International students get ready for life at Pittsburg State - KOAM TV 7

Just a week until school starts and orientation begins for international students at Pittsburg State University.  From Brazil to China, new students hit the campus with a running start.

Academics drew Aissa Barro to the university from West Africa, but that wasn't all.

"I chose Pitt State because it's in a really small city, it's quiet and calm and I thought that it would be a good environment for me to study because in Africa there is a lot of noise," says Barro.  "I just met a girl from China that is in the same hall as me that I didn't even know."

The community's small size is one of the many qualities Associate Director of International Programs and Services Cathy Lee Arcuino says draws students in from all across the world.

"The quality for education and the low cost tuition and then also just a lot of the media and things our office does to promote Pitt State, I think that it shows that we are a good program and that we have a good place to study so people are excited to come here," says Arcuino.

The orientation gives students a chance to meet other students from across the world and gives them a chance to see the campus.

"To finally have them here and help them get transitioned and getting all their paper work ready for school is a really exciting time," says Arcuino.

The scheduled week of programs helps students learn about transportation, on campus activities and how to adjust to cultural differences, activities Barro says will help ease the transition.

"I grew up in an environment where I met different people from different countries and different backgrounds and cultures so it's actually a good thing to be able to find it again here," says Barro.

In the Spring about 80 students attended the first day of international orientation.  That number has increased this fall to 120.

Officials say about 500 international students attend classes at Pitt State.