By Colleen Griffiths
News Editor

The new Associate Director of International Student Services Jing Gao is full of cultural flair as she enters her position at UNCP. This is not Gao’s first entrance to the international arena. She has worked with many people in reaching her goal of helping foreign students understand Western culture beginning with an early interest in a variety of civilizations.

Gao was born in Inner-Mongolia in Northern China and lived there for 20 years until she went to college. She attended three universities, one of which was a polytechnic university and another in Beijing.

Gao then moved to Carbondale, Ill. and lived there for seven years where she studied cultural anthropology and had graduate studies in linguistics with a focus on English as a second language.

She is currently working on her doctorate in special education.

Gao has always been interested in different cultures.

“They are about people with different societies,” Gao said. “I also enjoy helping people understand Western culture.”

Gao came to UNCP because of the direct interaction between students and staff.

“It holds a strong attraction for me to develop a program to make active change on campus and quality programs for all kinds of students in order to enhance their lives on the campus,” Gao said.

Gao also enjoys the willingness of UNCP’s staff to help the students on campus.

“I like to work together with people who work as a team with the same goal,” Gao said. “Like people who are not selfish and who work to help and serve students.”

The international bridges in the world are constantly changing, and Gao recognizes the necessity to get both American students and those from abroad involved in discovering more about the others’ way of life.

“The world is getting smaller and smaller,” Gao said. “Students need to fill the gap between them in order to understand each other and to help them extend socially.”

Gao has many goals for International Student Services including constant assessments of the program from students and staff to determine how effective the program is for students. She also would like to focus on students from other nations.

“International students need to get involved in community activities because only by delving in to communities can they acquire a more accurate taste of American life,” Gao said.

“The faculty and staff are being supportive, and they are very direct and quick to respond to students’ needs,” Gao said.