Brief History
World Neighbors Association (WNA) is a volunteer–based organization which provides opportunities for cross–cultural programs and social interactions between the residents of Starkville and international students at Mississippi State University (MSU). It was formally organized in 1987 under the sponsorship of the MSU Office of International Programs (OIP). WNA was conceived by OIP Office Administrator Karen Trebilcock with several Starkville residents Armando and Ruth de la Cruz, David and Barbara Cornell, Betty and Hugh Ector, Frank Chiles, Ken Watkins, Joe Montgomery, Mary Ruth Beattie, and Victor and Mary Rudis. The Association assumed the various activities provided by the local Host Family Program which had been in existence since 1970.
The history of WNA in terms of its mission statement, goals, and role in the community reflects the development of international students programs at MSU and the interest that existed in welcoming foreign nationals by local residents with previous international exposure.
In the 1970s, the Foreign Students Advisor was Colonel Bill Hughes, a retired military man, with extensive international experience. The International Students Office was located in one of the old homes along President Circle. It was the International House that served both as office and recreational place for international students. The house also had furnished bedrooms on the second floor that were used to temporarily accommodate new arriving international students waiting for accomodations.
Local organizations active during that time were: (1) Host Family Program, which provided various international students activities at MSU under the leadership of Sue and Ken Williams, Marilou and John Vozzo, and Ruth and Armando de la Cruz; (2) Friends of the Internationals, whose members included MSU professor Earle Gaddis, Lanelle Long, Mr. and Mrs. A.G. Bennett, Sr. among others who invited foreign students to homes especially during holidays, and (3) East-West Fellowship, founded by MSU professor Harold Kaufman and his wife Lois, that presented monthly programs and special events. Among many community residents who actively participated and provided leadership in the East-West Fellowship were Armando and Ruth de la Cruz, Katherine Schickedanz, John and Julia Saunders, and Lulla and Mohamed El-Attar.
Most of the international activities at MSU at that time were connected with the world famous Seed Technology Program that attracted hundreds of international students under the directorship of Dr. Dean Bunch.
By mid–1970s to early 1980s, Joe Montgomery served as International Students Advisor. The Host Family Program kept busy and the East–West Program flourished. Ruth de la Cruz organized the International Women’s Club (IWC) which for many years also held monthly programs. IWC provided various programs that focused on adjustment of international students’ wives and families in housing, health care, grocery shopping, banking services, transportation, driving lessons, federal and state taxes, etc.
Sometime during that period, Dr. Armando de la Cruz recommended to then Vice President Marion Loftin to consolidate the international programs into a university–wide function. Dr. Ronald A. Brown became the first director of the MSU International Programs Office housed in the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine. Karen Trebilcock was hired as Office Administrator of IPO and reactivated the Host Family Program and supported actively other existing international programs including the Women’s group that eventually led to the formation of World Neighbors Association.
Sometime in the late 1980s, Dr. Sue Smith replaced Karen Trebilcock when she left the Office of International Programs. Dr. Smith emphasized the Study Abroad Program and concluded memorandum of agreements with a number of universities abroad.
WNA flourished as an organization during the 1990s and initiated many international activities and cross–cultural opportunities. Among them were hosting programs, acquisition of international flags, potluck, spring and summer picnics, participation in Christmas parades and open houses, welcome receptions and orientation programs, and more recently social events like dances and parties in collaboration with the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and various International Student Associations at MSU.
Two major activities that WNA originated under the leadership of Armando and Ruth de la Cruz which have become annual traditions are: (1) Thanksgiving Dinner for the international students and their families in 1984, co-sponsored by the First United Methodist Church; and (2) the International Fiesta which was first held at downtown Starkville in 1991 and subsequently moved to MSU beginning 1998.
World Neighbors Association is a non–profit, volunteer organization and depends solely on the financial support of individuals and groups to carry out its diversified international activities and cross–cultural programs. The Holmes Cultural Diversity Center under the Division of Students Affairs has become the official sponsor of the International Fiesta at Msississippi State University.