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Columbia welcomes international students

As College students make their way back to Columbia this week, thousands of international students are among them. At Stephens Lake Park, an event is meant to help these students adjust to their new city.

Tuesday’s Pizza in the Park event was organized by the University of Missouri, Columbia College, Stephens College, and Moberly Area Community College. The event aims to give new international students from all of these schools a chance to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings as well as meet others. According to Britta Wright, the Director of International Programs at Columbia College and an organizer of the event, international students in Columbia come from all over the world.

“The last numbers that I heard from my colleagues have been that about 60 percent of their students are from China. We see a significant population from South Korea. We have a lot of students from South America that are playing on our different sports teams on campus," said Wright.

According to MU’s website, in 2011 there were over eighteen hundred international students enrolled in the university, with more than 100 countries represented.