“I’m terribly alone.”
Those three words, spoken by Ghanaian undergraduate Isaac Adjei, capture the emotional weight of being an international student attending Texas State University. Isaac, a mass communication major, is one of the 2,089 international students now enrolled at TXST, students who are reimagining campus culture and bringing global connections to a small Texas town.
According to Mallory Sluder, Vice President of International Affairs, the university currently hosts students from 103 different countries, almost double from previous years. For fall 2024 the university reported more than 1,525 international students, a 61% jump over the previous year.
“When President Kelly Damphouse took office, he made it a point to be intentional about recruiting international students,” Sluder acknowledged. Following the pandemic, global outreach has been vital in recruiting students to attend Texas State.
With the creation of the TXST Global office and an expansion of study abroad programs, Texas State has increased connections worldwide, working closely with overseas partners, referred to as “agents” to aid in recruiting, as well as, digital campaigns, and word‑of‑mouth outreach. Due to this, recruitment and enrollment rates have never been higher.
“Awareness continues to grow,” Sluder said, “We have seen a spike in South Asian students post-pandemic, most likely due to our recruiter building relationships with high school aged kids in countries like, Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.”
Following the 2020 pandemic, the international student population has fluctuated nationwide.
“Our students share their positive experiences with friends from their country, and that’s powerful. They show others that Texas State is a place where international students can truly belong.” Sluder says. This growth comes at a time when other U.S. universities are facing enrollment declines due to the political climate.
Isaac’s journey started in Ghana, after a friend’s recommendation, he decided to apply to Texas State.
“The application and visa process was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done,” he said. “You pay for everything before you even know if you’ll get approved.” He noted costs of Visa F‑1 at around $185 and service fee around US $350, just a small part of the financial burden. Once completing the interview process last November, he finally moved to San Marcos three months ago.
But recruitment is just one side of the story. Adapting to life in a foreign country brings a myriad of challenges. Sluder explained that housing and transportation are hurdles.
“Many students come from countries that have very different cuisines and transportation options compared to San Marcos. To address this, Texas State requires all first‑year students to live on campus to encourage them to get plugged in,” she explains, “Also, our office has worked to address dining hall services in order to accommodate students looking to have more familiar food.”
Texas State has added an “international food line” in Jones Dining Hall, and efforts are underway to expand halal and allergy‑sensitive options. “We know there’s more work to do,” Sluder addressed.
Additionally, Adjei also expressed the culture shock of America after settling in. “Here, everyone puts sugar in meat like orange chicken, we do not do that where I am from! And pickles? Fried pickles. Never again,” he joked. However, in the midst of his adjustment to American college life he has also found kindness in Texans and a handful of other international peers, “people here are nicer than I expected,” he admits.
“I was feeling lonely one day and decided to go walk around Sewell park, I met some guys playing sand volleyball, they were cool, I started attending church with them,” Adjei says.
Despite these supports, the emotional adjustment remains significant.
Sluder says, “Culture‑shock can hit a few days or even a semester later.”
For students like Isaac, who are thousands of miles away from home, knowing Texas State has resources helps ease his mind. “I’m the only one from my family on this continent,” he said. “Sometimes I get sad, when I do I just hug myself and move on, it is better to do that then lean into it and become depressed.”
The shift in international student presence is contributing to campus culture in meaningful ways. Sluder summed up the payoff of having such a rich variety of experiences in one town.
“They bring rich cultural experiences, new foods, new dialects, and new perspectives. They make our campus globally connected.” Moreover, many students, whether American or international, may decide to move around post-graduation and having connections is helpful.
International students are actively reshaping the culture at Texas State. Through their campus presence new languages, customs, and traditions spark curiosity and conversations among domestic students. Campus events such as cultural fairs, and global food nights allow students to taste foreign foods, traditional music, and art from parts of the world some students may have never interacted with if it were not for the students surrounding them.
Looking ahead, Texas State’s goal is ambitious, Sluder said the university aims to grow international enrollment to 5,000 students in the near term, with long‑term aspirations beyond 10,000 enrolled international students.
Though international students face loneliness and culture shock, Isaac notes the importance of interconnecting cultures and bringing new perspectives to a different country’s youth.
“We are the future, the world is a book, and the countries are the pages. We can’t just look at one page,” Issac says.
