, Neema is familiar with how it feels to be far from home. When she arrived from Tanzania in 2015 to study Physical Therapy, she found herself feeling discouraged. Although she was excited to be in the U.S., she still battled language barriers, culture shock, and homesickness. She wanted to make […]
An IFI Champion
Ruth transferred to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT ) in fall of 2021 to pursue her Masters in Technology, Innovation, Management and Entrepreneurship. Coming from Kenya originally, she says the first semester was pretty tough. “I didn’t know I could be affected by the weather so much with it getting dark early and being […]
How Covid Started A Virtual Bible Discussion that Never Stopped
“Mike is my Bible teacher,” says Allen. “I’ve learned a lot in his class and grown up quickly.” This alone is notable, but what’s more interesting is that Mike and Allen have never met in person. Although Allen knew about Jesus through his grandmother, he didn’t originally believe in him. He thought even if Jesus […]
The Support She Needed When Family Was Far Away
In September 2021, Mary* arrived in the United States from Ghana to pursue her PhD in biochemistry. However, within one week of her arrival, she found herself in the hospital facing life-altering news: she had Leukemia. “It was a difficult moment for me,” Mary remembers. “I felt so scared and abandoned, especially because I had […]
A Beautiful Experience
When asked what life is like in Italy, Ilaria says, “Beautiful, it’s my birthplace and home of all my family and friends.” This contrasts sharply with her first experiences in America. Ilaria came as an exchange student pursuing her PhD late in 2021. “At first only bad things happened,” she said. “It was a shock, […]
The Definition of a Miracle
Daniel stepped off a plane earlier this year with a mix of emotions. He had come to pursue a Postdoc in Mechanical Engineering, but leaving his young family behind in Nigeria was hard for him. Thankfully, before his arrival in the US, Daniel had done some research. “I wanted to meet the Nigerian community here […]
How God Drew One Couple Closer to Him through ISEED
Ricardo and Mariana came to the US from Brazil in March 2021 with much anticipation: Ricardo was excited to pursue his Soil Science PhD and Mariana looked forward to advancing her career with an abundance of American opportunities. Soon after arrival, they got involved with a Brazilian bible discussion led by Mark and Sally, volunteers […]
A Stranger Became the Maid of Honor
Even though Fatoumata’s brother already lived in the U.S. before she joined him from Mali, she still faced many challenges, including language barriers and finding community. She arrived in July 2015 to study Business at Cincinnati State, excited to learn how American people lived. Fatoumata first heard about IFI events from a coworker and began […]
Help in the Midst of Emergency
On December 1st, 2021, Alina suddenly felt a pain in her stomach. Alina had come to the US just a few months before from Germany to study and play soccer in Peoria, IL. She expected to have many experiences in America, but not surgery. Alina called Paula, a staff member at IFI who had helped […]
Overwhelmed with Appreciation
Anfernee arrived in the US from Trinidad and Tobago in July of 2019 to pursue a degree in business at Illinois Central College. When IFI staff members picked Anfernee up from the airport he knew very little about them. However, IFI staff and volunteers showed Anfernee that they were always willing to be of assistance. […]