 It is my pleasure to welcome our viewers around the world to today's EducationUSA interactive series web chat on exploring community colleges in the United States. My name is Alfred Boll, representing EducationUSA in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the United States Department of State. EducationUSA is the department's network of international student advising centers in nearly every country of the world. Our more than 550 dedicated advisors help international students and their families navigate the American College and University admissions process by providing accurate, comprehensive and current information about the full range of higher education options offered by the more than 4,700 accredited American higher education institutions. Today's interactive webinar is part of a series aimed at providing you with up-to-date information about current topics related to American higher education. Throughout the program, our panelists will answer your questions submitted in the chat space next to the video player. You can also share your questions and comments on Twitter using the hashtag EducationUSA. Today's online discussion will include information on how two-year programs of study offer high-quality academic and technical training, cost-saving options, and opportunities for easy transitions into four-year degree programs for international students. We are pleased to have two panels to answer your questions. The first is made up of two community college administrators and will be followed by a panel of two students currently studying at community colleges in the United States. Dr. Anisa Pell is the Assistant Director for the Center for International Education at the Northampton Community College located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She assists in the development, management, and implementation of international programs and supports the network of international students on campus. She also facilitates the study abroad programs which provided Northampton students with opportunities to visit and study in over 10 countries this year. Heidi Russell Calcofen has worked with students coming to the United States for over 30 years on both coasts of the country and in both small, private, and large public associate degree granting institutions. She is currently an international student coordinator at Montgomery College, a large community college of over 60,000 students located just outside Washington, D.C. I would like to begin by asking each of you the same question. What is most special about the community college experience in your view? Anisa? Well, I find it interesting that Northampton Community College, we have about 10,000 students that are enrolled and we have a 600-bed facility. We are the only community college in the state of Pennsylvania to have a residence hall. And the important word to focus on is community. I think about last year, a student that had been traveling for three days who came from Eastern Africa and he arrived at our doorstep. He had been accepted to the college, but he didn't realize he needed to fill out the paperwork for a residence hall. So what we like to do is build a relationship with the individual. So for that particular student, we made sure that he was fed for two or three days. We made sure he had accommodations in a nearby hotel. And while all of that was happening, we filled out the paperwork to make sure that he could move into the residence hall. So for us, a community college is about the relationships that we build with each individual. Heidi? Thank you. I think the word community is important because when we talk about our community, we're part of a community. So our community college doesn't have its own hairstylist or its own post office. You live in the actual community. That's what you're there to do. And then you come to the college. What that means as well is that we're really connected to our county. So in Maryland, where I'm now, the counties run the community colleges along with the state. Where I was in California, it was a community college district, but it was still its own entity. So it wasn't connected to the federal government. It was connected to the state and the local area. And what that means is that those colleges then are responding to the local area. So for us, for example, we have Marriott international hotels in our county. So we have a very robust hospitality management program. We also sit where the Human Genome Project does all of its magic in biotechnology. So we have an amazing biotechnology program. We need to respond to that in order to prepare our students for the rest of their education because that associate degree is really just the first part of that whole bachelor degree program and moving on in higher education. Thank you both. Very interesting. Let's go back for a moment and tell our viewers, what are community colleges and how do they fit into the U.S. higher education system? Well, North Hampton Community College, and I'll speak a little for Heidi as well. The community colleges offers the first two years of the higher educational degree. And for North Hampton students, and I'm sure as well for Montgomery, students can come in. It's an intensive English as a second language program. So even if you have already an advanced degree from the country that you're from, you can come to North Hampton and finish a credential and improve your English skills, which would then allow you to move on to additional programming. In addition to that, it also serves as a pathway for a diverse community to gain higher education. We serve a diverse community of learners from those who are English as a second language speaker, and myself, I actually attended a community college because I didn't have a prerequisite to go on to a master's program, and this was many years ago. But it really serves the community in a broad variety of ways. So I think what's special about the associate degree, because I've worked at public and private institutions doing the associate level education, is that it focuses in the United States. We want to have a liberal arts education to liberate the minds of our students. A lot of that is focused and concentrated. That wide variety of courses that students take is concentrated in those first couple of years of education, the first half of that bachelor degree. And so that means that all the students on your campus are really looking at doing that very important work of deciding what they're studying and getting that basic broad grounding in all the other areas that allows students to be creative and innovative by being able to make connections between different types of things. So that associate degree has a very special purpose. It's also its own credentials, so that if you need to complete and stop for a time before you move on, you can do that. But I don't know about Pennsylvania, certainly in California and Maryland. It's also something that the states do when they fund to say, we want our students at the lower division level to go to the community college because that saves our money for our universities to focus on higher research and upper division work and PhD research. And so they really guarantee Maryland and California both basically guarantee that if you get an associate degree, you move directly into the state university system. They are really just the first part of that whole state university system. Is that the main difference between two and four year, between two year community colleges and four year institutions? Or what would you say the main differences are? I think there's a couple of things to talk about in terms of the differences between a two year and four year college at Northampton. We like to say, although we're a two year college, it has a four year feel. And that's because we have many articulation agreements with state colleges. We've had graduates of Northampton Community College to move on to prestigious universities, some of them even in the Ivy Leagues. So it is great for an international student in particular whose transcript may not reflect the rigor, the academic rigor that we look for, for a student who perhaps finished their high school lessons here in the US. But it's a great pathway for them to enter, get the two years. In fact, we had a student who won the Jack Cook Kent Scholarship, which was $100,000 and he had a choice to attend any college in the nation. So as an international student, it's a great pathway for you to enter the higher educational system here in the US. Thank you, Heidi. I agree. I think that we've had students that move on to all kinds of institutions because we're in the greater DC area. They go to Georgetown and America and all kinds of great places. And so I think we have to help our students understand that the academics are exactly the same as the lower division coursework that they would get at any high quality institution university. For us, many of our faculty are the same. But in addition to that, we serve the community in other ways. So that we have credential programs and specialized programs where we do training that may be for a shorter time than just the beginning of university study. And that means we also have professionals in fields that come in and teach for us. So we have the faculty that we may share with our neighbor universities that are teaching with us with their academic rigor. But we also have people directly from the field. And that's particularly useful, of course, in things like business that come in and can teach to our students in their community. So do community colleges have the same high quality academic standards as for your institutions? Absolutely. I definitely say that North Hampton Community College has had three of the last seven professors of the year for the state of Pennsylvania. And that is a huge accolade to the quality of the instruction, the academic preparation that our instructors impart upon our students. Absolutely, and I agree. We have high quality students. But I think the articulation that you were talking about before is the other important part. If Georgetown University is going to take our courses directly and transfer and say they are exactly the same, they're recognizing that those are exactly the same courses. So why are community colleges a particularly good option for international students? Again, I'm a first generation American. So I understand what it may feel like to come into the United States and not be able to attend the college of your choice. My father, for instance, he had graduated from high school in his home country. And when he came to the United States, it was challenging for him to get accepted into a four year university. So he attended a community college. It is a great pathway to prepare yourself for the continued study that you'd like to pursue. In addition to the fact, again, a community college is a community. Particularly at North Hampton Community College, it's a family. Our associate dean for the Center for International Education, Dr. Manuel Gonzalez, as well as Patty Bullis, who's been at the they've been at the college between 26 and 30 years, collectively together. They they have built a rapport and a relationship with our alumni. And we've seen marriages. We've seen children. So it is a community is not just come, get this credential and move on. We actually keep in touch with you and we, you know, encourage your success. Well, I do excellent. Do two year institutions have the same accreditation process as four year institutions? It's the same one. We're in the middle of going through ours now. So institutions in the United States are regionally accredited. And therefore they are accredited by their peers. And it's exactly the same process. They're looking at all the same things and they are seen in the same way. And again, since all of that coursework does transfer over, in fact, for many institutions, if you achieve your full associate degree, it just transfers as a block of courses, then it really has to look exactly the same. OK, going back to international students at community colleges, what would you say are the are the biggest opportunities for them at your institutions and at community colleges generally? I would say much like even the native born American students, the idea of pursuing general studies and Northampton Community College, we have preferred deadlines, but we really bend to meet the need of the students. So our spring semester deadline was November 17th, but we may have students that apply in December. And again, this goes back to that personal relationship where we work with the student independently to assure their success, to make sure that they're accepted and they are pursuing a pathway that will gain them what their ultimate goal is. I think for us, again, it goes back to that community so that we do have that relationship with the community. So students who want to pursue their education and also get some experience in their field have the opportunity to do that. And it's very local and it's very connected. The other thing that I think is important, at least at all the institutions I've worked at, is that those lower division courses, if you go to a large institution, you may be in an introduction to psychology class with a thousand other students. We don't have a classroom that even seats that many on our campus. So I think our largest classroom is probably 80. So one of the greatest opportunities is the chance for students to get to know their faculty, they're expected to get to know their faculty. And their faculty are there to teach. They're not there to do research. They're not there to do anything else. They're there for their students. So they get that opportunity to really get to know faculty and to have those connections in the community. It's very interesting. Sorry. I just want to add one other thing. I believe also community colleges, we have open enrollment policies. So for at least for Northampton, you don't need to have IELTS or TOEFL scores. You come in and we'll get you squared away with our English as a second language program. But the idea of knowing that if you apply, you meet the basic criteria of the age and the high school diploma, you're accepted. So, yes, I think most community colleges want just completion of the equivalent of secondary education as their academic credential for admission. At our particular institution, we have a variety of wonderful language schools near us so that we do have a floor for English level before we can accept students. So we do need things like IELTS and TOEFL. But each community college is going to have, again, that brings in a diversity of students, too. So you've got students who are looking for a variety of different outcomes. They may want technical training or they may want their university degree so that we can offer that to all of our students. Before we move on to our next question, just very quickly to go back to English language training. Can you talk a little bit about the specific training that you do in English for students? Is there any for prospective students or is it once students arrive and then what happens as they proceed through their studies? OK. And Northampton Community College, again, you don't have to have TOEFL or IELTS. You apply, you meet all of the guidelines for the application process. We accept you. Once you come in, that's when we conduct the placement test. The placement test will tell us where you sit on the scale of reading, writing, speaking and listening. And once we once you've taken those tests, we place you in the appropriate coursework and you have basically someone who's holding your hand through that whole process. Some students may complete English one through four in the first year and a half, depending on the student. But again, we we work with each individual student. We meet them where they are to help them to get to where they want to go. So on our campus, we have basically three levels of English. So we have English as a second language, which is designed for students who are really preparing to start academic study. We have English courses that are college level English, but for non-native speakers. And then we have students who are native level English speakers. So in that middle level, our students are able to sort of mix both English and other courses. So I say you may start with your English and you mix in with some of your degree courses and then you move to all degree courses eventually. So it allows students to transition. That gives them the chance to be part of a college community and be on a college campus, do all the fun things like go to all the games and go to all the productions and the performances and to be part of all of that. But they're also working on their English as well as continuing to prepare themselves for their degree level study. So our next question from our viewers goes to something you just mentioned, being part of a community and how special that is of the experience of being at a community college. Why do your institutions seek to enroll international students and how do they become part of your communities? Well, our president Northampton Community College feels that internationalization is a very critical component. It's actually one of our strategic priorities. It's diversity and global engagement. So we are actually seeking to increase the number of international students so that the experience of our traditional students in parentheses is enhanced. The opportunity, again, to build these relationships with individuals and not the idea of just a paper. Our study abroad program works through that as well. We've had international students participate in our study abroad program, which may be something that may not have been able to do previously. And that's how we build those relationships one person to another person. Yeah, absolutely. I every year I say to our students that are getting ready to graduate at graduation rehearsal that when we pull our American students, our U.S. born students, that one of the things that they highlight most specifically about being at Montgomery College is that they've had the chance to meet all these people from all over the world and how exciting that is for them, that they really appreciate that. We are fortunate where we are to be in a very diverse community. So the diversity is reflected. It also means that there's somebody around to tell you where the really good food from home is. But that allows us then to really highlight and focus in on why we want to have these students because we also have immigrants from those countries for many of those same countries. And they also want to understand what's going on in their countries currently, so it makes for a lot of good conversation. So is it fair to say that international students fit into your strategic plans and vision for your colleges and if so, how do you see things developing? Oh, they definitely do North Hampton Community College. We have over 60 clubs and organizations for our students. And one of those organizations is the International Student Organization. And in fact, today at this moment, actually in about an hour, there is an international student presentation in alignment with International Student Week. So as a college, we come together, we enjoy the diversity of the cuisine, the music, the entertainment. And it really helps us to become a better, more connected community. Yeah, I think for us, about 30 percent of our students are are not born in the United States overall. And so it really is a very important part of our community to celebrate that diversity, every opportunity that we get. And our students appreciate that and our staff and our faculty and our president all appreciate that. So we too are celebrating International Education Week. So at this point in time, we've had celebrations on all of our campuses and we're very excited to make our students a part of that. That's that's quite an impressive vision. Our next question is if you could tell us about the International Student Support Services that you have on campus. Are there clubs, special programs that students can take advantage of? How do they meet American students? Do they? So we we have students from 45 different countries at North Hampton Community College. And again, we have over 60 clubs and organizations for any student who's able who would like to join. And it ranges from the International Student Organization to the Muslim Student Organization to a variety of others. So through those opportunities, the students can meet and connect with other students. We also have twice yearly what we call a quad fest where the whole campus we have three locations plus online where each campus can meet. They can they can get together, meet each other, enjoy music and fun. It's the support services in terms of tutoring. They're all free. So we have a learning center. So if they need some additional tutoring with their English or maybe they're taking chemistry, all they have to do is go to our a learning center and make an appointment and they can meet with someone who will help them to study and prepare for the exams or any other stressful. We also have counseling services that's available to our students that's free. Sometimes we don't always realize when we're undergoing culture shop. So it might manifest in a variety of ways. So our counseling department makes sure that they get to know each individual student. Again, it's that person to person connection to make sure that we can help them along their way. Right. So we too have our own offices that we work with our international students. We have some special programs when they first come in to help them get settled and get oriented because our general community is so diverse. We also have counselors that speak several different languages. We have a lot of opportunities for students to get involved with clubs and organizations. But I think one of the special things where we are right now in the Greater Washington, D.C. area is that we have good connections with our embassies that are in the D.C. area, too. So there are lots of community events. Most of I believe most of the dependents and employees of the embassies live in our county. So we have lots of opportunities to come together. We just have big Diwali celebration at our civic center that our students were a part of and that we were able to be at. So we get involved with the community as well to get those kinds of programs working to support our students. Very interesting. Our next question is about how students move from community colleges to four-year institutions to complete a bachelor's degree. Could you talk a little bit about that process and what you've seen students experience? I think what you were talking about earlier with articulation agreements, articulation agreements are discussions and probably contracts between institutions. So some of it is very simple, as I was saying, in California and in Maryland and in many other states in the United States. If you graduate from that state's community college, you are guaranteed a place in their state university system. It's a simple transition at our institution. Now you fill out an application when you first come in and tell the university, the state university system, I want to go to you when I'm done. And then they know. And that way they essentially save a place for you. They don't recruit as many students because they know they have students coming in from the community college. They have saved a place for you. As far as the transition, we work also with the University of Maryland system to assist our students who are transferring. So we are developing a special international student transfer program because our students go there in such large numbers that we need to make certain that we have a very specific pathway. We don't have to repeat all the things they learned from us about how to deal with having a student visa and living in the United States. They just need to know what's different and what those transitions mean because it really is a pretty simple transition for them. For us at Northampton Community College, we like to say we're in the center of the action. We're about an hour and a half, an hour and 15 minutes from New York City, about an hour from Philadelphia and about two and a half to three hours from Washington, D.C. So the transfer process does not just affect the Pennsylvania colleges. We have sent students, in fact, an international student from Kenya recently graduated from Columbia University. So we work hand in hand with the individual to make sure that their end goal is what we're working towards. Our transfer office works very closely with them. And again, the Center for International Education, we're a team of individuals that are there to support you, not just through the educational process, but through some of those challenging times as well. Thank you very much. With so many good options in terms of community colleges, how do students find the right community college for them? And what factors should they consider? That whole community thing, you've spoken about how you're working individually with students. Your population is different than our population. So some of it is about location and about size. Some of it is going to be about urban versus suburban versus rural. But certainly also want to look at the programs, because all community colleges specialize in something, because they often do reflect that community. So again, for us, if it were biotechnology or hospitality management, then you'd be looking for something specific. If it is something more general, a lot of community colleges are going to be responding to the general needs that are seen all around the country. And you also want to see where they do have articulation agreements with, where you can transfer easily to always tell students, figure out what your final goal is. And then when you step back, we can help you figure out how to get there. So I agree. North Hampton Community College, again, we have over 100 programs. We have micro-cadentials. We have specialized diploma certificates. So you really have to look at what the institution is offering and make sure that that's the pathway, the foundation that you'd like to utilize to spring to your next step, even if the micro-cadential is the next step that you want to take. Thank you. So we have reached the final question for this first part of our program. Could you tell us a little bit about what makes your respective institutions unique and special, North Hampton Community College and Montgomery College? Again, I think it's the relationships. Again, the associate dean, Dr. Manuel Gonzalez, has been there for 26 years. Patty Bullis, who's doing international admissions for 30 years. We have someone who works in our admissions office. His name is Mark Ors. He also, he's the advisor for the International Student Organization. So our international students are different but the same in the sense that we embrace the diversity, but they're just like every other student. And building those relationships, we're excited about having international students throughout our homes. We have people that volunteer as host families. So it really is, if you're looking for a family feel with someone who's going to hold your hand when you're in crisis and someone to kind of help you move along when you're stuck, that's what North Hampton Community College is. Thank you, Anise. Heidi. Montgomery College is really so fortunate to have its location and its connection to the county and the state be such a central part of what it does. So our students can do internships at the Library of Congress, National Institutes of Health, the National Institutes of Science and Technology. And so because we have those connections and we have those opportunities for students because of where we're located and because of our connection to the community, we're really able to offer students a lot of chances to get experience in their fields, which I think is a unique part of our institution. Thank you both for such valuable insights for our viewers. We are now going to move to the second half of our web chat to speak to two international students currently enrolled at community colleges in the United States. But first, we would like to show you some remarks by Dr. Jill Biden, second lady of the United States, and a proud community college instructor. Classroom, I have students from all over the world, from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe. Most of my students are immigrants and many of whom have left behind their families, their friends, and everything that was familiar to them to get an education in the United States. Because there's something I think very special about our institutions. They're open, they're diverse, and encourage free thought. We have such a vast and vibrant system that allows students to reach their full potential. I often say that my students are my heroes because many of them have had to overcome so many obstacles in life, conflicts, tragedies, heartbreaking losses, but they're turning the page on their past. Regardless of their circumstances, they show up. They work hard and they believe like you do that anything is possible. I'm now joined by Camila Matamoros, who is a student at Montgomery College. Camila is from Cali, Columbia, and is in her last semester as a business major. She told me she chose Montgomery College because of the diversity of students at the college, especially the opportunity for her to meet people from cultures she was not familiar with. Kevin Osoria is a student at Northampton Community College. He's the second of four children in his family and was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He is a participant in the Community College initiative program, a program sponsored by the Department of State that provides a quality academic experience at U.S. Community Colleges intended to build technical skills, enhance leadership capacity capabilities, and strengthen English language proficiency. Kelvin is a business administration major. I'd also like to begin by asking each of you the same question I did before. What is most special about the Community College experience in your view? Kelvin. Well, basically I can say that the experience of being in a diverse community, and in this particular institution, Northampton Community College, I have the opportunity to not only meet new Americans, but also I have the opportunity to meet a lot of people from other countries, which is very awesome. Camila. I mean Montgomery College, we have the opportunity to have people from all over that world. It's not only meeting the person, but also meeting the religion, their opinion about that world. So that's amazing for me. Okay, thank you very much. Why did you both choose to study in the United States and at a Community College? Well, basically I am participating in the CCI Program, Community College Initiative Program, which is a wonderful experience to basically be in an American environment and have an American education, which is wonderful because as I come from a third world country, sometimes it is not really in my country, sometimes we don't really have the opportunity to experience the different things like we do here, but this particular program that I am participating in, I didn't have the opportunity to choose the college that I was going to. However, based on the interviews that I had before, based on my interest, they said that this is gonna be the most convenient for me because here I have the opportunity to participate in different leadership programs, which is basically an open door to success. Yes. Thank you. Camila. Well, I choose the United States because in my opinion it's a great place. Colombia is also very nice, but we don't have that much opportunity that the United States can give to us, especially to a student. My major as well is business, so this country, it's a pathway exactly to success, especially in that career. Just picking up on that, that links to our next question. Can you tell us a little bit about your areas of study, about your interests, about how you envision your career? Well, basically the opportunity of being here is to have an experiential learning in my business field. So I can say that Northampton Community College have given me the opportunity to not only know about the American culture, but also to know how you do business. So through the leadership programs, I am able to grow not only professionally, but personally, and it's a wonderful opportunity, I think. Camila. Same, in Montgomery College, I was part of the business club. So in here we have learned, well, I have learned how to do relations with people in order, like connections with people in order to grow your business. Same as leadership, it's very important. So I have learned all of those aspects in Montgomery College. That will help me later with my career. Okay, thank you. We have a question from the US Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. Could you tell us about programs that your community colleges offer students in general? What are the wide range of offerings that you have, not only that you found interesting, but that you see other students, international students studying or looking at? Well, basically the opportunity to engage with the community and be able to volunteer in the community, I think it's a wonderful experience. And also, we have the opportunity in Northampton Community College to go to different museums. And basically, I think it's a great opportunity to expand the skills. And in terms of programs itself, as I mentioned, I was participating in the leadership program, which I find very interesting. And it gives me the opportunity to know people from the area and from other different countries as well. And I also was participating in the etiquette launch, which I had the opportunity to meet managers and business owners from the Lehigh Valley, which is a great opportunity to basically growth. Camila. Montgomery College has a program that is named Five Data Kappa. This program is for owners, for students. So it doesn't give you only the opportunity to meet great people, but also to get involved with the community. So they have very, like, where we can go and help people from the church and, like, different activities to help the community as a whole. So both of you are studying business. What are some of the other areas that international students choose to study? What are some of the best offerings or interesting courses that you have at your colleges? Well, in Montgomery College, we have pretty much everything. We have nursing. We have computer science. We have, what else? Yeah, those are, like, the most common ones. I'm sure some languages. Languages as well, yes, for sure. Okay, excellent. Yeah, in Northampton Community College, we have the opportunity to participate in the second language program. So, basically, it gives us the opportunity to strengthen our abilities in the proficiency of English. And I think it's a great opportunity to basically interact with others. And also, not only that, but we also have the opportunity to participate in a communication program where the college put us in the spot of being able to speak in public. So it's a great opportunity to basically growth. And you're both doing a fantastic job about speaking to our viewers in public. I'm really pleased at this. So can you tell me, have you gotten involved in campus activities and activities in your community that are not just related to your studies, but related to what Anise and Heidi described to us as the community itself, that is, community colleges are so linked to their communities and students become a part of the community? Absolutely, yes. That is one of the good things about Northampton Community College, that Northampton Community College gives you the opportunity to not only being a regular student, but also get involved in the community. For example, I am right now volunteering in a church and in some other institution as well, and I am a senator, I am from the student senate. So as part of our duties, we are actually the connection between the college and the students as well. We are their boys. So basically we make decisions on their behalf. And what we're trying to do is that we basically approve clubs, we fund clubs, and also whenever our students have a great opportunity, they have an opportunity to basically bring their ideas of activities that we can have in college. So basically what we do is that we give them support, we give them their financial resources as well, and we help them to contribute to our community as well because sometimes their ideas is to basically help the community. So they come for advice and we give them the opportunity to have the funds and also the people that can get involved in their activities as well. Let me quickly follow up because you are a member of student government. How do you feel as an international student being part of the leadership of the whole college in terms of deciding what students want to do, what their priorities are, communicating with the administration, that's a lot of responsibility. What does it feel like to have come from the Dominican Republic and then to be involved in the leadership of your college? Well, I could say that it is very challenging, very demanding because I have to, let's say as I am an international student, I have to be able to communicate effectively with them and also as I have different point of view because I'm coming from a third world country, the Dominican Republic. Sometimes I could say that one of the challenges that I have here is that they're basically the environment, their culture is different than mine. So sometimes I have to adapt to their culture and also bring my culture beliefs. Sometimes I could say that in this particular position, this is a leadership position which I think is very challenging like I mentioned and well it gives me the opportunity to basically grow within and also give my ideas and my voice to be heard. Thank you, Kelvin, Camila. Well, in Montgomery College we also have a club that is called Voice for Animals where we're trying to raise funds for animals to take them to the shelters or to make people like a little bit more conscious about these animals. Same in the business club, we were trying to raise funds for some women in Africa so the whole idea was they created some necklaces and then in here we were selling them and then with that money we were able either to buy things for them or to send it back to their country in order to help them. I have to say I find it very impressive you are both very involved in your local communities in your colleges, you're certainly ambassadors for your countries in your colleges and in the United States. Do American students reach out to that? I mean, are people interested? Do they, do you find that it goes both ways? Yes, I think that, yes. I mean, I think that they feel, I don't know, like that word, but I think that they feel like engaged in order for them to be also helping, help with us. Yes, absolutely. Whenever it comes, whenever I go to an activity and I talk they say, hey, what are you from? And whenever I say that I am from the Dominican Republic they always, oh wow, you're from the Dominican Republic, tell me about it. I mean, how is the weather there and everything? So basically I see that it goes both ways. So their interest in knowing our culture is the same interest that we have to know their culture. Yes. That's fantastic. It's very cool. So our next question is, I think is a crucial one. How did you both convince your parents to let you study in the United States? You start with you, Camila? Well, yes. Well, actually my father, he was here. So, but he didn't want me to stay here, especially by my own. I don't have any family in here. And I had only a few friends. So at the beginning I had to make a PowerPoint presentation explaining like the pros and cons of why I shall stay here. Of course, more pros than cons. So that was for him. And then for my mom, she was also a little bit nervous because she was like, I mean, you're going to be there by yourself, the language, that culture, and then, but I was able to convince her as well. So it ended up good. Okay. Well, this is the first time that I'm away from my country. And I could say that my parents, they know that I am very independent. So when I told them that I wanted to come here to study, they said, Kelvin, are you sure? And I said, yes, I am positive. I will go and I will do it and I will succeed. And they said, well, we always say yes to whatever crazy idea you might have. So yes, we're going to say yes to this one as well. And we hope the best. Thank you both very much. I mean, this makes me think back to my own college experiences and the fact that all of us, it's a crucial time in life. Lots of things are changing, lots of challenges. We're trying to imagine, what does this mean for me? What am I going to do in the future? There are difficulties as well as opportunities and great experiences. Can you talk a little bit about the struggles or the challenges that you faced in college and how you've overcome them or how you've dealt with them? Basically, my biggest challenge has been adapting to this new culture, like in the classroom, for example, because in my country, I didn't have the opportunity to work the same way I am working right now. Let's say in terms of my studies, like right now we have an online platform that we have to submit, our assignments and all that. So basically that was very challenging for me at the beginning. But then when you started to realize that in my particular college, Northampton Community College, I have a lot of people that are able to help me and able to help me succeed. It's basically kind of something good. So this is how I overcome that challenge. Basically, the learning center, I have been there a lot of times because I was struggling in the beginning with some classes, but they helped me out and thankfully right now, I am on a good path right now in a good way. Excellent. Camila. Well, my challenge at the beginning was the language. I knew a little bit back home, but when I got here, it was totally different. But thanks God, the American people, they have been very, very nice with me at college. We have high quality professors who have been there since the beginning to help me move on to where I am now. So now I'm already almost near to graduation, which is very good, yeah. Yes, and also not only that, but the professors in Northampton Community College, they have office hours. So they always motivate you to visit them in their office hours. So besides class, you also have an opportunity to talk to them in one-on-one, having a one-on-one conversation so you can succeed. If you're struggling with something, you have the opportunity to let them know so they might know that you're from a different country. Maybe you don't understand a term because as English is our second language, sometimes we don't understand everything. But as we have the opportunity to talk to them directly, you know, it makes it easy. The American College also has those office hours and they are great because we have the opportunity to be near to our professors. So they might know the struggles that you might have either because the language or because you had like a culture shock. So I mean, it's great. They are very good people. That's great to hear. What are some of the things that have surprised you after coming to the United States and how have your impressions of the United States changed since coming here? Well, I had realized that you guys are very open to new ideas and very open to new cultures. So basically at the beginning, I thought that you were not like that, but now I realize that I have been treated as a family member right now. So I could say that everybody here is very friendly, very nice, very open, and they are able to teach you and guide you through the process of being in a different country. I'm glad to hear it, but Camilla. Well, at the beginning, I thought that you were like a little bit disorganized, but when I got here, I was Catholic and I went to the church and in my country, we didn't do a line to receive the communion. But in here, you got to do a line in order to receive a communion. So at that moment, I was like, oh my God, these people are very straight and even with the traffic, that respect that you have to the police, it's amazing for me. I mean, you see a police or an army soldier and you're like glad to have it and thankful for that person. Keeping that idea, what is different about American classrooms and about the professors that you have different from what you were expecting or what you had imagined? Well, I could say that in the American classroom, we have like an interactive conversation. So it's not only the professor saying in the class, but you have the opportunity to say your own ideas, which is wonderful. Sometimes in our countries, we don't have that opportunity. We just sit there and listen to the professor, but here we have the opportunity to say something and give your own opinion. Does your opinion count? Sometimes back in our country, they're like a little bit more conservative as you said in here, you guys are a little bit more open-minded. So what do you think, even though it might be different, it's also important and they take it into account. So given that interactive nature of the classroom, what do you do if you don't understand something? What do you do if there's a, let you said if you don't understand a word or something isn't clear? I raise my hand. Yeah, I'm like, otherwise I'll get behind. And I mean, the professors are so good that they have already gave you like that. They let you do that. You won't feel like uncomfortable if you just raise the hand and say, like, oh my God, I don't understand. As well, because the other students who might be American, they understand that this is not your first language. So, I mean, it's amazing to have that support from the professors and from the students. Yes, I also raise my hand. I ask a lot of questions whenever I don't understand a term, I say, hey, can you please, can you please give me a little bit of explanation of that term? And no one has ever said, oh, come on, let's move forward. No, they are very open. They actually give you the opportunity and say, okay, what I meant was this and that. And for example, there are a lot of things that maybe sometimes because of a time we don't have the opportunity to cover it in class. So there, when it comes their office hours, so we can be able to see them after. And so you're meeting with the professor, her, or himself in office hours. That has been actually my experience right now. I'm taking Economics 202. I have, at the beginning, I wasn't struggling a lot, but I started going to the office hours and my second midterm, it was great. Thanks to that, because the professor was open to explain me after class. I'm like 101 situation, which is even better. Fantastic. Now, you both sound like very busy people in terms of studies and interests and your lives. How do you balance school, family, and work and all the opportunities that you have outside of school, like sports and your volunteer options, all the things that are available to you at your community colleges? Well, at the beginning I was struggling with it, with it before, but then I realized that organization is the key. So I have an agenda with me all the time and whenever I have an activity, I write it down. Okay, on Thursday I have an activity, I write it down. So basically I divided the activities by time. So I will say, okay, right now I'm gonna study marketing and I'm gonna assign two or three hours a day so I can complete that assignment. And once I am done with that, I can move forward with the other activities during the day. And that is basically how I organize myself and right now I am succeeding because of that. But at the beginning, I was struggling because I didn't have like a natural plan, but then when I realized that organization is important, then I decided to have a plan and write down everything so I can be able to accomplish more and be patient as well. Thank you, Calvin, Camila. Same, I think that writing everything in an agenda is the best option. Just because at the end of the day, when you have already completed that assignment, you can just cross it out and that's the best feeling that you can get. Crossing it out because you're already done with it. So it has worked also for me. It sounds like you're both very entrepreneurial that is you're interested in many things, but through good organization, you can balance lots of opportunities. Do you, are there things that you would still like to do in the future in terms of what is available to you where you've said I just don't have time or I have too much going on or do you find the balance about right in terms of the way your lives are right now? Well, right now I have a balance right now, but I can say that right now I am working in a project. So once I go back to my country, I am gonna travel the country delivering motivational speeches. So what I'm doing, I am in my preparation stage, let's say. So right now I am attending different leadership conferences and I am reading a lot so I can be more prepared and give more to my country once I go back. So also here, I am working in a project to do kind of the same thing, like go to different nonprofit organizations like Boys and Girls Club to basically deliver motivational speeches, but this time I am partnering with an ex-convict. So he's gonna give his basically life, changing experience, a speech about how his life have changed since he has been working, he has been in a different program to basically overcome their obstacles, his obstacles before. So I think that it gives me the opportunity to not only get the experiential learning here, but also I'm gonna be more effective once I go back to my country because of this great opportunity. That's fantastic. So right now I'm working in the International Student Office at Montgomery College as the manager. So this experience has been amazing. So right now I'm trying to finish this period with that, onto graduation. And then after that I'm hoping to do OPT which is also another opportunity for international students to work in any field in our major. So for now, right now I think that I'm balanced with what I'm doing. So I mean, I hope that in the future I can start getting some more experience towards my field. But for right now I feel that I've done well. So speaking about the future, how do you think that your current experience at a community college is going to impact your future when you are looking for jobs? Well, I can say tremendously. This opportunity, oh, it's a huge opportunity. And also not only it looks good on a resume, but gives me the basically notion of the environment that I'm gonna be working in the future. Same, I mean this opportunity working at Montgomery College give me the experience of how to do an interview because it's totally different back home same as writing a resume. So I mean, this has been great because all the skills that I have acquired from this job will benefit my future in other jobs. Thank you both. So we have reached our final question which is what advice would you give prospective students, viewers or anyone else who is thinking about studying in the United States and considering studying at a community college? Well, I can say never stop dreaming. Everything is possible. I was back in the days like around this day in time back in the years. I didn't even know that I was going to be here and look where I am. So never stop dreaming. Focus on the things that you would like to do. Don't focus on your basically general situation but see outside of the box. Yeah, that's true. I think that if you have that dream of being outside of your country or meeting some new people, just go for it because you don't know what's going to happen next and for sure it's gonna be good. If you follow your dream and what you wanna do, it will be good for sure. Well, unfortunately we are almost out of time but I wonder if each of you has a few parting thoughts for our viewers. Kelly, you gave a lot of encouragement. Anything you'd like to say about a community college to end? Well, basically Northampton Community College is not only an institution but a family. The first day that I went to that particular institution, I felt like at home. So I said, this is not going to be something different than my family. So this is my new family right now and I'm very proud of them. That's inspiring. Well, Montgomery College or our community college as its name says, it's a community where if you're struggling, there will be someone supporting you. So don't just let your thoughts go if you're feeling like that you're struggling, just go for it because there will be a family that will be able to support you. Well, thank you for joining us today, Camila and Kelvin and thanks to Heidi and Anise who joined us earlier in the program. You can find more information about studying in the United States by visiting the EducationUSA website at www.educationusa.state.gov. There you can find information on the five steps to US study, locate an EducationUSA center in your country, one of 413 around the world, connect with us via social media, learn about both in-person and virtual upcoming events, research financial aid opportunities and much more. Thank you and please join us for future EducationUSA interactive web chats.