On Friday, August 31, ISA and ISS organized the International Students Welcome Party in the Student Union Ballroom. This was a warm welcome to all the new and returning students. New international students seemed overwhelmed looking at all the food and arrangements, and they were excited to meet new people. “First time being out of country, I’m having fun with all the people around. It’s relieving me from stress, and it’s good to hear music from different parts of the world”, said Aisha Bakare from Nigeria, a graduate student enrolled in Public Health. Students got to enjoy Indian and Chinese cuisine, and a variety of international music was played. This not only made them feel at home, but it also helped them get adjusted to international culture. Ashish Vishwakarma, a graduate student in CS from India, said that he felt excited to see all the diverse people coming together under one roof while learning each other’s culture. Several games, such as musical chairs, balancing the balloon, train of balloons and back catch were organized at the party for students to get involved and entertained. At the end, the DJ played music from different countries, and all the students got together and danced. After the party, Erika Suzuki, program coordinator for ISS, said, “The New International Student Welcome Party of Fall 2018 was very energetic and ended up with a great success, having more than 100 attendees. I appreciate great efforts of students who planned the event. And it is very exciting that I’ve seen more and more American students came out to a welcome party for these couple of years.”Even though the International Students Welcome Party attendees originated from a variety of different cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds, all were united in celebration of the fact that UIS is its own diverse melting pot.