Supporting International Students course boosted by alumni

International students have unique needs and face different challenges than their counterparts. Prior to the pandemic, IAS staff members Jung Lee and Sakara Buyagawan received a UW Bothell Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement Fellowship to explore support options for international students. Their efforts, however, became urgent when the U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) placed restrictions on international students’ visitor status, due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

SEVP began requiring certain international students to enroll in an in-person course in order to remain in the U.S., so Lee and Buyagawan, along with IAS faculty member Deirdre Vinyard, created the hybrid course “Supporting International Students.” First offered in Autumn 2020, the course provides international students an orientation to U.S. higher education systems and engages them with academic, social, and community resources available at UW Bothell.

A course highlight was a virtual meeting with IAS international alumni, who shared their experiences and navigations as students. Alumni included Alia Marsha (Media & Communication Studies ‘16), a journalist based in Jakarta, Indonesia and managing editor at Campaign.com, an app that brings people, grassroots communities, and funders who care about social issues together. Marsha began her student journey in the U.S. at Seattle Central College and believing that she “belonged” helped her acclimate. She reminded students that they have sacrificed a lot to be students in the U.S., saying, “You have a right to be here like everyone else.”

Atomu Goto (Interdisciplinary Arts ’15) joined the call from Tokyo, Japan. Goto is an experienced market researcher and former CEO of A&G Intentional Co., Ltd, now owned by inkbox ink JapanGK, where he is marketing director. Before attending UW Bothell, Goto was a high school exchange student in Auburn, WA, and attended Bellevue College where he earned his A.A. Having been in the U.S. for several years, adjusting to UW Bothell wasn’t difficult; however, he urged students to find community. Goto certainly did, as founder and president of the Japanese Student Association.

Siilen Radnaased (Law, Economics & Public Policy ’18), a law student at the National University of Mongolia and an officer in the Department of Development Policy and Planning for Mongolia’s National Development Agency, also joined the conversation. In her government role, Radnaased reviews national policy coherence and works with international organizations to implement Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia.

Radnaased empathized with current international students, “It must be a different and a special experience to be an international student in the U.S. during the Covid-19 pandemic, since most international students decide to study outside their home countries in pursuit of quality education.” She urged students to take advantage of campus resources, whether on or off-campus, from the library to advising services. She also suggested seeking on-campus employment opportunities to meet new people and support oneself financially.

Lee said students appreciated the alumni’s guidance, as well as sharing from Sharon Jones, UW Bothell Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, and IAS faculty members Jin-Kyu Jung, Alka Kurian, and Min Tang, who were also international students. “The connection to the campus resources and other international students and staff are critical for their academic success, as well as their well-being.” Additionally, Lee noted that relationships transcended the classroom. “Students actively engaged with each other via an online discussion board by sharing their challenges and supporting each other during autumn quarter.”