Texas A&M University-San Antonio has hired a new international student coordinator who was once in the same shoes as the students she now nurtures.
Priyangana Risal, who previously worked at the University of the Incarnate Word, joined the Office of International Affairs this semester. The office is located in the Madla Building, Room 125.
Born in Nepal, Risal attended the University of North Texas in 2007. She can speak Nepali, Urdu and Hindi along with a moderate fluency in Punjabi.
She said the academic portion at UNT came easy to her; however, socially and culturally, she felt lost.
“My biggest help was actually the Office of International Affairs,” Risal said. “It’s where I made friends, and it was like an open path for me into everything, like what I wanted to do with my life.”
Risal said she plans to develop programs similar to those she created at UIW as the university’s immigration adviser. She coordinated events like International Education Week, the International Bazaar and the International Food Festival.
“I just want international [students] to be sure that they have a lot opportunities in the United States,” Risal said.
“A&M-San Antonio holds International Education Week in November, and it brings some attention to the different nationalities represented on campus,” said Sylvia Medel, Texas A&M- San Antonio’s International Affairs director.
“It’s for people to know that we’re here,” Medel said. “It’s good that people recognize that there is an international population here.”
After graduating from UNT, Risal worked at Texas A&M-Commerce as an admissions coordinator and immigration adviser.
She hopes to implement a mentoring program similar to the Lions Cousin Program at A&M- Commerce.
“At the Lions Cousin Program we paired up a domestic student with a foreign student and [they] shared their culture by going to a cafe, shop or studying together and really just getting to know each other,” Risal said.
The program continued at A&M-Commerce after Risal took the position at UIW.
Risal developed an International Ambassador Program at UIW , where upcoming international students or international exchange students were matched with domestic student “ambassadors” before they arrived to the country or campus. The program had 15 to 20 ambassadors who would answer basic questions from the future students. When the international students arrived, they already knew someone on campus.
“It was a successful program, and the students became best friends and now they’re even traveling to each other’s countries,” Risal said. It’s really just a whole entire family they build within the program because of the program.”
Risal encouraged A&M-San Antonio students to welcome international peers by volunteering with her office.
“This office is also open to any domestic students who want to participate or volunteer. Just come to me and I can help them find a way to help when there’s an event coming up.”
For more information, visit the International Affairs website.
