My residence on the SIUE Edwardsville Campus for the past couple of days brought to mind how a place can greatly influence your daily routine. A recurring question I have is: “Why does life here feel so distant, in terms of its physical distance, from what students actually need?” For someone who has recently moved to this area, primarily for an International Student and is not from the area, it may seem as if everything that is relevant or vital to them, is located just beyond the campus borders.
To provide some context, Edwardsville is a small college town, primarily set up for the automobile and suburban environment. Edwardsville’s main campus is very walkable; however, the majority of the necessities in students’ daily lives (groceries, dining establishments, social areas) are situated away from the campus. Without personal vehicle access, students rely on limited forms of transportation, which may create the perception of living within a confined and repetitive lifestyle. If you were to compare the college town environment to the culture in my home country of Cyprus, where individuals do their daily activities within busy, compact spaces, it may create a sense of isolation.
Understanding the role that space and environment play in creating connection, independence, and well-being is an important consideration when thinking about how to help international college students adjust to life away from home. To better understand the college community and town of Edwardsville and how to continue to improve the experience for international students, it is important to understand how a design can create a better overall experience for all students in a college town environment.
Author: ikoupep (Page 2 of 2)
After taking a look at the course syllabus, my main point of interest is to find out in what ways digital tools could make it easier to analyze history, culture, and social issues without losing their meaning. The very themes of data visualization, mapping, and digital storytelling capture my attention as they require both imagination and rationality. I wonder about the different ways that technology can be applied not only for the dissemination of research to more numerous audiences but also for the exploration of who is being represented and who is being muted in digital domains. Ethics and social impact of technology have also become very attractive topics of discussion, especially when it comes to injustice, inequality, and the role of digital media in both the reinforcement and challenge of these problems. I am really looking forward to the day when I will be able to do my academic work on the subject of local history, like that of St. Louis area and the surrounding regions, say, Cahokia, through digital projects. I would like to see my semester’s work involving a mix of technology, ethics, and storytelling while I sharpen my digital skills as a matter of practice for other areas beyond this class.
Ioannis Koupepides
My name is Ioannis Koupepides. I am 20 years old and I am from Cyprus, a small island in the Eastern Mediterranean. I chose to combine academics and soccer by moving to the United States, where I am currently a sophomore pursuing a degree in Exercise Science and competing as a goalkeeper for the SIUE men’s soccer team. Before transferring to SIUE, I studied and played soccer at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. My main goal in the future is to become a professional soccer player. Still, beyond that, I aspire to help other soccer players find opportunities in the U.S. through scholarships that allow them to combine education and athletics. In the future, I also plan to open my own gym, where I will work as both the CEO and a fitness instructor. Living alone abroad has helped me build strong character, independence, adaptability, and overall maturity, shaping me both as an athlete and as a person.
