Falling in Love with International Education All Over Again

by Tony Marotta, Director of Global Engagement a Elmhurst University
 
International Education is a field that is filled with professionals dedicated to their students, their teams, their colleagues, and connecting folks around the world. Whether in International Admissions and Enrollment, ISSS, Student Abroad/Away, Advising, or other offices and roles within the field, we pour our heart into our work, our students, and the world.

That’s why this Valentine’s Day, as most of us have rounded the corner of the halfway mark and are eying the relief of a summer break, I figured is as good of an opportunity as ever for us to take a step back, reflect, and recharge by sharing what we love about what we do. To do so, I reached out to International Education professionals near and far to ask them to share the love, their love, so we can all be reminded what got us into this line of work and keeps us coming back year after year. Much love to all who contributed!

For me it’s an ongoing exchange – whether it’s seeing the new student that was having trouble fitting in and thinking about transferring to getting involved, staying the course, and finally getting connected after a few stops by the office, or just the look of accomplishment, satisfaction, and gratitude on my students’ faces as they walk across the graduation stage – it all fuels me and keeps me coming back. Positive parent interactions are nice too (we all know the negative ones), but one somewhat related recent experience in particular reaffirms why I do this job every day. After being off for a day, I found out that one of my international students that has also studied abroad quite a bit intended to invite me and the previous Study Abroad staff member he worked with most to fill in as his dad and mom at an athletics night. While I was sad that I was not able to be there upon finding out about the intention, the mere opportunity and gesture reminded me of the impact we can have on our students – we often are their guides and become their family. I shared my deep appreciation for the thought with the student (and the fact that I would have been there with advance knowledge, day off or not), and it is something I can now lean on whenever I have a tough day and need a little bit of self-love and reminder.

With that, I share, with a full heart, the experiences and feedback of our colleagues:

• “Being able to help an international student pursue their academic goals in the U.S. I love working closely with students from all over the globe, and seeing their smiles when you finally get to meet in-person when they arrive to this country. Helping students achieve a dream and seeing them succeed is what keeps me coming back to work.”
  • Nereida Encina, Director of International Enrollment @ Dominican University

 

• “The students are definitely what keeps me in this field. I do also love educators, but it was working directly with students that brought me back to working in a center. I find it fulfilling to watch as students break down stereotypes and barriers as they work together even though they come from completely different backgrounds. This is what gets me most excited to come to work.”
  • Kathleen Hylen, Center Director @ ELS Language Centers

 

• “What fulfills me the most is providing these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to students who might not otherwise get the chance to go abroad. Those students who have never left the country, but suddenly, the stars align, the aid they need is there, and they get to spend a semester or a summer in a place that they only could have dreamed of before. Personally, I was one of those young people who never thought the world was really accessible to me, but I dared to dream. Those students who (somehow) make it happen make it all worthwhile!”
  • Lindsey Lumley, Director of Student Advising @ IES Abroad

 

• “Currently I love being able to learn different skill sets to help faculty to internationalize the campus and learning about capacity building efforts for a Minority Serving Institution to build study abroad programs and engage with alumni that have worked across the global to connect with our current students. I have a lot of flexibility within the work of international education to explore different opportunities like Fulbright, IDEAS Grants, engaging with IIE in possible grants, faculty professional development abroad, Memorandum of Understanding development process, and much more!”
  • Katherine Haan, Director of Global Engagement @ Chicago State University

 

• “Seeing the perspective shift in American students who get the world opened up to them in such a vast perspective. It's not just new dishes they come back with a love for but the people, passion for politics and activism and being more aware of the world around them.”
  • Lily Andrules, University Relations Manager, North America @ Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

 

• “My birthday falls on "National Puzzle Day," so maybe that's why I've always been drawn to puzzles: jigsaw, crossword, and the ultimate puzzle: F-1 status rules and regulations. Even though much of what I do is repetitive, my job remains fresh and interesting because there always seems to be a new puzzle to solve. Even when a situation is straightforward to me, it may be a real puzzle for the student, and I love helping them reach a solution. During the pandemic, I completed the Appreciative Advising Institute through Florida Atlantic University, which affirmed for me the student-centric approach that I've gravitated towards from the start. Every student is unique, so every advising conversation is unique. I love it when I can carve out 30 or 45 minutes to sit with a student and give them my full attention; these really add to the collegiate experience for them and really make me feel great about my role in their education.”
  • Eva Engelhard, PDSO/International Student Advisor @ Highline College

 

• “I love that in education abroad, there is ALWAYS more to learn. There will always be ways we can better design programs to serve ever-changing student needs, and there are more awe-inspiring places and people on this planet than I will ever have the time to meet. Right now, I’m very interested in the topic of reciprocity – how can we be the best partners possible to all the folks we work with abroad? – and I absolutely love building these relationships with all the amazing people we work with.”
  • Sara McGuinn, Senior Study Abroad Program Manager @ Northwestern University

 

• “I find immense satisfaction in the cultural exchange aspect of my role. Actively contributing to fostering cross-cultural understanding is a fulfilling part of my routine, especially when assisting students in navigating international opportunities. Additionally, the advising component of my job brings a sense of connection-building, allowing me to forge meaningful relationships with students, fellow advisers, and professionals in the dynamic field of international education. Lastly, the genuine promotion of diversity and inclusion in my daily tasks adds a meaningful layer to my work. These aspects collectively encapsulate the reasons why I eagerly wake up each morning, looking forward to making a positive impact through my role.”
  • Carmen Hernandez, Study Abroad Program Manager @ Northwestern University

 

• “International education can sometimes feel overwhelmingly white, and you can feel that you don't belong or fit in. But when you get connected to colleagues that look like you or work with students who have a similar background, I remember why I do the work that I do, and it tells me that I have a space in the field. One of my students from a previous institution came to find me at my current position, and she was my first reinstatement case. I did not get to see if her case was approved or denied until the new year. She was from Pakistan, and it is difficult to get a visa approved especially if reinstatement is required. Her husband got my contact info from another colleague and reached out asking a time to meet. When I met with the student, she brought me flowers and told me that she was about to graduate and was seeking to find a graduate program. It was so heartwarming to see that she was thriving and that she got to the U.S. despite all the roadblocks along the way.”
  • Ruby Regina Benigno, Assistant Director of International Affairs and Study Abroad @ North Park University

With the love shared and now abound, I’d like to close with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies, “Love Actually,” as it ties together this idea of love while also referencing a horrible event that, when I was a student, opened my eyes to the world and showed me the need to connect with one another, all across the world, with an open heart and mind:

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.” – Hugh Grant, Love Actually, 2003

In our field, no matter the role, the office, or the institution, we welcome folks from and send folks to all around the world, and we do so with various forms of love; love for one another, love for other cultures, and love for connecting being first and foremost. So, on the sacred holiday love, I hope that sharing the love from our International Education colleagues has reinvigorated your own connection to the love you experience and bring to us all.