International House Berkeley

6 International House Times Stories of Transformation from Personal Growth to Global Impact T here are many different lenses through which we can clearly view the tens of thousands of individuals who have lived at I-House over the past 93 years. Some characteristics of our resident body composition are easily quantifiable. For example, we know the home countries, languages, academic disciplines, genders, and ages of our residents each year. We know how many individuals seek help to pay for room and board at I-House and to how many we can offer some financial assistance. We count the number of residents who eat in the Dining Commons every day, and through regular surveys, we know how many like the food prepared in our kitchen. We know how many residents participate in the programs of I-House's Robertson Center for Intercultural Leadership and Programs. We know how many alumni come back to visit. We also know of and celebrate many notable alumni who have famously made the world a better place. But determining just how an individual's I-House experience informed their understanding of the world and influenced their personal and professional lives is a bit more difficult. The answer is simply more nuanced. Many alumni describe important and enduring lifelong relationships—in some cases, marriages—as the most significant outcome of their stay at I-House. Ron Olson's (IH 1959-62) story is a familiar one: "Living at I-House was probably the most defining experience of my life. The collection of friends I made there and the fact that they were from all over the world were profoundly influential. As we figured out young adulthood, shared new experiences in Berkeley and beyond, and imagined our futures, we all realized that we had a lot more in common than our differences in language, background, and culture." Ron, an undergraduate student of anthropology from the USA, came to I-House with an established interest in other cultures. "But my understanding of different cultures was sort of theoretical. The world opened up in a real way when I came to I-House. I made dear friends from Egypt, England, Germany, Italy, Tunisia ... I attended an Orthodox Easter celebration with a Ukrainian friend. These people all taught me so much while I was at I-House and throughout my life. Though our approach to the world might be different, people are people. We are all pretty much 90 percent the same." Ron's time at I-House also influenced his professional career. "I met several graduate students who were studying public health, and it was through conversations with them that I decided I wanted to do something with public health too." Ron stayed on at I-House while he pursued his graduate work at UC Berkeley. After obtaining his master's in public health, he joined the Peace Corps where he worked as a health educator in Ethiopia, and then went on to work for the City of San Francisco Department of Public Health, and later with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "If it were not for my time at I-House and the people I met there, I would never have found that path." Mike Zingg (IH 1992-93) likewise recognizes the influence of his I-House experience on his professional life. Born and raised in Switzerland, he came to I-House as an exchange student from Sophia University in Japan to study economics at the Haas School of Business. ough from a fairly young age, Mike was curious about cultures outside of his own, he says his time at I-House grew that interest and accelerated his learning. "At I-House, when talking to all the people there, you begin to see that everywhere around the world we have similar issues—social, environmental … even issues in the workplace. And if you listen, you can really grow by learning how other cultures and countries have addressed those issues." Denise Shual Ronan (IH 1959-60), Ron Olson (IH 1959-62), and Gladys Kroub Ball (IH 1959-60) in front of I-House, circa 1960. Ron, Denise, and Gladys—friends for life.

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