When fourth-year Ph.D. student Uyiosa Ugiagbe first arrived in Athens from Nigeria, one of the things that shocked him most was not the campus, the language or the academics — it was the library.
“The library here, oh my God, the best,” he said with a wide smile. “Literally, I remember my first two, three months I literally [lived] in the library, because everywhere was just too good.”
For Ugiagbe, who came to the University of Georgia in 2022 to pursue his doctorate in mathematics education, the transition to American university life was exhilarating but lonely. His first semester was filled with intensive coursework, hours of studying and culture shock.
That winter, while many of his new friends traveled home to their families, he spent Christmas alone in Athens.
“My first semester was very tedious,” Ugiagbe said. “It was just school, school, school, school, school. I remember Christmas over here, that was the loneliest of my life, because I was by myself, no family.”
Ugiagbe’s story reflects the double-edged reality many international students face at UGA: balancing opportunity and belonging with separation and strain.
UGA’s global education vision
International student life at UGA is shaped not only by the individuals who come here, but also by the infrastructure that supports them.
Yana Cornish (left), director of global education, and Carmen Candal, advisor II in global education, pose for a portrait outside of the University of Georgia’s Office of Global Engagement on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo/Caroline Newbern)
Yana Cornish, UGA’s director of global education, has worked in international education for three decades. She herself was once an exchange student to the U.S. and believes the presence of international students on campus is as important as sending UGA students abroad.
“Even if they’re only here on exchange for [a] semester or academic year, even that is fantastic because it allows students to hear this diversity of ideas, specifically as it relates to the subject matter,” Cornish said. “I think that’s really, really important to have the exchange of thought, exchange of knowledge within the walls of the university.”
UGA’s Office of Global Education oversees both inbound exchange students and outbound study abroad programs. Last year alone, the office distributed more than $1.2 million in scholarships to help students study overseas.
But the exchange is not one-sided. Over the last decade, UGA’s international student population has grown by 44%, rising from 2,121 students in 2014 to 3,064 in fall 2024, according to the Office of Global Engagement Immigration Services. Exchange enrollment is also climbing, with a 15% increase from fall 2023.
Cornish described the arrival of these students as an all-hands on deck effort. Many arrive without cars, at odd hours and exhausted from long flights.
“For us, even very small things like this year, Groome shuttle made some adjustments to dropping students off on campus and it was just a significant impact,” Cornish said. “Truly, our students and staff step up and pick them up, deliver them to the house and make sure that they are checked in.”
The office hosts welcome events each semester, bringing together international students, exchange students and UGA students returning from study abroad.
“The room is buzzing, filled to the brim with students spilling into the hallway,” Carmen Candal, a global education advisor, said.
Candal noted a growing trend of students participating in multiple study abroad programs — particularly by starting with the freshman-focused Connect Abroad initiative, then returning for longer programs later.
“It’s kind of like the foot in the door,” she said. “Then students will then go do another program, whether it’s that next summer or the following year, for a semester or summer.”
Finding home in a new place
For some students, choosing UGA involved both academics and geography. Ugiagbe, coming from a tropical climate, printed out a map of the U.S. and drew a line across it: no states north of Virginia, too cold.
“The program ranked number one was actually in Michigan,” he said, laughing. “So I was like, ‘Oh, okay, you know what, let me go to number two.’”
Still, the transition was jarring. In Nigeria, classes were lecture-based; at UGA, he found himself asked to discuss 20-page research articles with the professor.
“‘What do I read? How do I read the article? What do I look out for? You know, it’s fine. Let me just read everything,’” Ugiagbe remembered thinking. “I read the article almost eight times because I wasn’t sure what to look out for.”
Over time, he carved out a community by joining the UGA Mentor Program, where he now serves as an ambassador.
For Muneeb Malik, a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering from Pakistan, the road to UGA began with a semester-long exchange in 2022. His positive experience inspired him to return for doctoral research on agricultural robotics.
Muneeb Malik, a second year PhD student in electrical and computer engineering, poses for a portrait outside of Tate Student Center on Sept. 8, 2025. (Photo/Caroline Newbern)
Despite his familiarity with the school, the transition had its challenges. Malik struggled to find housing when he arrived, missing the on-campus deadline and paying for a place he found through a Facebook group.
“I just paid the first month’s rent without knowing the person, without touring the apartment or anything, being on the other side of the world, being in Pakistan,” Malik said.
Now in his second year, Malik serves on UGA’s International Student Advisory Board, where he helps shape programming and builds community.
Both Malik and Ugiagbe emphasized the value international students bring into classrooms.
“The difference of perspective, especially [in] engineering, it’s a big one,” Malik said. “You gotta look at the problem from all perspectives, and sometimes you’re just missing one piece that they can bring into it.”
Moreover, the pair said they experienced cultural exchange as much in daily life as in classrooms.
Malik recalled long conversations in his department’s kitchen, trading food and stories with peers from across the globe. Ugiagbe noted that these exchanges often come through everyday acts — whether it’s sharing a meal, volunteering or helping a stranger carry furniture.
“Because I’m from Nigeria, we don’t allow people to struggle,” Ugiagbe said. “We don’t see people that are struggling that we can help and not help … That’s why I think I’m able to volunteer in so many hours and not feel this stress, because I feel like it is my duty.”
International challenges
Behind the optimism, there is rising tension with the weight of immigration policies. In 2025 alone, the U.S. government has revoked more than 6,000 student visas, and all 55 million visa holders are now subject to “continuous vetting,” according to CNN.
For Ugiagbe, that burden turned heartbreakingly personal. In September, his father passed away in Nigeria. Attending the funeral would have meant leaving the U.S. and possibly waiting 12 months for a new visa to return.
“The visa issue with my country is such that we now have single-issue visas,” Ugiagbe said. “I just don’t have that time… I don’t have 12 months to be out of the country because of my program. So, I can’t travel to go see my parents, my mom and my siblings to grieve the loss of my dad.”
Malik has seen peers lose funding or adjust career paths because of visa uncertainty. Both students described the emotional toll of separation from family, cultural adjustment and demanding academics.
Seeing headlines about international students and visa scrutiny, Ugiagbe admitted the weight is real.
“Whenever I wake up to news like that, I can’t necessarily do anything about this news, but what I can do is show up to my classroom prepared, show up to my meeting prepared, show up to my dorms prepared, show up to my friend group,” Ugiagbe said. “I think that’s the only thing we can do because at some point, this is out of my control. But I have to make sure the things that are within my control are done to the best capacity possible.”
Uncertainty has also forced Ugiagbe to rethink his long-term plans.
“If the system does not want you to remain…, you have to think about, ‘Okay, so what’s the option? What can I do?’” Ugiagbe said. “I think that’s what’s happening right now, a lot of internationals are like ‘Okay, if I can’t stay again, where else can I go, or even back to my home country?’”
Every time something happens in the U.S., Ugiagbe’s mother calls him after watching the news — a reminder that the uncertainty he feels is shared by family thousands of miles away.
A global campus in Athens
As national headlines focus on crackdowns and numbers, students on campus provide a counter-narrative: resilience, contribution and connection.
These students continue to enrich campus life. Cornish pointed to UGA’s Study Abroad Fair, one of the longest-running in the Southeast, which draws more than 2,000 students annually.
“The mood there and the energy that’s in that space at Tate is really remarkable,” Cornish said.
Ugiagbe sees his role, and that of other international students, as part of a broader story of excellence.
Back in the library that once left him awe-struck, Ugiagbe continues his research on integrating coding into elementary school math classrooms. His goal is to make math less intimidating and more inspiring, whether in Georgia or Nigeria.
“I think international students should not fight the current climate,” Ugiagbe said. “We should find a way to make our value known, to show it to people [and] say, ‘Hey, I’m not causing you harm. I’m not causing you issues. I’m actually contributing to the economy that makes even your life better.’”
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