Argentine Fulbright students get a taste of life as Hokies

Friends of Fulbright Argentina students meet with Jorge Chediek, director of the U.N. Office for South-South Cooperation.

For Mercedes Saenz, one of 10 undergraduate students from Argentina spending seven weeks studying at Virginia Tech, the experience is more than an academic exchange.

The biotechnology student from the National University of Rosario in Santa Fe province said much of her learning has come not from the classroom but from the residence hall. “My roommate is Pakistani-American,” Saenz said. “We’ve gotten along great since we met each other. We spend hours talking about our home countries, showing pictures, and comparing our traditions and cultures.”

In its third year at Virginia Tech, the Friends of Fulbright Argentina Undergraduate Exchange Program is organized and implemented by the Language and Culture Institute. The program enables high-achieving Argentine students to live and learn at a U.S. university. Its goals are to provide a meaningful study abroad experience for participants and to bring diverse perspectives into Virginia Tech’s classrooms.

Read more at VT News.