April 2025

Dear International Students,

We hope that you had a relaxing spring break and are ready for the home stretch of the spring semester! Let’s see all the exciting events this month has to offer:

In the Announcements section, we are gearing up for the final exams week with on-campus resources from the Educational Resource Center and Student Health Services. We are also celebrating the arts through College of Fine Arts events throughout the month and collaborating with student dance clubs to celebrate International Dance Day. Lastly, if you are an undergraduate, consider applying to be an International Peer Mentor for future first-year undergraduate international students!

In the Student Experiences section, read our interview with Ahaan Vaknalli (CAS ‘27), who will share his story about his school-work-life balance and as one of our International Student Programming Assistants.

In the Culture Corner section, we are covering professional email advice to help you navigate online communication in a school and work environment.

This newsletter will be the last one for this school year. We wish everyone the best of luck on final exams, projects, and presentations, and our biggest congratulations to the Class of 2025!

If you have any feedback for future newsletters, please contact Sheila Hernandez at sheilahz@bu.edu.

Announcements

Upcoming Events

Thanksgiving Meal for BU Students

Day: Thursday Nov 27th Time: 11:00am - 8:00pm Marciano Commons
Details
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Student Experiences

A Word from Students

Ahaan Vaknalli (COM’26), shares his experience as an international student at BU and as an International Student Programming Assistant at Global Programs.

Read the Full Story

Culture Corner

On Professional Email Advice

Communicating professionally and online is a tricky world to navigate, especially if you are just starting. Here are some best practices and tools to help you before you click “Send”:

1. The Subject Line

The subject line is your attention grabber, so it can make the difference between the recipient opening it and deleting it. You should include the topic of your email with the most relevant information. There is no need to be creative here; being concise and precise are most important.

2. The Salutation

Writing an email to someone for the first time, someone that you do not know very well, or someone in a professional context is different from writing an email to a family member, friend, or someone that you know very well. Start with “Dear” and the honorific (such as Professor, Dr., Mr., Ms., Mx., etc.) if there is one. Then add their last name and a comma at the end. It should look like “Dear Professor Rhett,” when you put it all together. If you do not know the exact person that you are writing to, a good alternative is “To whom it may concern,” and leave it at that.

3. The Topic

Write your main point(s) in the beginning of your paragraph, then provide some context. By pushing the context back, you are giving the recipient the option of reading the not-so-important part. Oftentimes, we may feel the need to give the recipient the reason(s) for writing so it does not seem like we are bothering them but it is actually counterproductive. If the recipient is senior to you, they most likely just want to know what they are dealing with so they can reply and move on quickly and efficiently.

4. The Signature

You should appropriately sign off and include your signature. Some common and professional phrases include: “Best regards,” “Thank you,” and “Sincerely.” Don’t forget to include a comma after these phrases and your full name in the next line. If you are writing to a professor, it might be helpful to include your course and section to easily identify who you are in a big university. If you are writing in a work setting, it might be helpful to include your title and/or department to easily identify who you are in a big company.

5. Other Considerations

You should use the active voice to emphasize what it is that you need to address. You should also avoid any abbreviations or emojis to strike a genuine and sincere tone. Write out the full word or phrase, unless it is something that we all recognize (such as BU). Always proofread before you send anything and ensure that you are emailing the correct recipient(s). Email settings may default to “Reply all” instead of “Reply,” when you mean to send it to one specific person.

ISSO Insights

We understand and appreciate that many of our international students, and members of the international community here at BU have questions during this time of uncertainty. Staff representing several university offices are closely monitoring the recently signed executive orders that could impact international travel and visa processing.

The International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) has established a special news page to update the community on immigration-related actions under the new Trump administration. ISSO would like to continue to remind our international students about the basics of maintaining their status, to carry their immigration documents on their person, and to make prudent decisions about international travel while we wait for more clarity from the Trump administration. As of now, possible risks for summer travel are still unknown and uncertain. Please continue to watch for communications from ISSO and check the news page frequently for updates. It is vital that all international students take steps to maintain their legal status and assess risk with the help of their ISSO Advisor. Please continue to reach out to ISSO directly with any questions or concerns as we approach the end of the spring semester and summer break.

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