Voice of America’s report “Number of International Students at US Colleges Rising” addressed the seven percent rise in international students attending U.S. colleges and universities in the 2012-2013 academic year which represents a record high of almost 820,000 students. The feature was filmed in part at International Student House and  included interviews with two ISH residents, Neena Dominic and Zheng Zhu, who discussed their experiences studying in the United States.

Under a gleaming clear-top tent adorned with strings of glistening white mini-lights, International Student House held its annual fundraising event, the 2013 Global Leadership Awards Dinner this past fall on October 24.  Beginning with cocktails and an awards ceremony in the 100-year-old Tudor mansion’s elegant Great Hall, a multitude of Ambassadors, government officials, philanthropists, students, friends and supporters all gathered together for the festive occasion.

ISH was especially pleased to recognize Ambassador William J. (Bill) Burns, Deputy Secretary of State, for his long and exceptionally distinguished career promoting US national security and peaceful global citizenship.  The award was presented by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, recipient of last year’s award.  Also honored was long-time ISH Board Member, Dr. Sherry Migdail, with a Lifetime Service Award for her commitment to international education and her devotion to the mission of the Student House. Following the awards ceremony, live jazz music filled the House as guests proceeded to the brightly decorated garden tent and dining room for dinner and conversation.

The event was Co-Chaired by Lilibet Hagel and Betty Ann Tanner, and the Diplomatic Chairs were the Ambassador of Turkey and Mrs. Namık Tan who hosted a special Sponsor Appreciation Dinner at their beautiful Embassy Residence on Thursday, October 10 for high-level executives who represented sponsoring corporations, Members of Congress and the Administration and other special guests.   ISH is grateful for the Leadership support of Robert Abernethy, Jamal Daniel and Bahaa Hariri, as well as its many other sponsors.

Proceeds from the events will allow ISH to continue its mission of providing an exceptional residential experience, replete with enriching programs, while promoting global peace and understanding.  They will also help support an ISH Scholarship Fund that, working with area universities, will assist students from around the globe.

There are certain things that educational institutions cannot teach us.  [These things] can only be learned from real life experiences.   This evening will remain one of the most memorable and enriching experiences in our lives.

-Neena Dominic
ISH Resident

I felt very honored to attend the Global Leadership Award last night.  Every day I learn a lot from my fellow residents and all the people engaged in our house.  I truly believe that human network with dialogue make the world better.

-Naoko Funatsu
ISH Resident

I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done to provide us with such a rich experience.  As we strive to define our identity on different levels, we focus on what differs among us and often overlook how similar we are. It is undeniable that each individual is unique; but what is astounding are the vast commonalities we share that geography cannot separate. I thank you for giving us the opportunity to come together, to learn, to laugh, to celebrate each other.  I also want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to partake in last night’s event.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think what I have experienced at ISH was possible.

-Dương Thị Minh Hiếu
ISH Resident

From early on in my childhood I always aspired to a career in diplomacy. Though I still hope to serve my country one day, I think I will seldom be as proud as I was when representing the ISH community at the Awards Dinner, an institution whose mission I wholeheartedly believe in.  Taking part in the dinner at the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence was a real honor. Meeting our devoted and diverse benefactors was heartwarming, and it reaffirmed the importance of the legacy ISH has built and continues to strive toward.  Perhaps the single greatest testament to the value of the contribution that ISH provides, is that it is embraced by Americans and Foreign Nationals alike, by Republicans and Democrats, by people from all sectors, backgrounds and walks of life.

-Raphaël Guévin-Nicoloff
ISH Resident

Congratulations on an outstanding event.  The GLAD certainly was memorable.  What an incredible evening you organized.  Wonderful idea to have the residents greeting and escorting.  It was a superb way to welcome guests to ISH.   The house looked beautiful and opening up the additional rooms on the second floor nicely showcased the venue and evoked an earlier era when it was a center of social activity.  The program was nicely done and moved along well.  Excellent remarks by all, and ISH resident speakers were particularly good.  The dinner was elegant.

Tables were lovely and floral arrangements exquisite.  Miniature lights filtering through from the garden lent a festive air to the meal.  The food was delicious and the service excellent.  It also was quite impressive to rub elbows with all of the A-List guests you assembled:  Foreign ambassadors, jet-setting billionaires, Washington luminaries and grandes dames in abundance.  I hope that you are feeling pleased with the outcome and savoring the success of this magnificent event.  Kudos on a job well done.
-Larry Dunham
ISH Board Member

International Student House

is pleased to invite you to a 

Special Briefing by

His Excellency Akan Ismaili

of the Republic of Kosovo

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

6:30 – 8:30 pm

1825 R Street, NW

Washington, DC 20009

RSVP: Marie Pius, Development Associate

(202) 232-4007 x211; [email protected]

Ambassador Ismaili will discuss the impact of war, post-conflict rebuilding, and nation building on Kosovo’s youth and Millennials as well as the recent successes and challenges that the country has faced in terms of economic and political development.

Akan Ismaili was appointed as the Republic of Kosovo’s second Ambassador to the United States on May 2, 2012.  He is a former telecommunications entrepreneur and CEO.

Immediately after the NATO bombing ended in 1999, Ambassador Ismaili co-founded Internet Project Kosovo (IPKO), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of information and communications technology as a tool to foster rebuilding and development in Kosovo. IPKO has been credited with bringing the internet to Kosovo. During the same time, he co-founded the American University Foundation in Kosovo, which draws support from Kosovar citizens and its diaspora to establish an American-style higher education institution in Kosovo.

Prior to the war, Ambassador Ismaili managed IT infrastructure for the American diplomatic office in Pristina. After the war started in Kosovo, Ambassador Ismaili served as a translator for U.S. diplomats. Just before the NATO bombing campaign began, Ambassador Ismaili was evacuated to Vienna, where he continued to work as a translator, tasked with translating and distributing U.S. government news articles to the Albanian-language media in the region and at refugee camps.

In December 2007, Ambassador Ismaili was named “Manager of the Year” by the Economic Chamber of Kosova (ECK).

ISH’s educational outreach programs

are made possible, in part,

by a generous grant from Al-Monitor

Six ISH residents, representing a cross-section of the world’s nations, recently were hosted to a luncheon by Liechtenstein’s Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Claudia Fritsche, at her residence.   Ambassador Fritsche briefed the ISH attendees on her responsibilities as her country’s representative to the U.S. and provided insight into the day-to-day duties of a foreign ambassador in Washington.  She also discussed her own career and explained how the role of women in her country’s government had changed over the years.  The occasion afforded the opportunity as well for the residents to conduct a dialog with the Ambassador, exchanging information about their experiences in the United States and observations about life in their home countries.  This program was organized by ISH Board Member Lawrence P. Dunham, former Assistant US Chief of Protocol.