Written by Colin McEvoy | November 21, 2024 | SHARE
Lehigh University celebrated faculty, staff, and organizations dedicated to supporting its international students at the Together We Climb luncheon during International Education Week
Long before he became an Assistant Professor at Lehigh University’s Department of Community and Population Health, Gideon Gogovi was himself an international student from Ghana. So he knows firsthand both the challenges and opportunities international students face while studying in the United States.
“I’m here to support all students, not only international students, but I try to understand international students because I’ve been there before,” Gogobi said. “I know some of the obstacles. I know how they feel, not having family here, where everything is different. When I first came to America, I might not have made it if I didn’t get support, so why would I not offer that same support to students now?”
Gogovi was among the 30 Lehigh faculty members, staff, or organizations that were honored at the Together We Climb luncheon during International Education Week on Nov. 21. Organized by Lehigh’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), the event seeks to recognize faculty and staff who have made a difference in the experiences of international students.
“We cannot do the work to support and host international students like we do at Lehigh without the help of people like you,” Amanda Connolly, Director of International Students and Scholars with the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), said to the honorees during a luncheon ceremony on Nov. 21.
“You all do the important work of helping ensure that our students feel connected on campus,” Connolly said. “You help them get connected to resources and make this home. For that reason, we want to acknowledge the network of people on this campus who make our hosting work possible.”
All the honorees were nominated directly by students, who expressed how they made a difference in each of their lives. Gogovi was the only honoree to be nominated by two different people, including Paulina Gonzalez ‘24, who graduated from Lehigh this year with a bachelor’s degree in Population Health.
“As someone who was himself an international student, he understands the struggles we face and has an open door policy for all of us,” Gonzalez said. “I see students coming in and out of his office asking for advice or even just to say hello all the time. He has a great attitude and always has great expectations for me and his students.”
Gogovi was also nominated by Godfred Adomako Mensah ‘25G, who earned a master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh. He said Gogovi played a vital role in forming the Lehigh Association of Ghanaian Students (LAGS), which seeks to support all Ghanaian students at the university.
“As a professor from Ghana himself, he has been of immense help and a source of motivation to the Ghanaian and Africa community at Lehigh,” Mensah said. “He serves as a mentor through his exemplary lifestyle and professionalism
Dan Zeroka, Engineering Technician at Lehigh’s Civil & Environmental Engineering department, was also among this year’s Together We Climb nominees. He was nominated by Qiaochu Sun ‘25 Ph.D., who studied civil engineering at Lehigh. She said Zeroka is strongly dedicated to student success and has been particularly supportive during lab sessions.
“His willingness to share knowledge has broadened our understanding beyond textbooks, making concepts vivid and sparking greater interest in learning,” Sun said in her formal nomination. “His encouragement, especially when I felt unsure if I could successfully complete the lab, has boosted my confidence.”
Nominations were submitted to OIA and OISS. In addition to Gogovi and Zeroka, the 2024 Together We Climb honorees include:
- Ana Alexandrescu, Professor of Practice, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Edson Bope, Graduate Assistant, OISS
- Sarah Borowski, Assistant Professor of Psychology
- Hyunok Choi, Associate Professor, Department of Community and Population Health
- Nicholas Christy, Associate Director, Student Involvement & Student Center Operations
- Alyssa Clapp, Director, MS in Management and MS in Business Analytics, Graduate Programs Office
- Carly Dickerson, Associate Director for the Center for Gender Equity
- Mary Gulick, Director of Graduate Student Affairs, Graduate Programs Office
- Linda Hamel, Undergraduate Coordinator, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Kathleen Hutnik, Associate Deputy Provost for Graduate Education
- Maria Ioannidou, Academic Coordinator, Religion, Culture & Society
- Md. Khayrul Islam, Graduate Research Assistant, Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
- Jennifer Jensen, Professor of Political Science
- Jiin Jung, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
- Bilal Khan, Professor, Department of Community and Population Health
- Yvonne Lee, Director of the Graduate Writers' Studio
- Wenxin Liu, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Kerry Livermore, Graduate and Undergraduate Coordinator, Department of Chemistry
- Cheryl Matherly, Vice President and Vice Provost for International Affairs
- Ali Marsteller, Graduate Coordinator, Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
- Amber Rice, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
- James Rommens, Adjunct Instructor of Project Management
- Annika Sethre-Hofstad, Coordinator, OISS
- Karen Sicinski, Nursing Director, Health & Wellness Center
- Todd Watkins, Executive Director, Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise and Microfinance Program
- Himani Yadav, Physics Department
- Mahsa Zafarmand, Teaching Assistant at Lehigh University
- The Center for Career and Professional Development
Lehigh University has 989 international students from 91 countries this academic year, as well as 140 scholars from 42 countries, according to OIA’s newly-released global data reports. Nationally, international student enrollment has reached an all-time high, with just over 1.1 million international students enrolled in U.S. institutions in the 2023-24 academic year.
“Thank you all for the work you do,” Connolly told the honorees during the ceremony. “We know you don’t think of it as something extra and that you’re just doing your day-to-day work, but it really is important, and it really does help our office do the work that we do to have international students here on campus.”