Education through experience: NAU’s own International Pavilion
As Northern Arizona University opens its doors to more and more students, infrastructure is being created to accommodate this demand, while also offering an opportunity for students and faculty to become immersed with international cultures. The International Pavilion is an on campus nexus point for cross cultural interactions to take place in a formal and informal way.
The International Pavilion is headed by NAU’s Department of International Education, and is the subsequent heir to the already functional International House on campus. Students can apply to be a part of the pavilion by applying online through the center of International education. In order to create a community in which cultural diversity is abundant, the goal for the pavilion is to have half of the students domestic, and the other half foreign.
Not only is the pavilion a home for these students, but it also acts as a meeting point for international activity across northern Arizona.
“The International Pavilion will serve as a hub for diverse cultural interaction beyond the campus,” said Vice Provost for International Education Harvey Charles.
Charles is one of the key organizers in the formation of the pavilion, and he hopes that the building will allow students to become immersed in cultures that they only experienced through other mediums. This sentiment isn’t only shared by domestic students either. Charles believes that it is essential for international students to live on campus to experience the full extent of American education and culture.
“Most international students believe that life in America is mirrored by what they see in Hollywood,” Charles said. “We know that to be not true because we live here, but that is the sort of truncation that can occur when you are only exposed to a sliver of cultural diversity.”
The pavilion is also a location for the celebration of other cultures, as the building will host various cultural events that aim to venerate foreign students, and the cultures they bring to NAU.
“The Pavilion will contain art that changes weekly to accommodate the various students that live there,” said Assistant to The Vice Provost Emma Holmes. “The goal there is not only house the international students, but also show that their cultures are celebrated, and that students are extremely interested to learn about their experiences and triumphs.”
Another important aspect of the International Pavilion is the fact that it will be one of the greenest educational facilities in the United States. The pavilion is being constructed to become the first LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental design, platinum certified buildings in the entire Southwest. To achieve platinum status through LEED, the building is incorporating various tools such as solar panels, recycled materials, and low energy appliances so that the building can achieve true net-zero energy efficiency.
“Platinum status is the highest rank you can achieve with LEED, and the pavilion itself will actually be producing more energy than it is using,” Charles said.
The International Pavilion will finish construction in the beginning of August, and its inception will come in conjunction with Flagstaff’s first international festival, which will celebrate the pavilion itself, while also honoring more than 70 countries that are represented through NAU’s study abroad efforts.
This 9,500 sq. ft. pavilion is the start of many renovations that are being implemented in and throughout Flagstaff to accommodate the growing number of students enrolling at NAU, but the Center for International Education is making sure that these accommodation are not coming at the cost of student. In fact, these renovations and flat-out constructions are aiming to maintain NAU’s place as a home for students throughout the world who are aiming to achieve higher education.
