ISA Meeting on February 24th 2016
Location: CSU 238
Time: 9:00pm – 10:00 pm
Board Members present: Dolly Baruah, Faical Rayani, Jonas Wohlberedt, Sung Man Kang,
Firdavs Khaydorov, Subhan Khalid, Kouliga Koala, Sultan Raad Alhumaid, Parisha
Rajbhandari, Tariq Islam, Islamia Mouhammed, Bassam Al-Mohamadi, Heewon Suh, Jai Sorrot,
KIC Staff present: Thomas Gjersvig, Doni Casula, Tahir Farooqi, Andrew Orth
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Charity Event
o Doni informed us that the charity event is planned as follows:
 Pathstone on Saturday March 26th from 2:30pm – 3:30pm. Volunteers can
earn contribution hours by performing for the elderly.
 During spring break, volunteers can sign up to help out at the Salvation
Army. Volunteers will be helping to serve lunch from 9:00am – 2:00pm.
There is a possibility that the KIC will have a monthly volunteering
opportunity with the Salvation Army depending on how well things go
during spring break.
o Additionally, the Ethnic Student Association will support ISA in its strive to serve
the community.
Africa Night
o Tahir informed us that Africa Night will be held on March 19th from 4:30 pm – 9
pm. Food will be served first in the lower level of the CSU from 4:30pm –
6:30pm, whereas the performances will take place in the CSU Ballroom from
7pm – 9pm. According to Tahir, everything is running according to plan and he
encouraged everyone to get their tickets early, as a big part of our community
usually attends Africa Night and we might run out of tickets.
Bus Schedule
o Dolly updated us on the progress of adding additional bus service on Sundays.
She attended a meeting last week, during which our request was discussed.
According to Dolly, the committee was open to our proposal but will discuss the
issue with the mayor of the city of Mankato. The committee suggested that we
should start a petition to help our cause.
Tom’s Retirement
o Thomas Gjersvig attended our ISA Board meeting and shared some final remarks
with us before he left for retirement. In his speech he expressed his gratitude for
our commitment as student leaders serving on the ISA Board and that he greatly
enjoyed seeing us grow as individuals. He encouraged us to continue our work
and serve as role models for other international students. Furthermore, he thanked
the ISA Board for organizing his retirement party as he enjoyed talking to many
students and faculty members.
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Bus Survey: Tom asked us to all fill out the bus survey that has been sent
out in the last couple days. This might help increase international
enrollment but also benefit the current students on campus.
 Tom’s successor: Tom encouraged us to play an important role in the
process of finding the new director of the Kearney International Center.
He asked us to come to the open forums that will be held with the
candidates and ask many questions. This will help to determine the right
candidate for the position.
o Lastly, the ISA Board expressed its gratitude for Tom’s work over the years. He
had an enormous impact on the international community in Mankato and has
helped so many of us through any kind of trouble. Tom will be missed!
Asia Night Update
o Asia Night was a huge success! Thanks to the great outcome, ISA will receive
$1,800 back from the event that we had originally invested in it. Receiving this
amount was not calculated in the budget. Therefore, we might be able to spend
some of it for future events.
International Festival
o Andrew reminded us that the deadline for signing up for either a cultural booth or
food booth is March 16th. The form to sign up for it can be found on the KIC
website.
o Additionally, Andrew urged us that we desperately need more performers for the
Festival. He encouraged everyone to spread the word. Auditions will be held on
March 4th from 1:30pm – 5:30pm in Ostrander. If performers are unable to come
to the audition, they must send in a video of their performance.
World Language Organization
o Faical informed us that Alex has completed the schedule for all languages offered
by the WLO. The schedule will be outside the ISA office (CSU 264) as well as in
the Kearney International Center (CSU 250).
How Rude was That?
o Islamia encouraged us to attend the “How Rude was That” event held by ISA on
Wednesday March 2nd from 11:30am – 1pm in CSU 264.
OPT Workshop
o Islamia also reminded us that the KIC is hosting an OPT Workshop on February
26 from 2:30pm – 4pm in CSU 201. She encouraged everyone interested to attend
the event.
ISA Office
o Jonas reminded everyone to try to keep the ISA Office clean and tidy to make
sure students can actually use the office for meetings and other activities.
Additionally, a messy office also reflects poorly on the ISA as an organization.
MSSA Liaison
o Faical informed us that Salma has decided to resign from her position as our
MSSA Liaison. The ISA Board will decide whether or not we will need to find a
replacement.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 2nd at 9:00 pm