October 6, 2025
UCSD’s two biggest social orgs have around 400 members. ISS, the club I started with some friends, is barely a quarter old and we are already pushing 150.
I do not think that is luck, it is demand.
International students want belonging. We want to meet people who understand what it is like to restart your entire life in a new country where you do not know anyone.
So ISS started as a simple idea: a place to hang out, do things together, and meet people who have lived different lives in different time zones. People who understand the in-between feeling.
We are scaling international connections, and my goal is simple: build a community and organization that is here to stay, and becomes the de-facto place for international students.