While coping with financial pressure, being away from families, speaking a different language, and navigating a new system and culture, we would like to offer international students a collaborative community space to go through these challenges.  The International Student Circle Series aims to create a mentally and socially supportive space for international students to share feelings, needs, information, and resources. 

This circle will focus on feelings of academic pressure as the fall semester comes to a close. How are you feeling? How are you encouraging wellness in yourself and your friends as the semester is ending? This circle will be an opportunity to vent and connect with other international students over snacks. 

The restorative circle process we will be using descends from the practices of Indigenous peoples, mainly those of Tagish and Tlingit Nations, for resolution and healing in the community. We honor this legacy, acknowledging its roots and intention. A circle is an approach to conversation that makes space for all participants to speak and be heard, operating by inviting each person in the group to share in response to a question following a talking order. The circle will be facilitated by trained peer restorative practitioners at Restorative Practice at Penn (RP@P).

This event will be held in person at the Graduate Student Center, room 304 from 5:15-6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, November 1, and will be facilitated by Sherry Zhang (a trained circle facilitator and an MSW student).