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To Be a CHAMP Host for New International Students

Each year the University of Pennsylvania welcomes more than 600 new students from over 100 countries around the world. For many, this is their first trip to Philadelphia and the U.S., and their initial adjustment to life here may be a bit stressful.

That's why the Office of International Programs (OIP) has for the last six years sponsored CHAMP, the Campus Hosting And Mentoring Program for new international students. The program provides these students with a personal and helpful welcome as they arrive on campus.

Penn faculty, staff, and students who are interested in welcoming incoming international students can be hosts. CHAMPs hosts are expected to:

  • Attend an orientation meeting in April;
  • Make contact with your "hostee" after a match is made;
  • Arrange to meet your hostee upon his or her arrival on campus;
  • Offer friendship and practical advice during your hostee's first few days at Penn;
  • Participate in CHAMP's Welcome Reception during the fall orientation and its Welcome Back Reception in the spring.

You are not required to pick the student up at the airport, provide housing for the student, or drive the student around. We do encourage you to stay in touch with your students during the academic year. (OIP offers opportunities to get together at monthly coffee hours, day trips, and other social events.) If you are interested in a specific culture or area of the world, we will try our best to match you with a student according to your preferences. Otherwise we try to pair individuals with similar backgrounds or interests.

To sign up, please contact Li-Chen Chin, Advisor to International Students and Scholars, at OIP, 898-4661, e-mail lcchin@pobox.upenn.edu. A modest commitment of your time to CHAMP can make a big difference for a new international student.

--Joyce M. Randolph, Director

Office of International Programs (OIP)

Return to:Almanac, University of Pennsylvania, March 24, 1998, Volume 44, Number 26