The International Club is a student organization that is a home for foreign exchange students attending UT Martin and a place where students who are interested in other countries and cultures can expand their knowledge in those areas.
They meet every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Business Administration building room 203. There are so many benefits to joining and becoming involved with the International Club. The fun and culture are just a few reasons to get involved. All majors are invited to join.
Dr. Carrie Humphreys is the faculty adviser for the club. She is an associate professor of Political Science and International Studies. The president of the organization is Sarah Johnson who is a senior in Communications from Memphis, Tennessee. Gabbie Roberts is the secretary who is from Buncombe, Illinois and is a sophomore majoring in History.
The International Club hosts many different events to keep students engaged within the club. They host events like speaker events, joint events with other foreign language clubs, game nights and movie nights. Johnson said, “We watch 90 Day Fiancé, which is funny but we pay attention to how people from the U.S. interact with the people from other countries and how the cultures might mix or not mix.”
Some of the game nights that the club puts on are myth and game nights. This is when officers of the club research different myths for a specific country or culture and then make a presentation to the club. This is one way they try to represent cultures in different ways. Games like international trivia or testing map knowledge are also played at these events.
Johnson says that her favorite part of the International Club is how it pushes her to become a better leader while she has been president. She also says it is “fulfilling” to see an event that she and her fellow club officials put together become a success. International Club is a great and fun way to learn about other cultures and countries with the company of those who want to expand their cultural horizons as well as other students who will lend knowledge about their own culture.
The club will also be having a speaker event on March 28 at 6pm in BA 203. Dr. Mercan Derafshi is an assistant professor of Fashion Merchandising at UTM. She is Turkish and will be speaking about her culture as well as recent events.
To get involved, you can follow them on their Instagram utm_intlclub.
