International Students Need More Support

During the annual Davis UWC Scholars dinner, I met Middlebury graduates, members of the board of directors and the philanthropist, Shelby Davis. They shared tales of Middlebury UWC scholars’ success in social entrepreneurship, science and business. I even spoke in person to the philanthropist  who sponsored the 106 UWC students on campus for a four-year education. He told me that four years ago he was betting on my potential to succeed, and now he encouraged me to keep being a winner in my future endeavors.

But after the celebratory dinner, I was thinking about the many times that I almost gave up during my four years at Middlebury in so many different aspects. Academically, I cried in my professor’s office the first week during orientation because my first year seminar professor told me that my writing skills were not up to the class standard and I had to switch my seminar. Socially, I felt frustrated when I did not understand all the American popular culture references while grabbing meals with hallmates. Nor did I fully understand what “going out” entailed during weekends. Economically, I became stressed when looking and applying for campus jobs. How do I adjust the balance between classes, studying, social life and 20 hours of campus jobs? Nutritiously, I ate very little because I was not used to the “salad bar, pizza, hot dog and hamburger” diet of an American dining hall. Emotionally, I did not have the means to go home during winter to be with my family, and in the cold harsh snow-filled days I felt really homesick and I missed my parents and talking to them dearly.

The point of the laundry list is that navigating campus for a UWC scholar at Middlebury is difficult. It is so because there are three distinct sets of issues we often carry as UWC scholars: firstly, there are international student issues: cultural differences, language skills, diets, social interactions. But in addition to that we also face issues related to socioeconomic background, something similar to that faced by first generation college students. For example, staying on campus for breaks, going on subsidized trips, transportation, looking for jobs and internship connections after graduation. Moreover, lingering on our minds are the so-called “UWC values.”

We learned from community service experience and our fellow schoolmates to learn, serve and return to the community. But coming to such a vigorous learning institution like Middlebury, with a myriad of opportunities and choices available, how do we strike a balance between learning and sharing? How should we pace ourselves to strive for that goal in the long term?

The administration has made some moves to answer some questions pertaining to the first set of issues: they let us stay on campus during winter, organized tax workshops amd connected us to local host families. These efforts have eased some of the issues as international students. But they don’t fully address the other two sets of issues we have as UWC students. Since there was little support regarding these two realms, we as UWC scholars leaned on one another to go through these issues by ourselves. Someone mentioned going on a subsidized trip, another talked about finding campus jobs, the other got connected to an alumnus and found internship opportunities to further his passion about Brazilian forestry. We also talked about our dreams and how those could serve for the betterment of the world. Without them and their encouraging words, I would have been worn out, frustrated and with no motivation to pursue my passion. But there is only so much our fellow students can do organically to support each other.  Even more, this strong sense of camaraderie that unites us to eat dinner or socialize with one another is sometimes labelled “clique-y.”

In response to Adrian Leong’s article, I advocate more institutional support for UWC scholars. Given the three distinct issues that we have, some administration-led efforts to form mentorship and advisory programs would be beneficial to both the UWC scholars and the wider campus community. We don’t have to struggle through things on our own. UWC scholars can talk openly about specific socioeconomic issues they face and navigate relevant resources more easily. Instead of “serendipitous, cliquey” conversations, why not engaging with the wider campus community in designated spaces? We can invite the wider campus community to join in the conversation about community engagement, career and services. By engaging other student bodies to collaborate and share, we can invite them to be part of the extended UWC community and deliberate on the meaning of life, career and happiness. I believe these cross-cultural, philosophical, yet at the same time practical conversations and initiatives are what Middlebury needs to be a truly diverse, integrated liberal arts college.

During the dinner, the organizing committee shared a moving anecdote about a Tanzanian student went on a run with his American hallmates chanting Tanzanian folklore songs together. I love running too. If I had more time free from looking for resources blindly, dealing with emotional stress, I would have loved to invite my hallmates to sing Chinese pop songs with me while running. But to make these beautiful stories happen, administrative support is fundamental. Without their support, such anecdotes will remain rare and betting on our success as UWC students could turn into a risky business.