Maggie grew up in Columbus, Indiana, which is a small city without significant diversity. “Most people are pretty similar,” she said. Before this program, most of what she knew about Iraq was not positive. Her impression from the media was that it was a place where conditions were dangerous and unsafe.

Although from a larger city, Mustafa, a first-year student at the University of Technology, grew up in an environment where most people were also quite similar. Unlike Maggie, he knew a bit about the United States, having learned about American culture by watching movies and interacting with Americans through online gaming.

What these two students have in common is an interest in the graphic arts and learning about different cultures. Through a six-week interactive virtual exchange in graphic communication, taught by Dr. Renmei Xu, an associate professor in the school of art at Ball State, they were able to experience both.

Maggie participated as part of her coursework, which is something she did not expect from a course on graphic design. At first, she was confused about how this would affect her academically. On the other hand, Mustafa joined the virtual exchange as an extra-curricular learning experience. He was very excited from the beginning and saw this as an opportunity to improve his English skills.

The students engaged in learning through reading, questions presented by faculty, and online discussions. Before they began the academic part of the program, the students met on a personal level to encourage more robust communication. Mustafa was eager to communicate immediately. “I have looked for opportunities to talk and learn with people from the United States, and now I had a chance,” he said.

Maggie responded to his posts about technology and gained a new perspective on cultures other than her own. “It was so cool to be able to talk to other college students who were halfway across the world, yet interested in the same things as me. It kind of helped me come full circle and I really enjoyed it.”

Academically, they learned that they brought different strengths to the virtual exchange. Maggie observed that the students from University of Technology Baghdad had a stronger STEM focus in their approach to graphic arts. “I gained a technical perspective that I probably wouldn’t have thanks to talking with Iraqi students and seeing how they approach graphic communication,” she said.

Mustafa was impressed with the technology available to US students, especially the 3-D printer that was purchased for UT so that students could complete their projects.

Although the academic learning was fulfilling, both most valued the interaction. Mustafa would like to have these types of interactions throughout his academic program in order to learn more collaboratively. When asked how they broke down barriers of communication, Maggie said their common age was especially helpful. “It was easy to connect with the Iraqi students because they are college kids interested in visual design, just like me. That in itself was enough of a bridge for connection. Sharing a passion with someone, no matter how different their life experiences may be, can break down any cultural barrier.”