Why am |
here?
Andrews
University’s
operational
equilibrium
depends on the
harmonious
interaction of various forces.
One of these forces is the one
foreign students exert upon
this campus. Since the
percentage of foreign students
at Andrews is the second
highest in the United States, it
is only natural that their in-
fluence is strongly felt on
campus and it should be
acknowledged.
You may not be completely
aware of our presence around
the campus—performing both
menial and highly
sophisticated jobs, and occu-
pying both the pews and the
pulpit at PMC. While we strug-
gle with grades and jobs like
the rest of the students, there
are some marked differences
that set us aside: we must
overcome the formidable
hurdles of culture shock, lear-
ning to understand a new
societal structure, dealing with
an unknown educational
system and with the
predicaments of
you may ask
yourself...
ocassionally severe finan-
cial limitations.
Reaching the Andrews
campus means thousands
of miles of travel for many
of us; sometimes a drastic
change of scenery—a dif-
ferent air. But because of
these hurdles, the interna-
tional student body is marked-
ly optimistic, fearless and
realistic. Perhaps it is
because we must have clearly
defined our goals and the ob-
jectives we pursue here, and
because we recognize the en-
vironment may be somewhat
adverse. Furthemore, the
average foreign student here
does not go through Andrews
alone—most of us bring our
families with us. To fully ex-
plore all the ramifications of
that fact would be impossible,
but suffice it to say that
foreign students’ families are
heavily affected by the
changes as well, and their
support and care play a
crucial role in the students’
completion of their academic
odyssey here.
So why do we go through all
this trouble, just to earn a
degree? Why Andrews Univer-
sity? There may be several
variants to this question, each
with different undertones, but
there is one basic answer: We
come because Andrews is
unique. And we find this uni-
queness expressed in dif-
ferent ways to different peo-
ple. What kind of uniqueness?
Foreign students, like
everyone else, search for
knowledge compatible with
our basic human needs of
self-actualization and self-
esteem. But any other univer-
sity in our homeland could
satisfy this need without the
financial and cultural
demands Andrews imposes.
Andrews, however, is the one
school able to match our
religious beliefs with the
human reality we live. And
everyone is willing to take
whatever risk or action when
the motivating agents are feel-
ings and beliefs. Andrews’
Christian profile makes it a
worldwide symbol of unity in
the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Andrews alumni are
links that bind the world in a
specific message of faith and
hope.
We also come to Andrews
out of a deep religious con-
cern. We are convinced that
while it is human nature to
err, God never changes, He is
absolutely reliable and His
agenda is never altered. We
recognize the importance of
qualifying ourselves to face
the challenge of a world under
constant change and clearly
Understand that the Lord uses
us to be partners in His work.
We accept His challenge.