International Students Mentoring Program
You are not alone! We are here to help!
Get to know us
The Global Mentor Program serves as a resource and guide to help degree seeking students and exchange students adjust with both American and Academic life and to give mentees support on campus by providing a positive academic, professional, and social environment outside of the classroom.
Why come to Virginia Tech?
Virginia tech is the perfect blend of challenge and fun encompassed in an unparalleled community feel and the Global Mentor Program provides all the support and access to all resources to help all the international students to feel like at home along with a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Our Mentors are here to help
Our team of fabulous mentors is the perfect melting pot of different backgrounds, countries and cultures and this is definitely contributing to make our program unique and diverse at the same time.
Fun activities are offered for all the international students every month
Our mentors coordinate social activities with international students and work together with other mentors to help facilitate cultural activities, conduct monthly check in with each mentee and most of all they serve as positive role models for incoming students by building close relationships with them. The activities that this program offer are wide: monthly events such as, bowling, Friendsgiving dinners, holiday parties, movie nights, hikes and “slang” events are offered to help the international students to learn about American culture.
Workshops are offered throughout the academic year
We really care about our students' personal academic and professional growth, and we will be also providing workshops every month where you will explore different topics such as, stress management, seeking career opportunities, visa applications explanations and much more.
New friendships develop
New friendships develop, more awareness of cultural diversity is learned and all of it without leaving Blacksburg.
Check out what our students are saying
“The Global Mentor Program is a very beneficial program for international students. This is because I can get to know and learn about other cultures by meeting people from different countries. Furthermore, the program promotes meeting other international students and gives many events. It also takes care of students with interest so that they can adapt well to the Virginia Tech” IM Chang Song
"The Global Mentor program is a great opportunity for study at Tech. For the people, Alessandra organize amazing events and the mentors are super available and ready to welcome you. I really enjoyed the activities and events as they allowed us to get a little taste of what is the American culture and traditions. It has been a lot of fun and i enjoyed my time with them!” Emma Di Liberto
"The Global Mentor Program gave me the chance to connect with my fellow students and the university itself from the very first day. As an exchange student who visits VT only for one semester, it was often difficult to make the first step to connect or to know right away where to ask and where to go. My mentor could help me out with that and even gave me some tips on top to have a good start at VT.” Marcel Stepanek
“I really appreciate the Global Mentor Program that supported us during our first moments at VT and continues to follow us well throughout our semester. It has helped me get used to life here, and I know who to lean on if I need help. I would like to thank Ellie for her help in choosing my courses and building my schedule, I was followed very personally in this choice. Alessandra is a great help too, always there when you need help, she organizes very nice activities like bowling and movie nights. I also really appreciated the time spent at the café this week, it was good to talk and to meet with other Europeans.” Chloe Capliez
"The Global Mentoring Program has really done a great job at bringing together, integrating, and supporting us study abroad students. Through the really fun and creative events like the Pumpkin Patch and the subsequent carving or the friendsgiving dinner, we were able to meet with our mentees and friends. Without the good organization of the GMP we probably wouldn't have been able to do that ourselves and that's why I'm glad to have participated in the events. GMP team, keep up the good work and many thanks to all of you!" Petar Mladenov
"When I arrived at Virginia Tech, I felt very welcomed by this program that offers so many opportunities to embrace American culture. I think it's really important for an international to have the opportunity to be followed by mentors who facilitate integration within the American community. It's not always easy, and thanks to them I felt much more at home" Marta Macario
Useful resources for International Students
- International Students Resource Guide
- International Support services
- Cook Counseling center
- Cranwell International Students
International Students organization
Virginia Tech has over 800 student cultural organizations. For a complete list of campus organizations, visit gobblerconnect.vt.edu.
- Afghan Student Union African Student Association
- Albanian Student Association
- Sudanese Student Organization
- Arabic Language Club at VT
- Bengali Students' Association
- Caribbean Students' Organization
- Ethiopian Students Association
- Hellenic Students Association
- Indian Students Association
- Iranian Society at VT
- Korean Student Association
- Middle Eastern Student Association
- Nepalese Student Association
- Pakistani Student Alliance Saudi Student Club at VT
- South Asian and Indian Culture
- Taiwanese Student Associate
- Thai Student Association at VT
- Turkish Student Association
- Vietnamese Community at VT
Mozaiko Living Learning Program
Mozaiko is a program of the Cranwell International Center, and is a collaborative venture that includes support from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Science, Pamplin College of Business and a number of departments across campus with interest in engaging with students in the intercultural experience
Cultural and Community Centers
The Cultural and Community Centers are here to advocate for a safe, inclusive environment and to advise students as they navigate life at VT. Through programming and events, they raise cultural awareness and invite the community to learn about and develop an appreciation for cultural differences.
- Black Cultural Center
- El Centro American
- Indian and Indigenous Community Center
- LGBTQ+ Resource
- Center Asian Cultural Engagement Center
- Intercultural Engagement Center