Advisor assimilates new students
■ Magid Shirzadegan
guides students toward an
understanding of American
culture and education
By Yoshiomi Morishita
for the Emerald
International students arriving
in the United States to attend the
University are welcomed by
someone who has been in their
place before. Magid Shirzadegan
organizes an international stu
dent orientation at the beginning
of each term.
Shirzadegan, associate director
of the Office of International Edu
cation and Exchange, has advised
University international students
for seven and a half years on visa
matters, financial issues and aca
demic difficulties.
“The unique differences [be
tween international and U.S.
born students] are understanding
the American-style communica
tion in the classroom and in
friendship,” he said.
In recent years, the University
has had the highest percentage of
international students compared
to all other public universities in
the nation, according to a survey
by the Institute of International
Education. Numbers from the
OIEE showed that 1,384 interna
tional students from 82 countries
were enrolled at the school as of
fall 1999.
Shirzadegan said international
students choose to come to the
U.S. because some want to learn
English, an “international lan
guage,” some want to take advan
tage of the flexible, integrated ed
ucational system and others want
to explore American culture.
“I have a lot of similar experi
ences to international students,”
Shirzadegan said, explaining that
he is the only non-U.S. born advis
er among five international stu
dent advisors at the OIEE. “They
can relate themselves to me.”
Shirzadegan. 46, was born and
raised in Iran and said as an inter
national student, he was trans
formed by experiencing “Ameri
can individualism. Coming here,
some of us are runningaway from
the pressure of collectivism.”
After attending Georgetown
University as an English as a Sec
ond Language student in 1977,
Shirzadegan earned a master’s de
gree in plant science from the
University of Wyoming, and fin
ished his education in 1984 in
Germany with a doctorate in ge
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Yoshiomi Morishita for the Emerald
Magid Shirzadegan has been helping University international students since 1993.
netics.
When he returned to the states
to fulfill his post-doctoral work at
the University of Michigan, he re
alized science was not his pas
sion.
“I made a big mistake,”
Shirzadegan said. “Growing in
the culture as I did, you have to
study; that’s all they told us.”
He said he was basing his life
decisions on what was good for
his country and his family, in
stead of what was good for him.
“I asked myself for five years,
‘What else can I do?”’
Through volunteering at a crisis
center to help poor families and
runaway youths, he found himself
gaining energy from working with
people and became determined to
serve international students,
whom he could “relate to.”
He quit his second post-doctor
al work at the University of Neva
da, and after spending one year as
an international center advisor at
the University of Michigan, he
was hired in January 1993 as an
international student advisor at
the University.
“He is sincerely interested in
counseling international stu
dents,” said OIEE director Tom
Mills, who hired Shirzadegan.
Mills’ high opinion of
Shirzadegan is echoed by stu
dents.
“He treats us not in the rela
tionship between a student and
an adviser, but as a person,” said
Hanayo Ozaki, a sophomore in
pre-journalism. Influenced by
Shirzadegan, Ozaki said she has
been involved in the International
r '
Student Association since last
year.
Shirzadegan pointed out that
the support system for interna
tional students has improved
since he was a student 23 years
ago. Due to efforts of the NAFSA:
Association of International Edu
cators. which works closely with
the U.S. government for the sake
of students, he said it is easier for
international students to consult
their international student advi
sors for help.
Only in the past 40 years,
Shirzadegan said, has the advis
ing duty switched from profes
sors to advisers more focused on
issues Specific to international
students.
Despite these supportive atti
tudes of international student or
ganizations, students say they
still sometimes encounter prob
lems.
"The U.S. is very ethnocentric;
people are overly focused on our
own culture,” said Deidre Schuetz,
an American student who just
graduated with degrees in interna
tional studies and Spanish.
Getting past that ethnocentrism
should be a fundamental value
for all people, Shirzadegan said.
He stressed the importance of
soul-searching and said, “If vou
don’t know yourself, you cannot
get to kno-w;others.
"This is a unique opportunity
to be with people from all over
the world,” he said. “Anything
you want to know, any stereo
types you have, any questions
you have, ask them now. You
won’t get the chance again.”
1
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