Although the Penn Nursing International Student Organization was only officially formed on Monday, the group started off with a bang.
The organization -- which aims to unite international nursing students and foster relations with the global nursing community -- raised $2,000 dollars for the tsunami relief effort in two days.
The current construction on the Nursing Education Building prevented Salima Meghani, a doctoral student and leader of Penn Nursing ISO, from organizing a central fundraising booth in the Nursing School.
Instead, Meghani and fellow Nursing ISO member and Nursing doctoral student Lusine Poghosyan raised the funds by asking faculty and students for donations door-to-door.
The proceeds will be shared between FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance -- a non-profit organization working in India -- and a school in Thailand.
As a more long-term objective, the organization aims to "ease [international] students' transitions" into life at Penn, Meghani said.
"When [international students] come to the U.S., [they] go through huge transitions" in social, academic and language matters, Meghani said.
To help international students adjust, first-year Nursing graduate student and Penn Nursing ISO member Maria Lara would like to create an "orientation or Web page" for them.
"It's very confusing, with all the paperwork" when international students first arrive in the United States, Lara said.
Adjustment is "easier if you hear from other international students with the same experiences," she added.
Lara also feels that international students are "all over the place. We are all spread out in different programs."
She hopes that the organization will bring international students together while also focusing on global health and nursing issues.
Meghani hopes to "build alliances with international nursing programs and visiting scholars."
Lara also emphasized that the club is open to all students, regardless of nationality.
"International nursing and healthcare issues ... concern us all, from this country and others," Lara said.
In addition to discussing serious issues in the global nursing community, the organization plans to organize at least three social, educational and cultural activities this year, as well as opening opportunities for students to explore nursing in other countries.
Meghani said she hopes to get "some good ideas on how to move forward" with the group after meeting with the entire general body for the first time in February.
"I'm very excited," Meghani said. "I think it's important that we have an organization with a voice."
