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MEAGAN HALL
MEAGAN HALL
08.24.17
International Student Union is starting off the 2017-18 school year with a new leadership team and a different perspective. The new team hopes to strengthen the bond within the organization.
In spring 2017, ISU elected its new president, vice president and treasurer — Carla Triana, Jenna Grams and Yuxuan Huo, respectively. With a new leadership team, ISU has new goals for the school year.
Alex Driehaus | FILE
Volunteers serve food to guests during the International Dinner, presented by the International Student Union, on Sunday, November 5, 2015, in Baker Center Ballroom.
Triana, a fifth-year senior studying international business, has been elected as ISU’s new president. She remembers her first International Street Fair as a sophomore and feeling a sense of belonging.
“International Student Union made me feel like I belonged there at OU throughout my past couple years,” Triana said. “It was where I really felt embraced as a person.”
Triana was born in Mexico but is a domestic student and a U.S. citizen. She thinks this is an edge for her as ISU’s new president, as previous presidents were international students.
“I feel that because I am a domestic student I could hopefully bridge that gap between the international student community and the domestic student community,” Triana said. “Because in a way I’m a part of both.”
During her term as president, Triana hopes to strengthen the international community bond within the general body meeting.
“I feel like there was some sort of disconnection sometimes, and I just want to build that between all the organizations and hopefully to strengthen the ‘Many Nations, One Family,’ and have everyone feel included and supported,” Triana said.
Meagan Hall | FILE
Students and staff members walk across College Green during the Unity Walk that started at Alden library and ended at Baker Center. February 28, 2017.
She hopes to create more activities exclusive to the general body of ISU for members to interact and bond.
Besides creating a bigger bond within ISU, Triana also plans to celebrate ISU’s history, as this year marks its 30th anniversary. She hopes to inform OU students and Athens residents about its history and everything it has accomplished.
The new vice president of ISU, Grams, hopes to partner with more OU organizations to promote diversity.
“Areas like ResLife, the Women's Center, and the LGBTQ+ Center etc., have many people who are interested in how these orgs can relate to each other,” Grams, a junior studying music production and linguistics, said in an email. “As people are not just diverse in terms of nationality, I want to help the international community find help if they need it or just learn something new in other terms of diversity.”
Hashim Pashtun, the previous president of ISU, said he has faith in them that they will do well, mentioning Triana’s previous experience in ISU. He hopes the new team will continue to connect with other organizations and create innovative projects.
“I’m pretty excited for them,” Pashtun said. “I hope that the team focuses on the rule of ISU — staying both connected with other organizations and departments and continuing to network.”
Triana said she was looking forward to the 2017-18 school year.
“We’re starting on pretty much a clean slate,” Triana said. “We’re just super excited to put on all these great events, celebrate our 30th anniversary and have fun while we’re doing it.”
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This story is part of a series of specially designed stories that represents some of the best journalism The Post has to offer. Check out the rest of the special projects here.