From long family separations to remote classes in the middle of the night, international students have been tested over the past 18 months. 我们采访了来自英国的伯洛伊特学生, 尼泊尔, 卢旺达, 和 Vietnam about the challenges 和 surprising silver linings during this time of uncertainty.
When Covid-19 was declared a global p和emic in March 2020, 贝洛伊特’s international students were faced with a choice to be made quickly amid rapidly changing circumstances: Remain on campus or return home. Many had no idea that their decision would likely affect where they’d be for up to 18 months, due to travel restrictions 和 health 和 safety concerns.
“Our main focus has always been helping students make informed choices,香农·乔利说。, 贝洛伊特大学的国际学生和交换顾问. “我们已经度过了这场大流行, 贝洛伊特 has done a good job of consistently considering the needs of international students.”
在突然安静下来的校园里, the international students who remained adjusted quickly to online learning 和 lockdown restrictions, such as isolating in single rooms 和 eating meals alone. 他们想念他们的朋友和家人, many of whom they haven’t seen since the 2019 winter break or even earlier.
为了那些能够回家的人, challenges included readjusting to lost independence, attending classes remotely in the middle of the night, 和 dealing with technological difficulties while establishing communication channels with 贝洛伊特. Some have been away from campus for nearly as long as they were on it, something they couldn’t have foreseen when they chose to attend a U.S. 大学.
“学生们表现出了适应力, 创造力, 和 determination in finding ways to make things work, even 虽然 their 大学 experience has changed a great deal,伊丽莎白·布鲁尔说。, who recently retired as 贝洛伊特’s director of international education.
伯洛伊特大学支持国际学生社区, 无论是在校园里还是在世界各地, 和 has established an International Student Network of faculty 和 staff members who can help navigate ever-evolving travel policies, 签证流程, 金融问题, 远程学习.
对他们来说, international students have remained positive in the face of difficult personal 和 educational circumstances. As 贝洛伊特 returns to in-person learning for the 2021-22 academic year, they say they’re looking forward to spending time in their community on campus.
We asked four international students to reflect on their experiences as 贝洛伊特ers during a global p和emic.
克丽丝汀Umutoni的22
来源:格雷格·安德森计算机专业
卢旺达基加利
Christiane Umutoni has made the most of her 贝洛伊特 education, despite a lengthy separation from her family in 卢旺达 和 a few disappointments along the way. She was on spring break with friends in Orl和o, Fla., in March 2020 when she heard that 贝洛伊特 was moving to remote learning. She knew right away that she wanted to return to campus to finish out the year.
“我当时在申请实习, 这在卢旺达是很难做到的, 是我选择了飞回家吗,她说。. “我很高兴伯洛伊特支持我们住在这里, because many 大学s 和 universities didn’t give their international students that option, which created added anxiety in an overwhelming situation.”
Even in the face of a worldwide p和emic, Umutoni’s résumé has a global feel to it. She has interned virtually in technical sales at San Jose-based Cisco, 和, 2020年秋天, 她加入了下一代程序员网络, a 10-week virtual 和 collaborative computer coding project with teams of 大学 students from the United States, 伊拉克, 以及巴勒斯坦领土. The experience helped strengthen her intercultural communication 和 design thinking skills.
“I learned to work with others in brainstorming 和 implementing ideas to benefit society,她说。. In spring 2021, she was a facilitator for the group, guiding others through the course. She spent the summer of 2021 in Madison, where she interned in IT at CUNA Mutual Group.
Umutoni is off-campus this fall at The Philadelphia Center, taking seminar courses 和 interning with a tech company in that city. 她转向了那个选择，即外出学习, as she’d been unable to attend her planned study-abroad program last year at Goldsmiths, 伦敦大学.
“I’ve been fortunate to have all of these experiences regardless of the p和emic,她说。. 像她的大多数同学一样, 虽然, 乌穆托尼期待着她的高三, when she’ll be able to return to interacting with others in person. She’s also anticipating a reunion with her family in 卢旺达, 她从2019年夏天就没见过他了.
“I really missed the personal interactions with my professors 和 classmates, 当然, 能够回家,她说。.
西莉亚爱德华兹的24
History major on exchange from the University of York
英国利兹
It’s common practice for university students in Great Britain to study abroad for a year to complement their degree programs at home. 西莉亚·爱德华兹, a third-year student of history at the University of York, 这意味着在全球大流行期间来到伯洛伊特, a nearly insurmountable hurdle at a time when very few international students were being allowed to enter the United States.
“I was excited to focus on museum studies 和 art history 和 to experience small 大学 life,她说。.
纯粹靠意志力和一点运气, Edwards became the only exchange student at 贝洛伊特 during the 2020-21 academic year, as well as the only student from the University of York who traveled to a 大学 outside Europe. She credits staff members in 贝洛伊特’s Office of International Education with helping her receive an expedited visa at the U.S. 驻伦敦大使馆.
Edwards is remarkably positive 和 sunny about her time at 贝洛伊特. “Everyone made the needed sacrifices in order to have some in-person classes 和 events,她说。. “It was a valuable year in a community of people who cared about each other.”
尼科莱特迈斯特, 洛根人类学博物馆馆长, 在博物馆研究方面指导爱德华兹, helping her curate an online exhibit of the museum’s Kuba textiles from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“我在洛根花了很多时间, cataloguing textiles 和 researching their design 和 usage,爱德华兹说. She also studied objects at the Logan 和 the Wright Museum of Art that complemented remote learning in her art history courses.
To stave off isolation, Edwards grabbed as many new experiences as she could. “I made amazing friends, 和 we made our own fun,她说。. She joined the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority 和 spent Christmas with a friend’s family in Washington state. Prior to returning home, Edwards visited several tourist sites, including the Statue of Liberty. She hopes to eventually attend graduate school in museum studies at an American university.
“我在伯洛伊特的一年过得很愉快, 我很感激那些帮助过我的人,爱德华兹说.
Sahil聊黎刹的22
来源:格雷格·安德森经济学专业
加德满都,尼泊尔
在他家人的鼓励下, Sahil Rizal chose to remain at 贝洛伊特 when the lockdown began in March 2020, 从那以后他就一直在学校. “我觉得最好还是留下来, mainly because I didn’t want to attend class in the middle of the night,他说. “贝洛伊特非常支持我的决定.”
到2020年夏天, 尼泊尔关闭了边境, so Rizal’s planned summer internship with the 尼泊尔 Economic Forum went online. 他远程研究了新冠病毒对尼泊尔的影响, while also working at 贝洛伊特’s Office of Residential Life 和 Housing. 作为学生会的一员, Rizal joined other student leaders in developing guidelines for student behavior during the p和emic, including expectations for self-care 和 interactions with others.
With classes 和 events moved online during his junior year, Rizal longed for the days of social interaction with peers. “I missed having dinner with my friends,” Rizal says. “It’s one of those things you take for granted until you can’t do it.” He also notes the oddity of taking two classes with a professor he’s yet to meet in person. “贝洛伊特’s profs are accessible, so it’s been strange to not see them outside of a screen,他说.
他在学校的第二个夏天, Rizal was a research assistant for economics professors Laura Grube’08 和 Disha Shende, studying scalability in small social-science experiments with Grube 和 the economic implications of cost-based health provider reimbursement with Shende. He also has worked on the 大学’s Fact Book with the Office of Institutional Research, 评估, 和规划.
When asked what opportunities came his way because of the p和emic, 而不是他错过了什么, Rizal admits he hasn’t 虽然t much about the positive impact Covid-19 had on his education. 在反射, 虽然, he says the p和emic gave him time — time to explore multiple graduate school options through virtual visits 和 time to take on jobs that may have overlapped with school had they been in person. 例如, he worked on housing issues with the city of 贝洛伊特 through the Duffy Partnerships program, which required him to attend meetings during the school day.
“I learned creative time management skills,” Rizal says. “Having everything online allowed me to do 更多的 things. It was almost like being in two places at the same time.”
阮黄齐的22
来源:格雷格·安德森Quantitative economics 和 environmental studies major
胡志明市，越南
Nguyen Huynh回到了他出生的城市, living once again with his parents 和 a few other family members while continuing his 贝洛伊特 education from halfway around the world.
“那是一段非常忙碌的时间,黄说, 指2020年3月, when he was faced with the choice of heading home or staying on campus. “一开始我不想回家, 因为当你20多岁的时候, 你想要独立成长. 但最后, 从经济上来说，这是一个更好的决定, 为了我的身心健康——回家,他说. He remained at home throughout the 2020-21 academic year, 与越南的家人和朋友重新联系. “As challenging as the p和emic has been, I will have a really great story to tell,他说.
当他第一次到达越南时, Huynh was quarantined for 14 days at a “quarantine camp,或者被封锁的酒店, 然后在家多待14天, all while attempting to acclimate himself to online learning. “Vietnam has taken the p和emic seriously from the beginning, 带着一种“我们会一起度过难关”的感觉,’”他说, which has helped him make peace with his decision to leave campus.
即便如此, 黄觉得自己被悬在两种生活之间, trying to balance taking classes remotely with working as a content writer at an automated software testing company. “There is a half-和-half sensation of not living in either time zone,他说. “At times, 贝洛伊特 has felt like it’s on hold, waiting for me. It helps that the faculty have been very underst和ing of my situation.”
Huynh missed out on a planned study-abroad experience in New Zeal和, but he took the news calmly. “有时候事情就是行不通，”他说. “It’s underst和able that New Zeal和’s government didn’t want students coming in from other countries. 我最终会到达那里的.”
Huynh is back on campus this fall, rejoining his classmates for his senior year. “I’m very excited to see my friends in the United States again,他说.
马拉霍尔特 is a Minnesota-based freelancer who specializes in writing for higher education.
