International Center celebrates 50 years

The house stood out from the tall buildings surrounding it, and thousands of miles from her family, senior Maiya Assanova had found her second home.

Assanova, who came to IU from Kazakhstan, said the Leo R. Dowling International Center is warm and inviting and has helped her find acceptance and diversity on campus.

The center opened remodeled office space and celebrated its 50th anniversary Friday.
Students from different international student associations will use the third floor office space for storage and as a place to hold meetings.

“It’s an opportunity for them to come and work,” said the center’s director Sandy Britton, who added student groups were having a hard time finding somewhere to meet.

Assanova, who gave tours of the new office space during the celebration, said the Kazakhstan Student Association and other groups now have a place to participate in discussions instead of trying to find somewhere in the library.

Britton said the students worked to design the third floor office space, and the offices accommodate helpful resources such as computers, a lounge and storage lockers.

Before the opening of the office space, Patrick O’Meara, the vice president for International Affairs, spoke to the crowd celebrating the center.

He said he was on a trip to Japan when he was introduced to a man who had studied at IU and wanted to know how the center was doing.

“It’s a memory for people,” O’Meara said, and encouraged the crowd to think back with happiness on the spirit of the center and the spirit of IU when they leave campus.

Britton said the center is alive because of the students, and to thank them, she invited the presidents of the different international student associations to come forward and receive a plaque engraved with the name of each group. The plaque will hang in the office.

Assanova said Britton has been a second mom to her, always ready to help and support her.

Britton said she knows what it is like to be from a different country because she came to the United States from Panama. She added it was hard for her to say in words how close the center and its students are to her heart.

“I’m happy to be a part of this wonderful center,” Britton said.

Junior Saad Alshetairri, who is from Saudi Arabia, said he studied English for only a year before he came to IU. During his first year, he came to the center’s coffee hours to practice his English.

The center opened in its current location in 1958, but Britton said the anniversary celebration was delayed so it could be combined with the opening of the third floor.

“We wanted that office to be the main celebration and to focus on the students, not how good the international center is,” Britton said. “It’s really for the students.”