International ambassadors promote Duke

Every year, students from across the globe leave their homes to study at Duke and immerse themselves in an American lifestyle.

But for many international students, committing to Duke was not an easy decision. Unfamiliar with the various distinctions among U.S. universities, many students rely on national rankings and word-of-mouth when applying to American colleges.

“When I was admitted to Duke, there were not too many ways to know about the school,” said senior Jason Li, president of the International Association and originally from Hong Kong. “Recruitment [officers] go to Asia and Europe to talk about [what] Duke is like, but I never had a chance to hear about Duke from a student perspective—especially the social life.”

Recognizing the need to inform international students about Duke, several undergraduates took it upon themselves to establish the International Ambassadors program in Fall 2009. The goal of the program is to increase the information foreign students receive about Duke—and encourage them to apply or commit to the school.

“The idea is that you want to send international students present at Duke from different countries, and make them go back to their home countries [where they] act as Duke admissions ambassadors,” said junior Vansh Muttreja, the leader of the International Ambassadors program. “One of the problems of the admissions office is that... they have limited numbers of regions and countries [they can visit]. When we started the International Ambassadors program, we wanted to solve that problem.”

The idea for the program grew out of conversations among international students who were dismayed by the lack of University information they received before coming to Duke, Li said. He said he wished undergraduates would have told him about the student experience to ease the transition.

“This stigma is that international students don’t know much about Duke and all they look at is the ranking from U.S. News,” he said. “The ranking only reflects part of what Duke is like.... [Ambassadors] can speak about the culture difference, the language barrier and fundamental things as well, such as getting a driver’s license.”

The University, however, does not provide any funding for the ambassadors, so students conduct presentations to foreign high schools during scheduled University breaks.

To participate in the program, students attend a series of training sessions led by Duke admissions officers and past international ambassadors. Students then receive promotional material from the admissions office, including brochures and personalized business cards. The International Association also provides ambassadors with a PowerPoint presentation, which is altered according to regional preference, Muttreja said.

“The presentation is basically a template.... For example, in China basketball may be popular so you would keep the slides in about Duke basketball,” said Muttreja, who currently serves as vice president of external affairs for the International Association and is from New Delhi. “But in India, it may not be popular, so you would focus on academics.”

Increasing visibility

Last summer, junior Roger Look led several sessions in Singapore, his home country. Look said students demonstrated considerable interest in applying to the University, attending sessions after school to inquire about American academics and culture.

But in spite of the University’s growing presence in the region, Look said many students had never even heard of Duke.

“Duke’s reputation where I come from isn’t as visible as the top Ivy League schools.... Some people may know [about Duke], some may not,” he said. “[But] for most of the high schools we went down to, there was a lot of interest.... There were situations when there wasn’t enough space in the room to sit down.”

Muttreja echoed similar sentiments about India, adding that schools like Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California at Berkeley—which have long focused on building an international brand—are far more well-known in the country.

“Duke is not the most famous school in India.... A lot of American colleges ranked lower than Duke are more famous,” Muttreja said. “Duke in the past hasn’t focused a lot of its efforts on becoming international.... In the past 15 or 20 years, they started focusing on the international aspect and now they are getting recognized.”

Domestic expansion

As the International Ambassadors program expands, the initiative’s leaders have also sought ways to attract domestic students to the program. Because it lacks funding to send ambassadors abroad, the program is currently collaborating with DukeEngage and the Global Education Office for Undergraduates to offer the program as an optional addition to the abroad experience.

Students are also working to institute an incentive-based scheme through which ambassadors would receive compensation or subsidized airfare for their participation.

Muttreja said both University departments have been highly receptive to the idea, though specifics are still being finalized. For DukeEngage, Muttreja said the program’s goals are to reach students in underprivileged regions like Tanzania and Uganda and provide them with resources to learn about Duke and American universities as a whole. For study abroad programs, students can lead sessions in their respective areas of study—where they are likely familiar with the native language—and further market Duke.

“Why just limit it to international students? Students studying abroad can craft a program and do this as well,” Li said. “In terms of specifics, we’re still in the ongoing stage... but we are pretty aggressive and we are pretty ambitious.”