04 Nov A Note from the Staff Advisor…

Hello everyone, I’m Noah Kuchins, the Staff/Faculty Advisor for IEEC. I’ll be contributing to this wonderful new website periodically to talk about the history of the IEEC, student anecdotes, and insights regarding my role as the advisor to the largest student organization on campus. It’s worth mentioning that being a staff advisor is in addition to my regular work as an International Exchange Programs Advisor in the Office of International Programs… and that my role is to advise, not to lead the organization in any way, so any perception of IEEC power that I yield is properly misplaced. That being said, a short introduction:

Every student organizations SF State has a Staff/Faculty advisor, and so as stated, that is my role in the IEEC. Four years ago, upon beginning my professional tenure in the Office of International Programs, the role was handed to me by the previous advisor, My Yarabinec, who helped form the IEEC back in 1994 with 6 dedicated students. It was perhaps a logical choice to choose me as the new staff advisor since I myself was an IEEC officer during my time as a student at SF State. Not only had my time in IEEC given me an intimate knowledge of the organization, but it also changed my life, gave me skills that helped me in my early professional career, and naturally, gave me a network of friends from around the world. And though less and less true, I like to believe that my year (2003-04) was the best year IEEC had ever experienced. So 8 semesters ago, I was so fortunately bestowed the role as Faculty/Staff advisor to the IEEC… and that is where the story begins.

As you can imagine, working with thousands of international exchange students and study abroad alumni these past four years, I’ve met some very interesting and talented students—as well as some who are just downright unfortunate. Again, the goal of this blog will be to relate some of those wonderful stories from years past, some anecdotes about students studying abroad, and of course provide some bigger context for the IEEC as it grows and improves each semester. So stay tuned!