IPALs celebrates a decade of warm welcomes

Sid Thatham, now a utility energy metering engineer for UC’s central utility plant, helped shape the program as a graduate assistant for UC International and one of the very first IPALs in 2015.

Programming to support international students and their arrival existed prior to that point, he explained, but in a patchwork of offices and under a variety of names. There was Cultural Connections (a globally-themed networking group out of the Study Abroad office), the international student ambassadors (student workers for the International Admissions office), and a nebulous group of volunteers known as the iPALs (then a designation for “on-call” volunteers for the International Services office).

Thatham reached out to staff members in every office and joined every single group. He recalled, “Back then, I wanted to be a part of anything and everything that had the word international in it.”

The Cultural Connections group started to wane, and internally, UC International staff were trying to decide how to best formalize the lower-case “iPALs” program. In late 2014, a replacement “International Student Board” program was proposed, in which graduate assistants would serve as facilitators and student members would be eligible to receive an international leadership certificate for their participation.

“I don't know what happened or what changed, but we decided to drop the idea of calling it the Board and we stuck to IPALs, with a capital “I” this time,” explained Thatham. By the fall of 2015, the staff had selected a cohort of 20 students, designed a logo, welcomed over 1,000 new international students at immigration check-in and set up shop answering international student quandaries in a lounge in Swift Hall.

Momentum was slow, but Thatham and his fellow IPALs kept networking, inviting friends from other campus organizations or fellow international students in coursework to come to IPALs events.

Out of familiarity and comfort, he explained, many international students gravitated toward student organizations, roommates or friendships with other students from the same country. IPALs was successful in breaking down those barriers—and borders—by creating a comfortable atmosphere for students who were thousands of miles away from home.

“Over time, there's always this unspoken need to feel at home. All of us do, even if we're in the same home country, but not in the same city we grew up in,” said Thatham. “IPALs gave people the opportunity to feel that way.”

Ria Menon, an IPAL and spring 2025 graduate studying statistics in UC’s College of Arts & Sciences, was ready to join the group almost as soon as she landed in Cincinnati.

“My mom and I started following a bunch of UC Instagram accounts and IPALs was one that stood out,” Menon explained. “[My roommate] was never at home, and I was living by myself, basically, for most of the time. So, my mom would send me a bunch of Instagram posts, and she would be like, there's this event happening—you should go.”

What Menon found was a spirited Bearcat family, which inspired her to apply and become an IPAL in only her second semester at UC. Soon, her social calendar was filled with welcome week events, cultural “crafternoons” and global snack tastings.

Menon remained an IPAL throughout her college career—adding in experiences as a ROAR tour guide, college tribunal member, university funding board member and student worker for the Center for Student Involvement—because of the incredible leadership opportunities the group provides.

“With IPALs, when we plan or work at events, you have to work together with people from different backgrounds. I think that really helped me improve my communication skills,” said Menon. “I’ve learned a lot of teamwork and conflict resolution. With all events, our goal is to talk to different people and get them to learn about each other. It's really important that all of us are working towards that goal.”

And that goal can only be achieved with a greater presence from students who are local to the university. Sharing cultures, to Menon, is a more powerful experience when students can bond over their similarities and rejoice in their differences.

“It's nice to have community for international students, but I also want more domestic students to join. There's value in that too, because we have similar experiences. I think everyone has a tough time moving away from home and starting fresh in college,” Menon stated. “I want domestic students to come and share their experiences as U.S. students coming to college.”

Key to this initiative is UC International’s Global Engagement Lounge (GEL), a space opened this academic year near the office in Edwards Center. By day, the lounge is an open, quiet space for any UC student to study, or a landing spot for study abroad information sessions and international work authorization workshops. But after hours, the GEL comes alive with pop-up events hosted by the IPALs—some recent favorites included a global film night, a celebration of national muffin day and even an origami-making class.

These are the types of experiences that UC International intends to continue as IPALs grows and evolves into its next decade: cross-cultural exchanges that can benefit every student at the University of Cincinnati, whether they’ve traveled 7,000 miles or just down the block to get here.

Reflecting on the group’s history, Blanton recognized the hard work of the hundreds of student leaders who have come through the program, stating that their dedication to the group is what has made IPALs a success.

“When I think about some of the students that I've had the pleasure of meeting through IPALs, I've been lucky enough to work with them,” said Blanton. “They're an inspiring group of young people: smart, curious, in some ways fearless. All you can do is kind of admire them and hope that there's some way you can help support their growth and help them find success, whether it's here or when they go back home.”