Town trio mark ET International Group anniversary
Allison Miller, Rebecca Haines and Fiona Lazic are co-founders of East Tennessee International Group, which will celebrate its first anniversary between 4:30 and 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 10, at 35 North restaurant and bar, where those gathered will pay for their own food and drinks.
The trio first met while living in Sweden, where their husbands all worked for the European Spallation Source in Lund.
“ESS is located in a major international technology and business corridor in the Öresund Region, which includes southern Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark,” said Miller, who, like Haines, is a U.S. citizen, while Lazic is originally from New Zealand. “Literally thousands of new international employees and their family members are recruited to the Öresund Region each year.”
Because of that, the women enjoyed the abundance of “helpful civic and community organizations available for internationals to join,” Miller said. “Some help with learning the language and culture, others provide education on the social systems, and a few groups hold social events in order to make new friends.
“All three of us attended various group events and found the information and friendships these organizations provided to be crucial to their adjustment in a new country,” she added.
During the pandemic, all three friends ended up moving to East Tennessee, when their husbands came to work for the Second Target Station project with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Then, a year later, while both Miller and Haines began hearing from others they knew in Sweden, Lazic announced she and her family would be relocating to East Tennessee in the Fall of 2021.
“Because ESS and STS were similar projects, quite a few employees were being recruited from Sweden to the Knoxville/Oak Ridge area,” Miller said. “One former colleague made contact, then another, then another. The message was mostly the same: ‘I have taken a new job at ORNL. Can you help me?’”
Seeing some very real needs and echoing back how helpful Swedish groups had been for them, Miller and Haines helped answer common questions for those who had never lived in the United States before, and added their own personalized touches, such as video calls and pertinent links along with many follow-up calls and e-mails.
Their grass-roots help began to include other necessary information, and the three friends decided to form the East Tennessee International Group to help make transitions to the area easier.
“Very little is normal and easy when moving internationally,” Miller said. “(Our group) hopes to ease the transition to everyday life in a new culture by bringing together Americans and internationals who share the common experience of moving abroad.”
The group’s first official meet-up was held Nov. 16, 2021, in Panera Bread in Turkey Creek — and since that time it has grown to include more than 70 individuals and families, representing more than a dozen countries.
“There are active participants from not only Sweden but also the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, India, Australia, Brazil, Egypt and more,” Miller added. “Our mission is to form long-lasting friendships and provide helpful information to internationals new to the East Tennessee area.”
The group is non-political, non-religious and non-commercial, and events are open to all nationalities.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in the USA for two weeks or 20 years, there is a place for anyone who has a heart for helping and making friends with other internationals,” Miller said.
During the 2021-22 school year, the group hosted five coffee mornings, a Thanksgiving dinner, a Super Bowl party, an after-work social at a local brewery and a summer pool party.
“If you or someone who you know meets the qualifications to join, we would love to meet you at one of our upcoming events,” said Miller, who added the organization hosts both coffee morning and after-work events “in order to involve as many people as possible.”
To learn more, request to join its new Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/groups/etnintlgroup, or contact Miller at allisonem7@gmail.com.
