LANSING - With Michigan State University being the ninth largest international student community in the United States, the international community within the Lansing area as increasingly grown.

Traveling all the way from Beijing, China, Houpu Yang, an international student studying supply chain management at Michigan State University, has been in the United States for six-and-a-half years.

Although it was rough for him at first, he fully enjoys being with Americans and has fully adapted to American culture. "I do like it here, it's really like.. I feel welcome. I like to be with Americans," Yang said.

Yang believes Chinese people should come to the United States because there are many Americans here. He likes the amount of diversity in the states.

Director of the Office for International Students and Scholars, Peter Briggs, is constantly working with his department to understand international qualities of living, from legal issues to health issues, in order to incorporate them within our community.

"How can we make them feel welcome here? I think it's a big part of our job, to be a globally friendly campus, globally friendly community and we do it together," Briggs said.

In 2006 there were 96 undergraduate students at Michigan State University. Today, in 2014, there are over 3,400; this number however, does not reflect the overall total number of MSU international undergraduates.

"The idea of diversity is friendship with an international student. Friendship with somebody who is not like you, can be transformational," Briggs said. "It can really be life changing, and we want that connection to happen and to be engaged."