WATCH: Lesley talks about the international students and their stories:
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Lesley Nies may not be a name you immediately recognise from the pages of the Armidale Extra, or our website.
But she has played an important role behind the scenes in 2017, bringing the stories of the international students at the University of New England to the wider community.
Each week a variety of columnists are published in the Armidale Extra and on the Armidale Express website.
The topics range from gardening to psychology, as well as education, religion and history.
With 2017 drawing to a close we have decided to take the opportunity to talk to some of our writers about their columns.
As well as explaining what they write about, and what insight they are trying to provide, we also asked them about the feedback they receive from the community.
Mrs Nies, through her role at the university’s English Language Centre, has worked closely with students from around the world who come to Armidale to study, and she said by sharing their stories she hoped the Armidale community would learn about the international students.
She has helped them write their stories, so they could be shared in the Extra.
There are 800 international students studying at UNE and they come from approximately 50 different countries.
China is the country with the most number of international students at UNE, but there are also students from Nepal, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and India.
Read some of the columns from the international students: