Today, as we celebrate International Education Week, we are featuring Iangotiana.

Iangotiana (Yango) grew up in Madagascar, a large island southeast of Africa. In 2022, her mother passed away, and she moved to Minnesota to live with her aunt and uncle. She enrolled in English courses at the University of Minnesota but found few friends and became homesick. She wanted to make a fresh start while studying Project Management, so she transferred to Saint Paul College, where she is excited to attend classes every day.

Iangotiana discovered that many international students often experience feelings of depression due to separation from their families. However, she quickly learned that the supportive nature of the international student community at SPC played a vital role in helping her feel at home. This support allowed her to concentrate more on her studies. With assistance from Pathway Advisors and mental health counselors, her heavy course load felt much more manageable.

As an extrovert, Iangotiana loves approaching other international students and helping them overcome homesickness. Iangotiana loves the diversity at SPC and often helps facilitate student conversations to make everyone feel at home. She is in her third semester at SPC and is scheduled to graduate next fall. After that, she intends to transfer to the Carlson School of Management and eventually enter business management.

Iangotiana is a member of the PTK Honor Society and has a 4.0 GPA. She credits her good grades to discipline, a focus on her studies, and an attitude that attending college is a privilege. For International Education Week at SPC, she plans on bringing “cassava” cake pudding, her native food from Madagascar, for others to enjoy!