Deah Gulley

“I've spent most of my adult working career abroad. I think there's a huge difference in international exchange and tourist traveling. I can remember living abroad for so long that I and the people around me very much differentiated between 'tourists' and 'travelers.' International exchange lets you be in the culture. You're not just there to sightsee or see the famous things or be there for a moment, trying to bring your culture with you... being there for a longer period of time changes the way that you see the rest of the world, and changes the way you see yourself in the rest of the world. It starts to break down that 'other'. There's always that first moment when you realize 'Oh my gosh. It's true what everybody says. We are more alike than we are different.'                              

When I came back to the US, I really missed the international community and so I wanted to work with international students, but I didn't want to go back into the classroom. So I said, what I'd really like to do is work in an office for international students in a university. Having been on the other side of it for so long, I know that when you come to a new place as a student or a scholar, you need a landing place. Even with all of the orientations, with all of the information online, you still need somewhere, some base, to touch where you can go to get help. And that's the way I see OISS. It's a touchstone and a place for people to get assistance and then move them into the bigger Tulane community.”