OUR STORY

International Students Connection (ISC) Club was born in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with the mission of connecting International Students from all over the world at Colleges and Universities. ISC was first started at Foothill College, California, in March 2021 with only one member (Anderson Lam), but it expanded to 150 members in a year. Foothill ISC became the largest club association on campus, with more than 31 nationalities of students. Foothill ISC worked closely with the Foothill International Students Program (ISP) Office, Associated Students of Foothill College(ASFC), Foothill College Students Activities department, and many other clubs to host events. Every international student at Foothill College knows about Foothill ISC due to our powerful vision, values, and marketing strategies. 

 

Seeing how successful Foothill ISC was, Anderson Lam has decided to explore the opportunity to start another one at another college. ISC was then expanded to De Anza College in March 2022 and was able to achieve up to 100 members in just a quarter. De Anza ISC quickly became one of the largest international students community on campus despite there being many other clubs. De Anza ISC also won the Engagement Award during the ICC Club Day Spring 2022. The President of DA ISC, Christine, has made an impactful contribution to the international students' community at De Anza by having more than thirty in-person and virtual club events in a quarter to engage the students frequently. DA ISC is also collaborating with other clubs on campuses such as CSSA, MASA, VSA, and TSA to hold one of the largest multicultural gala ever held in June 2022. 

 

With the bright vision of connecting more international students, ISC quickly spread across more community colleges in California, such as Berkeley City College and Laney College, in June 2022. Students from other colleges have seen the powerful impact that ISC has done on Foothill and De Anza College, which inspired them to want to start such clubs at their colleges too. Rachel Yeung, a student studying at Berkeley City College and was part of Foothill ISC as a marketing officer, experienced the fantastic international community at Foothill ISC through fun events and activities and has then decided to stand up as the President of Berkeley City College (BCC) ISC to connect international students at BCC. Rachel was motivated to prepare a safe and comfortable environment for international students to be part of ISC.

 

Despite many international students at Laney College, there isn't an international student club that cares about international students' practical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Learning about that, Anderson Lam once again expands ISC to Laney College. Foothill Japan Culture Club (JCC) has also decided to join forces with ISC in June 2022 to provide a safe and comfortable environment for Japanese students at Foothill College, and to enhance the Japanese culture such as language, foods, manners, historic places, and so on. ISC family did not stop here, but it grew bigger and bigger every time, and that's our story. As a transfer student himself, Anderson experienced the hardships of filling up the transfer applications and transitioning to a new university; UC Berkeley ISC was born with the purpose of providing valuable tips, advice, and mentorships to prospective students who are part of the ISC Family. UC Berkeley ISC or ISC of Berkeley charter for international transfer students came from community colleges around the United States, international students from minority countries, and every student who would love to learn about international culture. 

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ISC in every California Community College! That's the Ultimate Goal, and It can be Achieved!