The international student, S, misses Chinese food from his home country but enjoys American sports like volleyball. While he generally feels accepted at Troy University, he has experienced some discrimination in the dining hall due to his English skills. S believes Troy could improve services for international students and the dining hall food options.

1. Rontavious Johnson
Focus Group Field Notes
1. S is from China.
2. I asked him what did he miss most about China and he said, “I miss the Chinese food and the
chicken dumplings in China”.
3. The next question I asked him was ‘What was your favorite part about being in America” and
he said, “My favorite part about being in America was sports” and he told me that his favorite
sport was volleyball.
4. He also said that his major was super strong which is the reason he heard about Troy.
5. S said he likes Troy University because of the different sports they have and, he is a huge
sports fan.
6. He also said that he feels alright about Troy’s overall acceptance towards him and the other
international students in general.
7. S said that he was in a situation where he was discriminated in the dining hall or food court
because of the way he speaks English.
8. He also stated that the university is doing an ok job in terms of making the international
students feel more accepted.
9. S said in terms of the services that Troy provides, he didn’t really understand how the
crosswalk really worked and he didn’t really know about the services.
10. He said the same answer about sports from the third question in terms of being well educated
about American culture with things including societal norms, sporting events, and driving.
11. S mentioned Troy’s football team and how they need to show improvement on the field
being that that record currently stands at 3-3 right now.

2. 12. For the last question which was if he had anything else to mention about Troy University’s
relation to international students, he mentioned that “The dining hall needs a lot of improvement
in terms of the food choices and the people that work in the dining hall”.
Summary: I got along with S primarily because we are both huge sports fans. I also understood
that he had a little trouble with his English, so I worked around it. He definitely seemed like the
kind of person I would become friends with.