International Students

For more than 90 years, students from around the world have come to Los Angeles to get a superb Occidental education. Some 26 different countries are currently represented in the student body; the Class of 2006 included graduates from Italy, Bulgaria, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Ghana, Namibia, and Brazil.

Once on campus, international students have played an important role in the life of the College. Vlad Milev ’03 of Sofia, Bulgaria, served as president of Occidental’s student government in 2001-2002. Drenusha Kusari ’04 of Gjakove, Kosovo, interned at the United Nations’ Iraq office in New York through Occidental’s Oxy-at-the-UN program. Ron Tan ’03 of Hong Kong, student representative to the Budget and Finance Committee of the Occidental Board of Trustees, was the recipient of the College’s 2002 Hammack Memorial Award for outstanding man in the junior (third year) class. 

Throughout their career at Occidental, students rely on the International Programs Office and the International Student Organization one of almost 100 clubs and organizations for students. The staff of the International Programs Office, each of whom has experience living and working overseas, provide information, advising, and advocacy on immigration and cultural adjustment matters. 

International students also draw on the resources of Occidental’s Career Development Center to obtain internships, career advice, and interviews with prospective employers. Many international Occidental alumni have gone on to distinguished careers, including Academy Award-winning French film director Marcel Ophuls ’50, Aggrey Mbere ’69, South African ambassador to Rwanda, Wahid Hamid ’83 of Hong Kong, president of Twinwood Technologies Ltd., and investment banker Soroosh Shambayati ’86 of London.