MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Two international students shared their success stories on the May edition of “Out of the Blue,” the Middle Tennessee State University television magazine show.

MTSU students Ambritha Rajendran, an information systems major originally from India, and Nigerian data science major Ola Afolayan talked with MTSU’s “Out of the Blue” host Andrew Oppmann about the support they received through the university’s Office of International Affairs.

You can watch the segment below:

“MTSU really has a nice environment for international students to learn,” said Afolayan, who earned a bachelor’s in economics back home in Nigeria before enrolling at MTSU. “With the International Affairs Office, you have a staff and you have students working there who are ready to help you.”

The Office of International Affairs provides support and oversight for all of MTSU’s international students, those who study abroad, and the related programs and cultural centers on campus.

“This is a boost for all the other international students who get in here,” Rajendran said. “When I stepped into International Affairs, I was really, really happy I got this opportunity. I wanted to interact with people. I wanted to know more about things. International Affairs — I’m proud about it.”

Afolayan’s wife was already in graduate school at MTSU. So he decided to join her on campus and began pursuing a degree in data science at the university he calls “warm and welcoming.”

Rajendran said pursuing a degree in information systems has been a “major dream” and enrolling at MTSU was an easy decision to make. “When I came here, I found out various departments had opportunities where they can provide research assistantships and graduate assistantships,” Rajendran said.

Afolayan appreciates Office of International Affairs’ support beyond academics.

“They really helped welcome me into the school … helping me learn different places on campus, helping me find my path in Murfreesboro,” Afolayan said. “They explain everything.”

To learn more about the Office of International Affairs, visit https:// mtsu.edu/intered/index.php.

“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 3:30 p.m. Sundays; and streamed on the MTSU Jazz Network through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings. 

It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play and as individual interview segments on Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3. 

Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)