James Gorman, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, and a 1987 alumnus of International House, shared letters he sent home to his father during his first days at I-House and in the United States. Gorman cites International House as one of the key influences that led him to pursue a career in finance. Following his introduction by I-House president Calvin Sims, here are Gorman’s full remarks from his salutation at “When the Federal Reserve Speaks… The World Listens” on April 7, 2016: Thank you Calvin. Thank you everybody, and good afternoon. It is indeed a terrific honor to be invited...

Seyram Darbi is schmoozing with a group of soccer fans at International House in New York City, over 5,000 miles away from his home in Ghana. It’s a cold Sunday morning and his favorite team, Manchester United, is playing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. “I love the energy in the room,” Darbi tells me as the cheers and claps fill the dimly-lit I-House TV Lounge. “This reminds me of my childhood days when we used to play football in the busy streets of Accra. Back home by the time you turn one year old, you are kicking everything: small coconuts, oranges, you name it.” Darbi, who is...

On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations since January 2016, came to International House for dinner in the historic Davis Hall. Akbaruddin spoke about his life and work as a diplomat and took questions from I-House Residents. Kanishk Tharoor, a writer and broadcaster who has written for publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and The Hindu, was the moderator. Akbaruddin began by speaking of his first posting overseas to Saudi Arabia where he came to be known as, “the man obsessed...

For Thanksgiving 2016, Residents of International House without relatives in the U.S. might have missed all the warmth of the typical American holiday if it wasn’t for an annual I-House version of this American tradition. At 2:30 pm on Thursday, the Dining Room is all set with festive decorations of orange tablecloths and matching pumpkins. Even when working on a holiday, the staff jokes and takes pictures while the cakes remain untouched. The first Residents make their entrance at 3:00, greeted by a welcoming “Happy Thanksgiving” shouted by the staff. All are amazed to see their Dining...

Hailing from the Xinjiang autonomous region in northwest China, Nisha Ha grew up dancing. That’s partly because her mother was a dance instructor in her home town. “She’s a great dance teacher. She’s passionate about dance, teaching and choreography. But she thinks you cannot make a lot of money in dance. So she didn’t want me to study dance in college.” But throughout school Nisha and a tight group of friends found themselves spending much of their free time practicing traditional and ethnic Chinese dances, sometimes performing for faculty and students and once winning a competition on...