Melissa Padgett points to Wilmington, North Carolina on the atlas. Her finger slides across the Atlantic Ocean and past Spain; it moves over the Mediterranean and across Italy, stopping at Athens, Greece. “I’m 5,300 miles away from my hometown – that’s about 8,590 kilometers for the metric system users to understand,” she said. Padgett is one of the many international students who studies at Deree.

The student body, composed of 54 nationalities, creates a microcosm of world cultures. The students appreciate and embrace the diversity of Deree.

International and Greek students benefit from each other inside and outside the classroom. In class, students express their distinctive world views. Foreign students provide insight into how their countries operate on a governmental, social and cultural level. “International students teach first-hand how their society and their values are different,” said Andreas Aktoudianakis, a senior from Crete.

Deree faculty members view the multicultural classroom dynamic as a positive for everyone. “International and Greek students offer different perspectives on life,” said faculty member Daniel McCormac. “They present different attitudes and approaches in the classroom.”

After class, students often meet at local cafés near the campus to discuss projects. Greek students introduce their international peers to the frappé. Greeks erupt into laughter when their counterparts cringe after sipping the pungent coffee. Although they get together to work on a project, they find themselves reclining on the sofas to exchange stories about their family traditions and their country’s customs.

“Greek students have taught me to be more comfortable and more open with people,” Michelle Rush, a senior from Texas said. “I now feel comfortable associating with all types of people.” The foreign students opt for Starbucks the next time they meet up; there, they order a familiar frappucino.

International and Greek students can learn valuable life lessons from each other. Teamwork, innovation skills and flexibility are honed when students interact. These qualities prepare students for the global workplace. “To be an educated person in the new millennium one must have the new skills that come from exposure to other cultures,” advises the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

International students study at Greece for different reasons. A portion of Deree’s foreign students are of Greek heritage and choose to study in Athens to reconnect with their family history. “Since I was a baby, I visited Greece every summer with my family,” said Padgett. “I always knew that I wanted to live in Greece. When I visited Deree after high school, I knew I could get a quality education in the country I hold close to my heart.”

Students value the well-rounded education Deree offers in a country rich in history, beauty and variety. “The diversified student body is for a holistic purpose – which is to expand our education and to broaden our horizons,” said Aktoudianakis. “Other Greek universities here in Athens do not have the international exposure on campus that Deree does.”

True to the college’s pride in being “international in origin and outlook,” as its mission statement puts it, new initiatives to recruit more foreign students are one of Deree’s administrative goals. The college’s international recruitment team appeals to foreign students by highlighting the diverse educational experience Deree offers and its strategic location in Athens.

“International students want to be close to history, close to the historical sites,” Helga Kristensen, international student recruitment manager, explained. “Also, people value the American education that Deree offers and the excellent on campus facilities.” Deree plans to provide excursions around Greece for students so they will have the opportunity to explore and appreciate the country they study in.

This month, Deree played host to a group of Japanese students from Tamagawa University in Machida, Tokyo. “They showed a strong interest in the multicultural student body of ACG, how the students interact and how the overall educational experience benefits from having 54 nationalities on campus,” said Kristensen.

Dr. Makoto Kabayashi, a professor of educational psychology at Tamagawa who chaperoned the students on their trip to Greece, said he was impressed by the Deree’s “active engagement in the international exchange and the interdisciplinary approach of your college towards academic study.”

Kabayashi, director of the UNESCO Club at Tamagawa, said he hopes that his university’s relationship with Deree can develop, to strengthen “Greek-American-Japanese friendship in our globalizing human society.”

In recent months, Deree has also received school visits from Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Denmark.

International students compose 10 percent of the student body. Deree’s goal is to reach 25 percent international and 75 percent Greek students in the next five years. Dean of Students Abroad Kathleen Cross said, “Our strategic initiative is not to decrease the Greek student population to reach our goal, but to increase our numbers overall.”

Deree welcomed over two dozen new international students this semester. Both international and Greek students look forward to more diversity on campus and are willing to help incoming students to fit in at Deree.

The students embrace the different languages, faces and styles that fill Deree’s halls. “For me this was so shocking,” said Padgett. “I grew up in Wilmington, a very small town in North Carolina, where it’s very rare to hear or see people from other countries. For me, studying at Deree has helped me to learn more about our world we live in as far as how different cultures act, look, and speak.”