Joan and John Mylroie
“John and I have hosted students from the beginning of the program when it was started by Hawkin Brackett. Our first student was from Russia, Elvira Gayfullina; the 2nd students was from Nepal and his name is Kabrindra Bhattarai and he is now a senior at MSU in Mechanical Engineering. It has been wonderful so meet him as a freshman and see him progress through his academic career. Our third student was from South Korea and her name was Sae Rom Seo. She was only at MSU for one year. Our 4th student was Oluwasola Omotola from Nigeria. He was in poultry science and entered the Borderless Host program as a senior and has since graduated and taken a job here in the USA. In 2010 our 5th student, Listiawan Jundi Waskito Hadi (Wawam) came from Indonesia. He is currently a sophomore (but we met him as a Freshman) in Aerospace Engineering.
All of these students have felt like part of our family. We go out to lunch once a week and invite them to join us along with our children, other undergraduates, and sometimes graduate student or colleagues. It has been wonderful to follow them through their academic careers here at MSU. Some have joined us for Thanksgiving dinner and one accompanied us to a wedding. We have enjoyed the bowling night, game day, and pot luck dinners set up by the Borderless Host committees over the years. One thing that all of these students have in common is that they are incredibly intelligent; they have excelled in all their academic disciplines. Another commonality is that they are all delightful people. We find it enjoyable to expand the size of our family by including these wonderful MSU students. I have attached a photo of Wawam with John and I wearing outfits he brought to us from Indonesia. Thank you for continuing this program. I think it is OUTSTANDING!”
Kirsten Lowe
My experience with the LINC program has been nothing short of remarkable. I heard about this program through some church friends and signed up to be a host family for the fall of 2017. The application process was quick and easy. It also clearly explained what my responsibilities would be as a host. I was thrilled beyond measure when I learned I had been paired with a student, Salma, from Morocco! We instantly hit it off. She was friendly and eager to share her background with me, but she was also eager to learn about American culture. We met once every other week or once a month depending on our schedules. We went hiking together, walked Main Street, enjoyed coffee, went to church, and I even had her over to teach me how to make a traditional Moroccan meal. It was delicious! I was also very impressed with all the fun activities the LINC program provided on campus for you and your student attend. This program is a perfect way to learn about the world outside of America but also to welcome an international student to your own country and help their transition to be as smooth as possible. I would recommend signing up to anyone!
Post Office Box 9503
198 Lee Boulevard
Colvard Student Union, Suite 220
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: 662.325.2033
Email: tms807@msstate.edu
Applications for the program will be open October 15th, 2022 at 8AM through January 20th, 2023 at 11:59PM. Links for applications are below:
Link for LINC Buddy (Mentors):
https://msstate.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/start/549292
Link for LINC participant:
https://msstate.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/start/549293