Dear UC Davis incoming undergraduate international students,

Greetings and welcome again to UC Davis! You have worked very hard to get here and we are proud to welcome you as part of our Global Aggies community.

You have made a wonderful choice for your education and future. UC Davis is ranked among the best in academics, sustainability, diversity, and global engagement. You are joining a vibrant global community of students, scholars, faculty, and staff from more than 140 countries.

There are countless ways for you to learn from expert faculty, take your interests and skills to the next level, and form lifelong friendships. We are committed to making you feel as welcome and at home as possible and we are here to support you, whether you are in the U.S. or your home country to start.

We invite you to gain mentorship and friendship through our Global Ambassador Mentorship Program within Global Affairs. The program offers you the opportunity to be matched with a peer mentor based on similar academic and social interests, and connect with our community as you settle into your life as an Aggie. Although COVID-19 limits our in-person interactions, we are planning meaningful connections, such as virtual events and workshops to share tools you can utilize to succeed at UC Davis, one-on-one and small group meetings through Zoom to get to know each other, and connections through email or on social media to answer questions and stay in touch. We encourage you to learn more about the 2020-21 Global Ambassador Mentors, find tips from mentors for successful remote learning experiences, and apply to join us as a mentee (applications are due on a rolling basis)!

Here are more resources and ways to connect.

• Visit our Finding Your Global Community webpage for an ongoing list of online programs, events, and resources for getting to know UC Davis and engaging with your peers.
• In addition to Aggie Orientation, international students attend our International Student Orientation, a combination of virtual sessions to acquaint you with all that UC Davis has to offer. 
• Meet a fellow international student! Radhika Marwaha is a global disease biology major from the United Arab Emirates. Watch this video on how she found a global community at UC Davis and read about how she is staying connected to student organizations online.
• Sign up for a seminar designed by Global Affairs specifically for international students through First-Year Aggie Connections: "Spoken World Storytelling," "A Sense of Place," and "Global Aggies facing Global Challenges."
• Discover student organizations, get to know campus resources, and get a feel for your home away from home before you arrive with our International Student and Scholar Handbook. 
• Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) within Global Affairs is dedicated to helping you obtain and maintain the appropriate legal status. SISS Advisors are assigned by the first letter of your surname, can be found online, and are available by video and phone. Ongoing updates regarding federal government guidelines and how they may affect you this fall are available on the SISS website. 
• Stay up to date on news and upcoming remote events by signing up for our SISS newsletter and requesting to join our SISS international student Facebook Group. Join Global Affairs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and be on the lookout for more student stories.
   

We are proud that you are a part of our Global Aggies community and we are excited to meet you in the near future! We look forward to having your ideas, experiences, knowledge, and skills in our classes, research and other collaborations, and extra-curricular and community activities. Our wonderfully diverse community benefits tremendously from welcoming you, the brightest students from all over the world.

Best wishes,

Don Hunt
Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management 

Joanna Regulska
Vice Provost and Dean - Global Affairs

Nikhita Azad
International relations major, College of Letters and Science
Student Co-Coordinator, Global Ambassador Mentorship Program

Millenn Mong
Community and regional development and sustainable environmental design double major, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and College of Letters and Science
Student Co-Coordinator, Global Ambassador Mentorship Program

Kabir Sahni
Communication and international relations double major, College of Letters and Science
Student Co-Coordinator, Global Ambassador Mentorship Program