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Kent State Office of Global Education Highlights Communication and Community in International Student Orientation Program

When Ogulkeyik Hudayberdiyeva arrived in the United States, she was exhausted after spending the night in the Chicago airport. She had been waiting two years to come study Communications at Kent State, and the baggage claim delay that caused her to miss her connecting flight only seemed to be another roadblock. Despite all the setbacks, Hudayberdiyeva reached the next connecting flight, was picked up at 1 in the morning on January 7th by Kent State’s 24/7 airport pickup service and was taken to her new home.

Hudayberdiyeva is a 22-year-old from Turkmenistan. She was attracted to Kent State for its opportunities in communication studies—as well as international admissions’ handling of her complicated situation. Due to COVID-19 induced travel restrictions in her home country, Hudayberdiyeva had to defer her studies three times. “Thankfully, the Office of Global Education was understanding of my situation, and they were supportive. They had no problems with me deferring my admission and scholarships,” she recounted.

Hudayberdiyeva was not the only international student affected by the pandemic. In fact, the 2022 Simon Award-Winning Kent State Office of Global Education made significant changes to its International Student Orientation (ISO) because of COVID-19. The program transformed into a three-tiered approach, including a GroupMe group chat, email journeys, and orientation—which has in-person and online components. One of the first connections international students make with Kent State is through GroupMe. Before arriving in the United States, students are strongly encouraged to join the group chat with future classmates and ISO leaders, who are also fellow students, to communicate and answer questions.

“The group chat has served as a great way to connect and there has been a social need these last two years,” says Jameela Abdullah, Assistant Director of International Admissions at the Office of Global Education. “A lot of people want to socialize, and they feel less connected when they are not able to talk to people. I think this group has helped bring a lot of new students together, but it also made them feel like they were connected to Kent State even before they landed.”

One of the greatest effects of the group chat is to personally connect with ISO leaders who are current KSU students. Hudayberdiyeva’s experience with the group chat is very reflective of its positive intentions. She says that the group leaders were always quick to answer questions while also providing links and email addresses when appropriate. Hudayberdiyeva particularly highlighted their conversations about grocery shopping: “I could have looked up [where to get groceries] on the internet but it is nothing compared to hearing from people who are actually doing these things in the actual city.”

Another critical aspect of the ISO program is the email journeys. Though it was developed pre-COVID, they are still a core part of the newly established three-tiered orientation process. According to Deanna Laubis, Senior International Student and Scholar Advisor, international students start to receive emails upon first interest. Once admitted, they get emails from what Laubis calls the “admit journey.” These contain critical information students need to attend Kent State in person, such as immigration documents and assistance with the visa interview process. They have also been modified to address COVID concerns. Additionally, Laubis mentions that these are not just “do not reply” emails. She says that students can directly message the emails they receive. “We have seen an increase over the past few years in prospective students communicating with us, and I like that because then they know who they can ask questions to.”

The final, and possibly most important, aspect of the ISO process is the orientation itself. This component of the three-tiered approach is designed as a Canvas course with modules that international students can navigate to get vital information. Noelle Brooker, Senior International Student and Scholar Advisor who developed the Canvas course, says it begins eight weeks before arrival and continues two weeks into the semester. Brooker states, “It takes care of all the content and information they need to know at a digestible pace without causing conflicting priorities with courses while on campus.” This content includes housing information, what to pack, what documents to bring, and even preparation for U.S. classroom culture.

When asked about her experience with the Canvas orientation, Hudayberdiyeva said it was “brilliant.” She loves that all the content she needs for a comfortable experience is within easy reach and that even the questions she would not think to ask are answered. Even one month into the Spring semester, she still frequently refers to the course’s content and hopes that it stays accessible to her until she’s completely settled in the U.S.

Noelle Brooker also described the in-person part of orientation. It is a half-day session that takes place once the international students arrive on campus to “start making, building, establishing those friendships and relationships” in addition to making them more comfortable. In Fall 2021, the team responsible for organizing the orientation partnered with the Kent State Adventure Center to construct an environment that fosters community.

Having undergone the orientation process, Hudayberdiyeva says she “feel[s] blessed and grateful to be here but also welcomed and supported.” When recounting her journey to get to Kent State, she was more than satisfied with the way the Office of Global Education helped her get there and the way that the Kent State community opened up to her. “There were a lot of other preparation stages I needed to go through, starting with learning English, learning about the U.S. college admissions system,” she said. The ISO program walked her through everything she needed to understand before arriving, giving her access to people and resources so that she could finally study at Kent State. “It’s like a dream, I'm afraid I'll wake up when someone pinches me.”

~ Written by Arden Miller, Kent State Department of English and OGE Spring Intern