‘Family Friend’ pairs students, local families

Auburn University is trying to make the transition to American life a little easier for international students with the Auburn Family Friend Program.

The program matches international students with members of the community, who in turn, take the students out on the town, invite them over for dinner, and generally just offer some good old southern
hospitality.

“We do a reception where we match the family and the student,” said Nejla Orgen, international student life and admission of the dean of students. Students are pre-assigned to people or families.

The program has existed in some form for eight years, Orgen said.

“We use to call it the Lee County Community Family Friend,” she said. Last year, around 30 families participated in the program.

“We hope to go up to about 100 (families),” she said. This year, 150 new international students will come to Auburn.

Orgen said she does surveys with the international students to see how AU can better their time in the United States.

“There’s always a few remarks that they wish they would have gotten to know an American family,” she said. “It’s nice for them to get to visit an American home.”

Ozgur Ozman, a graduate student from Turkey who took part in the program, has enjoyed the program since he arrived in Auburn about a year ago.

“It’s great for family meetings … It’s time for family to get together,” Ozman said. “I like it here … I like the quite life.”

“It’s a pleasure to be a part of the family,” he said.

The family agrees.

“This whole idea of connecting Americans with international student is a great idea … it’s a great way to make a new friend and learn about a lot of culture,” said Rod Steward, who welcomed Ozman with his wife Emilia Steward and son Simon.