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Last fall, The School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) welcomed a new member to their team. Ting Li joined the UD community as the Assistant Director for International Engineering Student Engagement in the School of Engineering. She decided to join the University of Dayton because she admired UD’s strong reputation of being a leading institution in international education and exchange. Ting Li enjoys spending her free time with her family and pets, hiking with her dog throughout Dayton’s Five River MetroParks, and relaxing by doing yoga.  

Ting Li shares that she is taking advantage of this learning opportunity within her new position by connecting with campus partners to learn about available intercultural initiatives and programs. One of her goal this semester is to learn more about the events campus has to offer and to promote those events to students in the School of Engineering. She also plans to attend an upcoming conference to learn from leading intercultural scholars in the field.

Ting expressed howUD faculty, staff and students might help international students transition through difficult cultural and language barriers upon their arrival. “I was an international student at the Ohio State University when I arrived in the United States. I can relate to the challenges and obstacles that international students experience,” Ting Li shares. “It takes great courage for a student to fly out of their home country, far from their families, to the United States to receive their education.”

One of her many roles is to support international engineering students as they transition into the School of Engineering from the Intensive English Program (IEP), from another university in the U.S., or directly from other countries. Another major role in her position is to help develop opportunities to improve cultural competencies among engineering faculty, staff, and students. Ting Li shares her team is developing an initiative that will foster deeper intercultural engagements amongst the members of the School of Engineering. International students will give presentations to introduce their cultures, with the goal of sharing global perspectives, engaging meaningful dialogue and to create an inclusive environment.

“All the work that I do is not for myself; all the work that has been done is a group effort from the whole team at the Diversity in Engineering Center,” Ting Li emphasizes. “I am very proud to be a part of the team and to have inspirational mentors such as Laura Bistrek, Director of Diversity in Engineering Center and many others.”

Ting Li shares the most rewarding part of her job is to know that she can do something to help international students find what they need, support them and to see the smile on their faces when they have accomplished their goals. She also enjoys observing how international students successfully navigate through challenging obstacles throughout their transition to the United States and even specifically to the School of Engineering.