Finding Home Through Woodbridge International Society

Every year, about 1,000 international students arrive at Harvard College to embark on their undergraduate journey. While this period of transition is filled with excitement, it can also be daunting, especially when home is thousands of miles away. As Harvard’s largest undergraduate student organization, Woodbridge International Society welcomes students from over 100 countries each year, helping ensure that every student can find a sense of belonging at Harvard.

Amid ongoing tensions between Harvard and the Trump administration, questions about international student enrollment in universities have recently taken the public stage. Earlier this month, the administration proposed a 15% cap on international undergraduates at various U.S. universities. Throughout all of this, Woodbridge has remained focused on creating spaces for international students to find community and comfort at Harvard. From hosting career panels to organizing weekly brunches for anyone who wishes to join, Woodbridge seeks to support international students in all facets of their college experience.

Founded in the fall 1994 by five international undergraduates, Woodbridge International Society is named after Benjamin Woodbridge, Class of 1642, the first international student to graduate from Harvard. What began as a small group of students seeking a supportive environment in Cambridge has grown into one of the most active multicultural organizations on campus. Today, all international students enrolled at Harvard College are automatically members, though the group welcomes all students who wish to join, regardless of home country.

“Freshman year was very difficult for me to adjust here,” co-president Daria Harabor ’26, from Romania, recalled in an interview with the Independent. “I missed home so much. I had all these difficult classes, and I wish I was closer to the international community. I wanted to join Woodbridge because I saw how much the Romanian community supported me during my first year, and so I thought the internationals were the best network, the best safety net for me to fall back on when I didn’t feel comfortable here.” 

Co-president Saskia Hermann ’28 shared Harabor’s experience of navigating transition and seeking a sense of community. “Living in a different country away from home and from your family is isolating sometimes, but Woodbridge is a space where I can connect with people that have similar experiences,” she said.

Harabor named Woodbridge’s annual ice skating outing during Thanksgiving break as one event she particularly values, especially considering how isolating being an international student on a predominantly American campus can be.

“It’s usually the Friday or Saturday during Thanksgiving break, when the only people left on campus are some Americans that maybe couldn’t go home during that time, but also a lot of internationals,” she said. “There’s definitely that common feeling that you wish you could see your family because the semester is difficult and finals are coming up and things are stressful and you don’t get to go back home and refuel your battery.”

The outing, she explained, is small but meaningful. “It’s just a nice experience because Woodbridge gets to pay for you to go ice skating. It’s not super expensive, but you don’t have to think about money, which sometimes can be a big issue for internationals. You just get to have fun together and see a little bit of Boston… It’s kind of our Thanksgiving celebration.”

Woodbridge also organizes parties, weekly brunches, and a popular big-sibling-little-sibling program, pairing younger undergraduates with upperclassmen. “We’d love to have bigger events, but to be honest…we don’t get a lot of funds from Harvard, and so that really restricts us,” Harabor said.

While social events like these are the heart of Woodbridge, its mission extends far beyond community building.

The Woodbridge academic chairs, for instance, host various academic events to help prepare students for life in America after graduation. “We have academic orientation, we try to do career fairs or panels, and we collaborate with the [Mignone Center for Career Success] about job seeking for international students, how to get a visa after graduation, and how to stay in the U.S. and work here,” Harabor explained.

In addition, Woodbridge serves as a voice to address issues that affect international students’ daily lives. Last winter, for instance, the previous co-presidents successfully advocated for Harvard to provide on-campus housing during winter break. 

“It really opens your eyes to learn about how people from different countries have such different experiences,” Harabor said. “People come from countries that are at war right now. A lot of international students don’t go back home during the summer or during the winter…and if they feel like it’s safer to stay here and they don’t want to go back home, they should have a place to stay.”

Throughout this year, political tension surrounding international student visas and limits on international enrollment has created uncertainty for many students in universities across America. In April, following the Trump administration’s requests for international students’ academic and disciplinary records, international undergraduates joined protests on campus. During this time of heightened political and social unrest, Woodbridge remained a safety net for all College affiliates to fall back on, regardless of its participation in these moments of advocacy.

“Woodbridge itself is not a political organization,” Hermann added. “We just want to provide a safe space for international students where they can feel welcomed and understood. I’m here to study, not to be the center of American politics.”

This November, Woodbridge plans to host the new Alumni International Career Panel, which Harabor hopes will become the foundation of a new Woodbridge alumni network. “When I graduate, I want to found an international foundation for [Woodbridge] alumni,” she said. “This would be a first step [toward that goal].”

“I also really want to extend the warmest welcome to all Americans… [Woodbridge] is a place where we can give some of our culture to them after we’ve experienced their culture by being here,” Harabor added.

Whether it’s the people you meet or the experiences you share, Woodbridge is a place where many find belonging on campus. Harabor concluded with a hopeful testament to her community: “When the world out there is difficult, or it is not welcoming anymore, the internationals will always be welcoming to you.”

“Woodbridge means home,” Hermann said.

Sonia Singh ’29 (soniasingh@college.harvard.edu) is excited to see what Woodbridge has in store this year.