review

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Group Observation

Yusuf Hussein

TCU

Professor Koss

Intro Comp Writing

11/03/2021

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The Audience

According to statistics, the USA is home to more than one million students from across

the whole world. Bridges International plays a crucial role in ensuring that international students

settle for their studies in their respective states and campuses, especially TCU'S campuses.

Bridges International is a Christian organization that is non-profit and based in the United States

of America and abroad. Since most of the members of Bridges International have studied, lived

and worked overseas and understand the unique needs of students, there is the need to offer

services and mobilize the international in the United States and overseas. Bridge International is

thus considered to be a community that is made up of followers of Christ who are majorly

committed towards the provision of service, promotion of building relationships and engagement

in conversations that are highly spiritual with international students to promote leadership on an

international scope(Bridges International,2021).

Therefore, this paper emphasizes and addresses issues that international students face

when they go to study in foreign nations such as the United States of America. Emphasis is

placed on students who intend to join Bridges International since it is already available in all

TCU campuses to facilitate connection with students from similar countries and form a network

based on a significant background. Since relationships are highly essential in life, there is the

consideration of the hardship that international students encounter in making friendships and

relationships as they transition into the American way of life and education system(Bridges

International,2021). This paper is thus influential for those with intentions of travelling to the

United States based on an educational scope and who intend to settle down well in the United

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States of America. In short, the paper is very beneficial to three categories of people who, of

course, have the same thing in common; ongoing students who are on the session, the students

who would like to pioneer the movement or Group on their Campus, and those willing to join the

Group on their campuses.

Since Bridges International is non-profit, there is no payment required from the services

offered. The Group works with active volunteers to offer the services such as the provision of

airport pickups while ensuring a helpline that is always operational. The new visitors may be

exhausted from the journey and may need someone to show them where to rest or show them the

hotel room, the taxi station, and other services deemed possible and beneficial. Therefore, the

Bridges International Organization offers a variety of services, inclusive of acting as the

designated tour guide. The Group is also charged with the responsibility of ensuring international

students establish meaningful connections. Through all these offerings, the primary objective of

the Group is to ensure that an international student gets to familiarize with America through

facilitating the development of relationships on a global scope while ensuring maximum

enjoyment in the American environment during the period of study.

Bridges International also plays a significant role in ensuring that the international

students successfully reach and settle down through ensuring to follow up on flight schedules. In

your initial days, they offered transportation to your new places of residence as well as your

goods. The Group helps them procure the needed items and houses and probably shows them

around the site and orient them on the dos and don'ts and the required stores to find items

needed. They also boost the international students' language by hanging out with them during

their organized hangout activities(Bridges International,2021). Some people may not understand

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when the Americans communicate, and the Group will help people understand the language

more.

Those services provided by Bridges international are very pertinent in making sure that

the international students settle down successfully in the United States of America. The team is

committed to making communications through the dedicated staff team spread all over the

country. The people of the ground also play a role in referring their countrymates who are

travelling to the United States of America to be affiliates of the Group on their arrival. This paper

discusses how Bridges International Communicates its vision, objectives, and goals to the

members and other people. They are interested in joining the team. The Group communicates the

objectives to the team members as well as the other non- members.

Bridges International Organization runs a functional website. They can reach millions or

thousands of international students studying in the United States of America through the website.

The blog posts cover the past experiences of the services offered, the testimonies, and real-life

social matters that may affect the settling students. Some of the topics covered in the blog posts

last year revolved around servant leadership, exploring the outdoors of the United States of

America, and others. Maybe in the following paragraphs, let us discuss some of the information

communicated through the blogs.

The freedom to explore the new country at an affordable cost. They present the U.S. as a

conducive, expansive, and diverse country. The natural areas are all around the United States of

America. Some natural resources or regions include the National parks, outdoor areas reserved

and protected by the government containing campsites, hiking trails, and facilities like the

bathrooms charging around $25 per vehicle for entry. Apart from the national parks, there are

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also state parks found in every state, and they offer similar services provided by the National

parks. One of the points of the actions would be to plan a trip with friends to explore the national

parks and the state parks. With the existing COVID-19 guidelines, you need to ensure that the

restrictions are those you can work with(Bridges International,2021).

The bog posts also give direction on how communication is done in the U.S. by talking

about how mobile phones work in the U.S. The correspondence sheds light on how one can

access mobile phone services in the U.S. To decide, one should make some of the considerations

such as; whether you want to be committed to a year plan or monthly instalments plan. One

should also consider whether they have friends to team up with to pay for a cheaper family plan.

If you already have your device, then it will be much simple and easy to acquire. They also give

the details on getting the data and the cost of the same. The chance to connect and empower the

international students is also what the blog posts communicate. The conferences and seminars

are both virtual and physical to be certified both socially and cognitively. The meeting was on the

vision together, and the model is adopted in organizing the students into family groups, plenary

sessions, and seminars. The conference was to happen on January from 1st – 3rd in 2021. The

meeting was set to charge a small fee of about 19 dollars.

The blog posts take students through sessions of boosting and promoting their mental

wellness and spiritual growth(Bridges International,2021). Through some of the blog posts, like

the one on depression, they reach out to students who may undergo the issue of mental starriness

and experience some difficulties coping with emotions and stress. They also provide spiritual

nourishment through posting devotionals and scriptural reflections on reality through the

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scriptures. All these blog posts aim to grow the students both spiritually, emotionally, and

physically at the same time. In short, they provide holistic growth for all international students.

Retreats are other ways through which Bridge international communicates to its members

and those willing to join. The retreats aim to bring the people together to have bonding sessions

and have members and those in attendance develop a test for the Bridge international

organization. One of the recent examples is the hill country fall retreat that happened just

recently. Retreats communicate to people that the Group is peaceful hence emphasizing the need

for unity and harmony.

Bridge International is spread across the United States, leaving no place unexplored. The

Group welcomes people for meet-up sessions that are organized throughout the country on

campuses. The Group, through the website, has developed a system where someone can be able

to use the search box to find the nearest location of Bridge International. The different areas to

small groups contain links where one can click on them then be led to the place where the small

group location is situated. Bridge International is spread across the different universities in the

United States, more than twenty of them and more than thirty Bridge international Locations.

Again, these links to small groups and locations guide the newly reporting international students

visiting the United States for the first time on their study journey.

According to the observation and some research, the Group has invested in courteous

language and the need to connect and network with new friends and keep the old ones. One of

their advantages is that they have left the idea of mobilization to the volunteers who have seen

the service offered by the Group. There is some freedom of launching and rolling out a particular

group on your Campus if you feel compelled about the need of such a group on Campus. One

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needs to communicate the intentions to do so then they are given the go-ahead to launch or roll

out the program(Bridges International,2021). The Group on the ground does effective

communication since they are the ones who interact with the people and at the bottom. The

people on the field are the ones who are aware of the number of new students arriving on their

campuses as well as being keen to observe as they are settling down in their recent locations. The

absence of the hierarchical structure makes things easier to handle with the different groups with

diverse members. This said, it should be noted that the objectives of Bridge International remain

very clear, and whoever wants to be associated with the Group then must agree with the goals

and at the same time be ready not to set up a parallel organization.

To grow the interconnectedness and the power of the Network, they have stayed tuned on

Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Remaining relevant in today's generation is determined by

the depth of your networking system. They have chosen to stay relevant by fishing from where

the crowds are. Facebook has more than two billion users, growing and growing daily. The same

thing applies to Youtube and Instagram as well. The platforms mentioned above are vital in

today's generation as they remain a catchment area for the news to spread to millions of people

worldwide(Bridges International,2021). Bridge International can reach out to people on the

ongoing programs and events through social media platforms and inform them of the upcoming

events.

Social connectedness does not only reflect on social media platforms alone but also

during physical gatherings. As the name suggests, the bridge comes in to close that gap of

loneliness and enhance friendship creation and maintenance during these occasions. The Group

organizes thanksgiving parties, Christmas and Easter events, and celebrations for the

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international students to bond together. They hold a weekly meeting where the students can even

play games during such sessions. They also communicate through the Vision conference that is

held once a year. It brings together students to enjoy music worship, fun and exciting, powerful

speeches and sermons from different renowned speakers from across the States. Indeed, Bridge

International is a group worth learning from and borrowing leaves from them.

References

Bridges International(2021).Bridges Blog.Retrieved from:

https://www.bridgesinternational.com/about/