International Voices

Hailing from over 100 countries, our international students bring their unique voices and experiences to the campus community and beyond. Get to know some of our international students below!

Jean Pierre Ndagijimana

Hometown: Musanze, Rwanda

Program: Doctorate in International and Multicultural Education | Class of 2022

"I had not really grasped the role of pedagogy in healing trauma until I joined the USF School of Education. Inviting and welcoming students’ personal and collective life stories, daily lives, fears, struggles, frustrations, resilience, strengths, and flaws in classrooms is like a breath of fresh air to the curriculum. The boldness, the radical vulnerability from my very resilient classmates and teachers provides a radically supportive environment and provides a living heart to the syllabus. Thanks to inspirations from the classes and my current and past experiences treating trauma in Rwanda after the genocide, I have been developing some psychosocial decolonial strategies that I have been trying in Rwanda and in the African diaspora through research and interventions and I will soon launch the effort. After graduation, I hope to use 60% of my time implementing and evaluating those initiatives, especially in post-conflict situations in some Sub-Saharan Africa communities in Africa and abroad."

Photograph taken by Henrik Meng

Tanya Sanjay

Hometown: Singapore 

Program: Bachelors in Marketing | Class of 2022

"I came to USF for its diversity and commitment to its students. As a lifelong international student, being able to learn from and share in the variety of experiences that myself and fellow classmates have had, has always enriched my education. I've always said that USF is the school I never knew I needed and I'm forever thankful for making the decision to come here. I'm blessed to have such a strong network of talented and dedicated student leaders and educators who will undoubtedly go on to shape the future. Furthermore, my roommate Clarissa, who joined us during spring semester of my freshman year, has been one of the most kind and loving people I've had the privilege of meeting. Her enthusiasm and open-mindedness has helped me feel more at home at San Francisco and at USF"

Photograph taken by Henrik Meng