Empowering Global Citizen-Leaders

EMPOWERING global citizen-leaders

FHSU’s Global Ambassadors

FHSU’s Global Ambassadors represent a multitude of scenic homelands, unique cultures, and deeply held traditions. Each student brings to the FHSU campus their own life experiences and dreams for the future. Ayooluwa (Ay) Animashaun, a native of Oyo, Nigeria, along with Luciana Mendoza of Paraguay, South America, Diminga Safietou (Safie) Salene Senghor of Senegal, West Africa, and Xinrui (Crystal) Wang of Luoyang, China, have all found a sense of community and opportunities to impact the lives of others on the FHSU campus.

citizen-leaders

BY DAWNE LEIKER

Haley Williams and FHSU’s impact

The idea that she could experience the world and work alongside people from the far reaches of the globe seemed a long shot for Haley Williams, who grew up on a farm in south-central Kansas. In fact, the first time Williams, whose farm was 15 miles away from the nearest town, had a neighbor was when she moved into Fort Hays State’s McMindes Hall as a freshman in 2005.

Williams met international students as soon as she arrived at FHSU. Through living on campus and getting involved in various organizations, Williams immediately started connecting with students worldwide, especially from China. Many students from Sias, one of FHSU’s China partner schools, lived in McMindes Hall, where Williams would take the opportunity to visit with them during meals or while walking to classes. She graduated from FHSU in 2009 with a degree in sociology and then began teaching ESL at Garden City Community College.

In 2018, a temporary job at FHSU coordinating training for instructors preparing to live and teach in China partner schools, Sias and Shenyang Normal University, opened. Williams seized this opportunity to join the

staff of FHSU and has become an invaluable member of the Global Affairs team. She attained her Master of Professional Studies in Organizational Leadership from FHSU in 2021 and now works as FHSU’s Global Affairs Operations Director.

Critical to the work of Global Affairs and International Student Services is FHSU’s mission to provide accessible quality education to Kansas, the nation, and the world through an innovative community of teacher-scholars and professionals to develop engaged global citizen-leaders. These leaders include 4,000 international students learning in locations worldwide.

“Through the development of Global Affairs and International Student Services, I have had the amazing opportunity to raise my family in Hays but work, engage, develop, and learn from people all around the world,” Williams said. “Global Affairs and International Student Services fulfill the mission at FHSU by bringing the world to FHSU and taking FHSU to the world.”

Williams found an answer to her passion for engaging global citizen-leaders by supporting the operations of all FHSU’s global partners.

In addition, Williams and her colleague Jadyn Snyder have also enriched their international experiences by co-developing the FHSU Global Ambassador Program.

The Global Ambassador Program

Employing 14 FHSU students, ten international and four American, the Global Ambassador program students advise Global Affairs and other FHSU organizations on how to stay relevant in marketing FHSU to the world. The Ambassadors also provide input on creating internationally friendly classrooms and curricula. Ambassadors are fluent in 12 languages. This adds invaluable multilingual capabilities to the Global Affairs team.

“The Global Ambassador program is where students truly put the FHSU mission into action by living out what it means to be an engaged global citizen-leader right here on the main campus in Hays, Kansas,” Williams said.

Ayooluwa (Ay) Animashaun was admitted to FHSU as a graduate student in 2022. During his first year on campus, Ay was elected president of the International Student Union.

“As the union president, my team and I organized cultural exchange events and support groups to foster a sense of community,” he said. “During the FHSU Homecoming Parade 2022, I collaboratively organized the international students’ parade entry alongside the International Students Services staff.”

His tenure as the International Student Union president ended after the spring of 2023, and Ay was then elected to the Student Government Association as senator representing international students. This new position has allowed him to advocate for international students’ interests and concerns.

Ay said his leadership skills have vastly improved while at FHSU.

“I plan to build my career in an inclusive and multicultural environment, and FHSU is already preparing me for this with the diverse student populace we have,” he said. “Fort Hays State University is also developing me to be a leader, and I really appreciate this.”

Luciana Mendoza

Luciana Mendoza always dreamed of studying in the United States. She was accepted to several universities but found that financial concerns made those institutions inaccessible to her.

“At that time, I did not know what to do,” Luciana said. Then she discov ered the Paraguay-Kansas Committee, which has an agreement between Paraguay and Kansas ensuring that students from Para guay can choose any university in Kansas and pay in-state tuition.

“I heard this voice inside me saying, ‘This is it.’ I ran my university choice by my parents, and we made a plan to make sure it would be possible to keep me in school for four years,” Luciana said. “Once that was done, I applied to Fort Hays and became a Tiger. Coming here was the best decision I could have ever made.”

To students considering a path as an international student, Luciana has some guidance:

“I advise international students to come and try it for themselves. This has been the best experience of my life, and I was presented with many incredible opportunities through it. Moving to another country for your education is not easy, but it is worth it. If I had to make this choice again, I would choose Fort Hays State University.”

Diminga Safietou (Safie) Salane Senghor is an international student majoring in tourism and hospitality from Senegal, West Africa. Her experiences as a global ambassador have influenced her significantly.

“I have had the chance to connect with people from diverse cultures and ethnicities,” Safie said. “I even traveled to my home country and Ivory Coast with a part of the team for recruitment.”

She pointed out that FHSU provides various projects and academic opportunities. One project, the EPIC challenge focusing on sustainability, was a highlight for her.

“The EPIC challenge was a great experience because I had never worked under such pressure before, especially with a bunch of friends with whom I had never worked before,” she said.

She is quick to recommend FHSU to anyone considering furthering their post-secondary education.

“FHSU is an ideal place to start, offering various opportunities and tools that will benefit you throughout and after your academic years,” Safie said. “Hays is a safe and welcoming town without distractions that would interfere with your studies.”

Safie Salane Senghor Crystal Wang

Xinrui (Crystal) Wang, pursuing an MBA with a finance concentration, came to FHSU from Luoyang, China, where the climate is similar to Hays. Crystal, who started her bachelor’s degree at the Kansas International College of Sias University in Zhengzhou, China, completed ten courses taught by FHSU faculty when she was a sophomore.

Persistence paid off for Crystal as she applied for a graduate assistantship at Fort Hays State and overcame many hurdles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon coming to Hays, she continued to face challenges.

“At first, I struggled and was anxious about everything, like admission, document preparation, visa application, packing items, vaccination, and so on,” Crystal said. “Since this was all on my own, I had to be independent to deal with small details to make sure the timeline and process were all correct.”

Crystal found the people at FHSU to be friendly and welcoming, which helped eliminate much of the anxiety of moving across the world for her studies.

“English was a struggle for me when I first got here, but people were so patient and encouraged me to speak out, which helped me build my confidence and make huge progress,” she said.

During the summer of 2023, Crystal worked as a global ambassador. The highlight of that experience was assisting in planning an online student engagement activity for international students. Through that involvement, she could share her personal experiences at FHSU and connect with new students before they arrived.

Crystal encourages students who are interested in studying abroad to consider FHSU. She has wise words of advice for those students who choose an international path for further ing their education:

“Manage your time, socialize with others, keep your calendar full, and make your short learning abroad experience meaningful,” she said.

According to Crystal, she has gained both prac tical and theoretical knowledge of her chosen field, finance, at FHSU. Finance competitions, clubs, and a graduate informatics assistantship have given her the tools she needs to carve out a career path.

“The work experiences at FHSU gave me responsibilities and molded me from an all-round perspective,” she said. “I really appreciate all that FHSU has given me.”