2020 News Stories

Diversity Committee panel provides international students with forum to share experiences at USF

by Jessenia Rivera

To help international students learn from their peers’ experiences, the College of Education Diversity Committee hosted a panel discussion that allowed seven international students to candidly express the opportunities and challenges they’ve had while studying at USF.

Lauren Braunstein, PhD, an Instructor in Social Foundations at USF and co-chair of the Diversity Committee, said the event sought to address the academic and social experiences of international students and highlight what could be done to better support them.

“A lot of times on campus, it’s faculty (saying) how to best educate international students,” Dr. Braunstein said. “Rarely are (the students’) voices a part of the equation.”

Leia K. Cain, PhD, an instructor in the Educational Measurement and Research program at USF and co-chair of the Diversity Committee, said the event served a dual- purpose because it provided an opportunity for faculty to learn what their international students endure both in and out of the classroom.

“In education we talk a lot about educating the ‘whole’ student or the ‘whole’ person,” Dr. Cain said. “And I think that reaching out to international students and learning what else they’re dealing with is really illuminating. It helps us understand educating the ‘whole’ person.”

Panelists included USF students Sandra Soca Lozano, Kai Zhuang Shum, Sofia Paschero, Ajhonae Wildgoose, Maria Migueliz Valcarlos, Kyeonghyeon Park and Yanan Li. Kahlila Lawrence, PhD, an instructor in USF’s School Psychology program, guided the discussion.

When asked about the best experience they’ve had as USF students, panelists shared how having a job on campus or working on projects outside of class granted them a great introduction to the U.S. culture, which led them to bond with others in ways they couldn’t have done otherwise.

However, when two education students had a chance to speak, their responses were rooted in the experiences they’ve had with faculty in their program.

Lozano, a graduate student in USF’s School Psychology program, shared about how being away from her mother in Cuba laid an emotional burden on her shoulders. Yet, in the midst of her struggles, she found comfort in speaking to her professors.

“The best thing for me is that I know the doors of my faculty are always open,” Lozano said. “These are people I can go to for academic advice, but I could also go to and say, ‘I am overwhelmed. I am feeling sad. I don’t know what to do.’”

Kai Zhuang Shum, a doctoral student in the School Psychology program, also took to mentioning how her faculty helped her out during a powerless situation.

While in Malaysia during winter break, Shum’s visa renewal was delayed and she was bound to miss her scheduled thesis defense. Though she had informed her professors of the issue, Shum didn’t expect her committee to accommodate her situation by arranging a Skype call for her defense.

“They brought the defense to me,” Shum said. “Nobody has done that in the program before, but that didn’t stop them from allowing that to happen.”

As panelists reminisced on the most challenging experiences they’ve had throughout their studies, a few expressed how tough it was for them to remain strong when situations with their families transpired back home.

Ajhonae Wildgoose, a student in USF’s Integrative Biology program, detailed the emotional rollercoaster she rode when hurricane Dorian devastated her family in the Bahamas.

“My parents were sending me text messages during the storm and nothing they told me was good,” Wildgoose said. “It wasn’t until after the hurricane when they told me they were safe that I started to feel better.”

Along with navigating difficult situations in their personal lives, panelists discussed issues they’ve had as students trying to succeed, which led them to also share what they think professors should know about them.

Panelists emphasized that speaking slowly helps them better navigate a conversation, that having subtitles in videos keep them on pace and that approaching them with questions is always the better option. Maria Migueliz Valcarlos, a graduate student in the College of Education’s Curriculum and Instruction program, ended the discussion with a statement she felt needed to be emphasized.

“Please celebrate international students just as much as any other student,” Valcarlos said. “Don’t look at what they lack. Look at what they bring to the table.”