By Frank Mustac
10/13/2004

With 200 students from 39 different countries across the globe, Virginia International University (VIU) in Fairfax is looking to add some regional flavor to its undergraduate and graduate mix and, in the process, build up its student body population.

In September, VIU announced it is offering five new scholarships to minority students from Northern Virginia.

The scholarships are made possible in part by $290,000 worth of donations presented to the university over the past two years by VIU President Isa Sarac, who founded the nonprofit educational institution in 1998.

A native of Turkey and a mathematician by training, Sarac, 54, also announced the creation of a VIU endowment, which will fund future scholarships. This year's endowment goal is $100,000.

"We want to give back to the community," said VIU's graduate program director, Habib Khan, about the new scholarship offerings.

The collection of international students that attend VIU, Khan said, is a tremendous resource for any American student, especially those interested in learning about various cultures of the world.

Times Staff Photo/Shamus Fatzinger
In front of VIU on Pender Drive in Fairfax are, (L-R) President Isa Sarac, students Maria Margarita Robledo from Paraguay and Karsta Roder from Germany, and graduate program director Habib Khan

"Here we have in our own backyard a rich cultural group," he said. "It's a phenomenal group of international students they can intermingle with."

"The educational impact of that mixture can be phenomenal," said Khan, 66, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer who lives in Fairfax City.

The international students at VIU, he said, can also benefit from a stronger presence of Northern Virginia natives on campus.

"We want [our international students] to be exposed to American culture and American life," Khan said. "When they go back home, they take a little bit of America with them."

Successful candidates awarded one of the new undergraduate scholarships will receive $1,450, or half a semester's tuition, while graduate students can receive up to $1,850 toward payment of one year's worth of tuition.

One international student on scholarship who also works in VIU's administrative offices is Maria Margarita Robledo from Paraguay.

A former national aerobics champion (similar to gymnastics) and part-time music teacher in her native country, Robledo, 26, came to VIU nine months ago to study in the master's of business administration program.

"It's very good. It's a good opportunity," said Robledo, who goes by the nickname "Maggie." "This school gave me a scholarship. The tuition prices are lower than other universities."

Robledo counts among her friends at VIU students from Uzbekistan, Japan, Thailand, Tanzania, Europe and some of the other South American countries. She lives with some of them at a town house in Fairfax belonging to the university.

"I think we created a new language," Robledo joked about the English she and her roommates mix with their own native words and phrases.

"It's amazing to see how different cultures can be," Robledo said. "You see something different every day."

"It's a plus for the university and fun to be exposed to so many different cultures," she said.

VIU offers undergraduate programs in business administration and computer science, with graduate programs leading to a master's in business administration or management information systems.

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For more information, contact VIU at
3957 Pender Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030;
call 703-591-7042 or 1-800-51-GO VIU;
fax: 703-591-7046; or
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