Provided

Lu Ye, left, with Anita Watkins, visits Ithaca in June 2014.

Imagine what it is like to come to Cornell for the first time from another country, with no car and no expectations of returning home until the following June.

Now imagine how different this experience could feel if a local family showed you around Ithaca; helped you find Wegmans; took you to movies, concerts and sporting events; and invited you to dinner over the holidays.

The Cornell International Friendship Program, sponsored by the International Students and Scholars Office and now about 50 years old, makes that difference for about 75 international students and their families each year. “We are always looking for families, both at Cornell and in the Ithaca area, to match up with students at the beginning of September,” said Anita Watkins, who, with her husband, has volunteered for the program, helped with its publicity and event organization, and has partnered with students from such countries as China, Malaysia, Japan and South Africa.

Watkins said local volunteers do not provide housing for international students or families, but make a personal connection to make them feel at home.

“Just involve them in whatever activity you are doing as a family,” she said, “whether it is going to the Ithaca Farmers Market or Wegmans, visiting the waterfalls, taking a hike, picking blueberries, going to a hockey game or having pizza.”

The volunteers receive the satisfaction of knowing they are making someone feel at ease during their stay in the United States, and the students become better immersed in American culture. And when local volunteers with young children are matched with international families with children, both families benefit, Watkins said.

“For both families, it’s a great opportunity to introduce your children to a different culture,” she said.

“I call it ‘promoting world peace one friend at a time,’” said Stu Berg, who with his wife has volunteered to be a friendship partner for about 30 years, and has run the program since June 2013. Berg developed a database to match local volunteers to students seeking a friendship partner. Interested students log in and answer such questions as their major, field of study, native language, whether they have children and what kind of involvement they want their friendship partner to have – meeting once a week or once a month, for instance.

Oftentimes relationships with students extend past the first year, and sometimes last for a lifetime. “They can be like your extended family,” said Berg, who partnered with a student from Costa Rica 30 years ago and has visited her several times there. Watkins was hosted in Japan by one of her friendship students, Rosa. And Lu Ye ’13, now living and working in Boston, got to know Watkins and her husband, Don Campbell, professor of astronomy, during her senior year and returned to Ithaca to visit them this month. Ye said that in addition to taking her around Ithaca, they helped her with her resume, preparing for a job interview and car registration, insurance and service appointments.

“You feel really good about being at Cornell because you know that someone is thinking about you and will care if you run into a problem,” Ye said. Her parents also appreciated the local volunteers, Ye noted: “My parents felt better just by knowing that there was someone in the United States I could turn to for help if I needed it,” she said.

But the most important benefits of the program are the connections that are made. “The memories of our times together are great treasures,” Ye said. “They will be in my heart forever.”

Learn more about CIFP or volunteer through the program's website.