 Good morning and good evening to our viewers from around the world. My name is Alfred Ball and I represent EducationUSA and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. Today's interactive webinar is especially tailored for international students who are curious about what it is like to study in the United States. Our goal at EducationUSA is to provide international students like you with the information you need to find the right U.S. institution for your study in the United States. There are 550 EducationUSA advisors at 435 centers and 180 countries and territories around the world offering free advising services to help you. If you have questions on U.S. campus culture, please post them at any time during the program in the comment section below. I'm excited to introduce our speakers who collectively have a lot to share about U.S. campus culture. Joining us virtually are Elizabeth Schaefer and Ahud Al-Mukashi. Elizabeth is an international admissions counselor at the Hennika Institute for Global Education at Western Michigan University. Ahud is an international student from Oman. She is currently studying telecommunication and information management at Western Michigan University. Ladies, thank you for joining us. Joining us in our studio are Nashiba Alexander and Russell Karim. Nashiba is an international student from Grenada who recently graduated from Howard University here in Washington, D.C. with a bachelor's degree in nutritional sciences and a minor in biology. Russell is a former international student from Luxembourg, Bangladesh. He studied at the University of Northern Iowa and he currently works there as a programmer analyst. Thank you both for joining us. Elizabeth, I wanted to start our discussion with you. Can you please share your perspective on the value that international students bring to U.S. universities and college campuses? Absolutely. I'm happy to elaborate on that. First, starting with the element of cultural exchange and learning, having an international student presence at a U.S. university or campus and college creates the opportunity for cultural exchange and learning among its faculty, its staff, its student body and even further that extends into the local community as well. This can be identified through friendships that are made, discussions in the classroom, things like conversation circles and other events that bring individuals together to share their perspective and experience. And through those experiences, we develop mutual understanding and often become more global engaged individuals. For many universities, in fact, global engagement has become an institutional value. By this, I'm not only referring to the value of sending students and receiving students from around the world, it also focuses again on that shared experience right on campus. Offices like ours at Western Michigan University set our objectives to support this from the moment the student arrives at orientation all the way through their graduation day. We provide activities like major events or initiatives. What you're seeing now is a video from our international festival. We also host and celebrate International Education Week each year. At WMU, our international festival in particular is a major event that is held and nearly 20 different cultural registered student organizations prepare booths. They prepare food and they have presentations and performances that teach the campus and community about their countries. This is a great example because the entire university and local community joins to make it a success from university kitchen staff and catering that dedicate their time to cook these recipes to the volunteers and event coordinators that get the logistics handled. And then also all of the community members that attend. Everyone is engaged in all of the diversity we find on such a small town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. And lastly, and most importantly, I'd like to emphasize that every student that arrives is part of that community and they're welcome. That's fantastic. Thank you so much, Elizabeth, and also for sharing that video. That's amazing to see. Russell, after reading your biography, it is apparent that you were very active on campus during your time at the University of Northern Iowa. Can you tell us about what motivated you to become involved in student government and other campus organizations? Thanks, Fred, for inviting me to be here today. So student government, they represent the interest in body on campus. And we work with, we work for the student, just talk to the students and figure out their issues, advocate for them and also work with the university leadership to resolve them. So what really motivated me to get involved is when I first came here, I knew that by just getting involved with those student org and activities on campus, it would give us a lot of soft skill that I wouldn't learn otherwise, just leadership in general. And you and I, University of Northern Iowa has done a really good job in terms of explaining us in the first week that you have to join in one student org which is related to your degree and also one that is related to your interest, that a fund student org you can join and also, you know, how our career counselor, they explained through that, how that would be very meaningful and helpful for finding internship in future and, you know, future careers. So I think those really helped me to really make the decision that I really wanted to get involved on campus. Did you feel that, you know, were you accepted as an international student representing student body? Yeah, so I think, yeah, student body, because, yeah, we represented and you and I, I think they foster a culture of very inclusive and, you know, diverse, you know, environment for us. So when I came in, I think I was a little shocked, you know, it's just they're very welcoming on campus and how many opportunities out there just for international students available on campus. And I think it was very welcoming just not only by the students, but also the leadership they welcomed us and I think if we needed something, you know, extra, they would kind of provide those as well. So I think that was really amazing. That's incredible. Was your nature as an international student actually something that helped because you brought a different perspective to, you know, student government and to deliberations about how the university should manage itself? Yes, definitely. I think one of the examples would be when I was a student on our dining center, they are like in a student who didn't go home during the academic break like Christmas or Thanksgiving, they wouldn't get food. So as an international student, I kind of felt that and we brought in all the university leadership from provost to president and actually I was able to implement meal plan during the break. So, you know, just seeing from that perspective, I think that kind of helped and, you know, even presenting the student, that was really amazing experience. That's amazing. Congratulations and thank you. Nashiba, you came from St. Patrick's Grenada and recently graduated from Howard University. Can you tell us about your time at Howard? I know that you were very involved with extracurricular activities. Yeah, thank you for having me and nice to meet you, Russell. Yes, I'm from St. Patrick's Grenada on this beautiful island that have a lot of young professionals like myself. And at Howard, I love to my experience there. Howard forces a culture of so much diversity you can find almost anyone from any part of the country, any part of the world here. So, which was really good. Coming from Grenada, I didn't know what to expect because I haven't been to a big university before but being there, you come with your uniqueness and what do you like? You know, what are you passionate about? How creative are you? And to piggyback off on what Russell said upon international orientation, we should get at the first week at school at Howard University. They will emphasize that you have to join organizations one of your interests and one of any other social event. So, that's what happened and I love food. So, when I realized there was no nutrition club, nothing to do with food at Howard, I literally revamped it. It was not an official organization, but nowadays we're putting the work tirelessly. We had cooking classes and we didn't just focus on food, we also had a resume building workshops. We went in the community, we served and we had luncheon. My favorite part was the luncheon fundraiser and the cooking classes because that brought in a lot of the faculty, the staff and the students, everybody in one place at our kitchen at Howard where we worked and we prepared nutritious and healthy meals. It's super impressive to hear that it didn't just have an effect on the university but in the community. So, is it something, would you say it's a typical campus experience at Howard for people also to be involved in the community here in Washington, D.C.? Yes, Howard has more than 140 clubs and organizations, so it means that there's something for everyone. Whether you're into reading, you're into drama, you're into art, anything is not just academic but also social. There's Howard University Community Service Day which is huge and you get to help and serve those in the community. There are a lot of things you have to do. We did Ward 7, Ward 8 Community Service also did Food and Friends, this is Central Kitchen. There is so much there even research you can do on campus. You can be a part of the research as well or you can conduct it first hand or second hand. Very interesting. One last question. I know that you were a part of a regional association, a Caribbean Students Association. Were there students associations from around the world and is that something that is typical on campus? Yes, at Howard University we have iPods, international students so that's for everybody. The Caribbean Students Association is mostly for the Caribbean students so you're meeting everybody else that are international students and you also branch off into just Caribbean. See me, people from Jamaica, Trinidad, Montserrat Antigua, Grenada, like myself and that uniqueness you get to have what they call the International Tree or the Caribbean Tree they go there and you just enjoy it you just really enjoy the experience which I did. Immerse yourself in the culture, network because that's what it's for it really helped you to succeed because when you're involved in so many other things opportunities are provided for you you get to go to conferences you get to do so much and get affiliated with other networks and other groups. Were there any organizations that you were surprised to see that you thought, oh wow. Yes, there was one it was dancing it was a different type of dance I've never seen before but I was like that this type of dance you're doing and that's an actual club which I thought it was different but it was nice because it brought so much, as I say, keep who you are bringing your uniqueness and that's what makes it even more beautiful. Respect for the individual and empowering it sounds like that's fantastic. Thank you so much. I'm glad to hear about these great examples and congratulations on your work on nutrition because we know that's so important for all of us. Thank you. So I would like to turn to you, Ahud and ask if you could speak a little bit about your experience on campus culture and also religious life at Western Michigan University. Sure. So when I first came to United State my first decision was to live in campus. Not just to be close to my classes but also to give myself a chance to be part of the campus culture and the campus life as well. With living in campus I experienced a lot of how much it's important to be globally engaged with other people I mean here at Western Michigan University there is so many students from different countries so it was so interesting to live in the campus join different activity and share my culture I get a lot of motivation and to be proud of myself and proud of my culture and to share my culture to be more outgoing so and about my religion life I was worried a lot before I came here about how to practice my religion in a non-Muslim country but when I first came to Western Michigan University I saw that everyone had the freedom to practice their religion no matter if they are Christian Muslim or any other religion this makes me feel so comfortable and the campus also provide us with five different terms and we got a very big support the campus to start our Muslim international Muslim Association and they also support us participate with other organizations and to share our religion and also to not be shy to talk about the problems facing Muslims and it makes me feel comfortable that everyone respect us here and support us and our organization that's fascinating and great to hear let me ask you is there so you said the Muslim Student Association also sometimes works with other student associations and that people sort of see each other they learn about you about your association are there any groups that you've especially done things with or any activities will people come to your activities to learn about Islam for example actually in western every fall we have like a bronco bash where all the organizations share their what is their organization for and all their things and we got a booth for our organization where we can answer the setting question about the organization we also participate with so many events last semester about Islamophobia and we also participate like near the campus we have Islamic center it's a very large community where Muslims can go together to participate there and because in Kalamazoo we have a very large amount of refugees from Syria and other countries so there's so many organizations in Kalamazoo were like concerned about helping those people we participate to do the same thing with them to collaborate with them and help those people we also participate in some events inside the campus with other organization like his house and some other organization for different for different events such as like the American holidays like for example we were having a Halloween for like next two weeks where we like just go there and encourage the students to get know other cultures not just stuff with our culture things that's fantastic thank you so much that's very valuable information for our viewers Russell I know that during your time in college you served as president of the Muslim Student Association is that right? so I think as she mentioned there's a lot of freedom you know on campus for you know practicing your religion your culture I mean US campus they're very inclusive campus so so for us we brought a lot of speakers last year I think we had an interfaith dialogue where we bring like an Imam we brought like a Rabbi we brought like a pastor and really talk through like you know what it likes to and really educated the campus and educated our student body about interfaith religion we also have done a really interesting experiment with some American student wearing hijab on campus for a week so some of our volunteer students they actually wear hijab and see how they like to wear hijab on campus and really get that experience so I think you know University of Northern Iowa they had really facilitated those for us and really made it possible and you know it's I think all those university in the US very inclusive and allow practice whatever you believe in that's fantastic thank you so much those are you know it's great to hear and great examples I'm sure it is now time to check in with our viewers on Facebook and to answer your questions our first question is about differences in classroom culture so a viewer is asking what was the biggest difference you experienced between classrooms in the US and in your home country can I start with you Ahud with me so when I started my academic classes here I noticed that the relationship between the professor and the student is more close more friendly if I have a question I will just feel free to go to their office hours ask them or ask in the class with like with no events or something so that's making me feel good because I mean back home we give more respect like to the professor so I cannot question in the lecture I have to wait after the lecture to ask in these things so yeah this give me more like first of all to talk in the class if I have something I want to say I will just raise my hand it's comfortably in all their things it's hard to start academic classes for international like just the first semester when you see so many Americans around you and you feel like your level is the lowest one in the class but after that you will just start to feel like I like we are doing good so like participating in the class asking questions oh it's so helpful for international students to know more about the class and also to show the professor that you care about doing good even if this is not your first language but you're doing like you're butting all your efforts to just attending the class all the classes things and all their things so yeah thank you very much that's great Nishiba let me ask you the same question you know was there a big difference you experienced or it wasn't a big difference in terms of connecting with your professors or your teachers in my country in Grenada the teachers are very good with you you are allowed to make discussions you're allowed to engage and interact likewise as here the only difference was that for the general classes the classroom teacher to people put professor ratio it was big for the general classes but when you go to your core classes you had a more intimate a small group classes where you can and I felt the same way as in my country in Grenada so that wasn't different at all which is good the only difference is how we look at the content back at my country and here was different but because there is so much support here especially at Howard University the professors they provide a lot of resources for you they support you they're students that assist you like teacher assistants they help you with that Karim let me ask you I know one of the things that you hear in relation to this question is that sometimes teachers in the US can be kind of direct they can call on you and is that a difference do you think what was your experience like so I think my experience teachers are very direct but they have very direct expectation from you so I think first year of the class you know the professor they will kind of lay down their expectation you know you have to do the class participation and also I think one of the big difference I found that the research opportunities on undergrad level in the US universities and you know I came from UNI and as a competent science major I was able to work with my professor and do undergrad research so I think that was really interesting opportunity for undergrad so and also you know as they mentioned office hours are very helpful and another thing I really found I think I want to add it to yours very interesting that liberal art classes in the US and I think you know back home when at the classroom you just focus if you're studying chemistry or physics you study chemistry and physics but having opportunity to learn you know for me I have taken 45 liberal art classes like I was taking astronomy I was taking like fun classes like a theater classes so they just actually open up and widen the knowledge for us and I think that was really big difference in the US classrooms. Absolutely thank you for that those are very valuable perspectives so I realize we have a lot of questions from from Facebook the next one is what is it like to live in a dormitory Nishiba did you live in a dorm? Yes I lived in a dorm at Howard University for two years and I moved off campus on my last but it was very good I actually worked as a resident assistant which is an RA so you are like the lead of that floor but before I became an RA I was just a resident and that was very interactive because there are hall programs there are dorm programs there are competition between dorms so like you get to either you dance you sing you step like a lot of stuff it was fun and some of the dorms are attached to a dining center like so you can get your food so one of the dorms that I lived in which is an annex there is a dining center there so you don't have to go far to get your food and everything is accessible which is nice which is very good we have study rooms we have computer rooms in our dorms so that's good. Okay so it brings everybody together everybody fosters a common environment and you have lots of resources lots of resources a lot okay interesting that's great so our next question is how do universities protect students from discrimination and how do they foster a multicultural environment let me ask you that Russell I mean especially given your time in government through government so I think university we have like a dean of students they can represent students so we have a title line officer and we also have a dean of student officer where a hard job is to really taking care of all those issues and also I think when we created those student organizations I think they're also resource for all the student really you know talk through their if there is an issue but I think all the student like we have international student association we have international student promoters all those other international student organizations they actually advocate for this so also kind of educate student even if it happens what we have to do so I think it is very direct communication from the university they kind of tell us what we need to do and one of the great thing I think UNI has done in our mission and vision on the university like that's the first thing we hear about university and they tell about how diversity and inclusion that's the top part of the university so just hearing and listening to that I think we feel comfortable and we haven't seen anything happening from discrimination from and you know Midwest, Iowa nice, Iowa kind you know so I'm from Iowa so I think definitely that's a plus I think this is a great environment you know we haven't really seen anything but if it happens to somebody I think the dean of student office they'll definitely take care of it okay so the main thing is not just having a policy but really communicating it exactly and making it part of university's values exactly that is like a strong message that the universities pass okay that's very thank you very much the next question is about the teaching style what what is the teaching style like Ahud may I ask you that in Michigan actually it depends on what class are you taking like for telecommunication information management most of my classes are programming classes so the environment of class we work in a lab area where we just need to deal with computers there's no textbooks we don't use like notebook or something but we use some programs that can help us to make our like programming look good and all the things but in some other classes like a communication regular communication class communication leadership or other classes there is more like we use textbook and we use like a lecture and workshop with the professor where we have like a discussion or conversation like in a large group in the class we share our experience our thought about something and in the book but would say as it's more with working individually with our projects so it's kind of I don't know different styles this is what I got experienced here okay thank you very much Ahud let me ask you a follow up question that from our viewers that just came in what kind of opportunities are there to do research on campus you're involved in computers of course it could be research on many things are there opportunities that you could link to do research that you're interested in yeah actually so I'm sorry I just no that's okay it's about research and you know for so for example sometimes a professor in a class will say oh we could you help me on you know a project I'm doing research do professors sometimes take students to help in research projects yeah actually and some of the communication classes we had like to do like it's for extra credit but we have to hold the communication a department with some researches last semester we have a research about about how to like make a robot to be like in a lecture room and they choose like a specific students to be in this research it was so helpful also to understand how robots work for us and it's for international students it gives us more like like the campus or like the professors really work hard to make the education style look like comfortable for everyone not just for Americans and yeah we've been participating in some researches as well and when I was an ESL student English second as a second language program I've been participating in some research where American student who want to be an ESL teacher and they're like have so many questions about international life and how is the culture outside United States they came in our classroom every like Monday and they give us like some questions and yes so we kind of participating with some researches thank you thank you very much that's a very valuable answer for our viewers now we have a question from Kuram Shazad in Pakistan who asks how is it for Muslim students to live in the United States for example are there mosques and is Halal food available Russell let me ask you that so yes thanks for the question we do we I have right now you know I work as a program analyst so that is actually Pakistani restaurant one minute away from my office so usually I go during my lunch that's great there's a lot of option for Halal food there and they actually pretty much saved our life you know for a lot of students so we have pretty good amount of Muslim student on campus a lot of Middle Eastern students and from South Asia as well so there is a Halal food option at the restaurants and there's actually meat so if they're interested to cook or living off campus they can buy Halal meat as well we actually have a beautiful mosque close to campus I think that will be probably 10 minutes drive from the campus and a lot of students they're involved with Muslim student associations or you know in the community they actually drive together as a group you know for Friday prayers so a lot of students they'll actually go together so yeah there is opportunity there and when you travel for example I mean do you face any issues I mean is this would you say that you can pretty much find those resources throughout the country I mean where you're going yes I think in the US people of you know South Asian Cuisines you know everywhere right you know love all this food so I think now as I've been traveling all over the country I've been finding restaurant and the options you know if you're practicing you know and trying to find Halal food I think you can find Halal food anywhere in the US and you can find mosques everywhere right you can find mosques everywhere as well I know that's very valuable for our views so I think you just have to look for it you just have to find it and if you Google it I'm pretty sure you'll find the Halal food options okay thank you our next question is from Alex in Brazil who is asking is it possible for me to get into a graduate program after I graduate here in Brazil in my country do I have to go through some sort of undergraduate program in the US first Elizabeth can I turn to you about that question sure yeah so most often than not we are able to validate undergraduate degrees in other countries and so there's not typically undergraduate course requirements when you're admitted to a graduate program oftentimes you are required to take a standardized test like the GRE examinations and obviously your proof of English proficiency also you may receive some conditional admissions that will state this undergraduate class would really help prepare you with the tools and softwares and things like that you need to know in the graduate program so if you do find yourself having to take an undergraduate class don't be discouraged by that it really is there to kind of help you and help you adjust to the campus thank you very much let me stay with you Elizabeth for a second question from Jose Francisco and Education USA in Columbia he asks how can students be involved in a university sports team that's a common question we we often connect our students that are really interested in say American football or even soccer we connect them with the coaches and they're familiar with getting to know them we often encourage them to either consider intramural sports or consider you know the semi competitive levels there's walk-on tryouts so those opportunities are available for students that are really dedicated to their sport and don't want to lose that if they move to a new country thank you very much our next question is again one focused on campuses online viewer Joyce wants to know a bit more about housing and living options for example do students have to continue living on campus for the whole four years what kind of flexibility do they have Russell can I start with you so I started living on campus at the dorm for my first year and any incoming student I would recommend at least one year they should live on campus because that helps them to get to know all the buildings where it is get to know make friends for the four years so I lived one year on campus then I moved out of campus apartment so there's it's called married student apartment but it's not really for married students I lived there for my last three years so I think there's off campus apartments you can live in so you don't really have to tie in for four years it's just if you are interested to move out and live off campus I think you should talk to department of residence ahead of time because in some university I think they might have a contract that if you want to break it there might be some rules for that but just to you know talk to the university to see what the university specific rules but for us usually year by year contract so if you're contracting your dorm for a year you just have to live for a year then you can move out and you know pursue other options that you have Thank you Nashiiba you mentioned that you your last year you spent off campus that's right what was your experience there was it did you just decide I want a different experience at Howard coming in as a freshman it is required that you stay on campus unless you have family members in the area that you're living with but I would recommend as Russell said that you're coming in for the first time you live on campus for that first year all the resources are there for you and you get to have a better experience now you can move off campus anything after that which is entirely up to you you contact residence life you're off campus housing or you rent an apartment on campus was my choice I wanted to just have that independence because sometimes you share your rooms with others it depends on your plan where you're coming from and what your requests are thank you very much and Elizabeth anything you'd like to add finally on this topic in terms of universities policies on off campus yeah like you said it does vary most all universities or many universities require that first year for those reasons that everyone's kind of listed already and I think we touched on it a little bit but the different housing styles so that's important to consider when you're looking at options and if you do want more independence there's a lot of universities now that have apartment style housing where you're having your own room you're having those intimate spaces so you aren't necessarily off campus and away but you're still getting that independence that you want so it really depends on the options that you have available for living but it's generally a really good practice to try your first year and I think of who do you could probably speak on that as well yeah I highly recommend the student to start their school or or like to start like when they first came to United States it's good to live in campus to know more about what is going on in the campus and especially if they cannot afford to get a car from the first year it's good to get benefit of the campus transportation and it's nice to get to know more friend and to get to know each other like living in campus also helped me the first year to practice my English I used to live with an American roommate where I was the only one in all the building who speak Arabic so I couldn't speak my first language and that really forced me to speak English so yeah I was so hopeful to get engaged through so many activities inside the dorm and also inside the campus so I highly recommend student to start with living in campus make themselves comfortable about the city and the campus like the university then after that if they if they want to go outside the campus and live with their friends with other roommates that's good as well okay thank you very much to all of you very valuable advice our next question is from Elton who asks how do you handle a situation where you have to study with people that don't have or share your customs Nashiba let me start with you did you study with lots of different kinds of people yes and at Howard they foster a culture where you have to work with groups most of the time you study independently but they're always a group assignment that you have to do now work with someone who don't share your custom is not a bad thing because you can learn from that person so first I think you should address the person okay I'm not used to this and this is what I'm used to what are you used to you know how can we learn from each other you might be surprised that working with someone who doesn't share your custom might give you an A as opposed to just you know pulling yourself secretly and work by yourself so I think that's a great opportunity to connect you know and learn something you just share right the way and if it doesn't work if there is a complication or something very serious that it doesn't allow it to work out then you can talk to your professor or something like that but first step is to address the situation with the person you're working with with the people you're working with and take it from there it's very good advice Karim anything you'd like to add? I think I'll second Nashiba I think only thing would be just a clear communication it's not a bad thing you know the different culture and the customs that they have it's just if you communicate to the student you know what the customs you are used to and what they are and it's just you know communicating with them and I think that most of the case it works out thank you very much our next question is from Doha from Claire sorry Doha College who asks what is your advice to students preparing to study in the United States? Elizabeth can I ask you that first? It's a very large question yes but doing your research is the best advantage you know watching interactives like this and looking at the different opportunities in schools that you're interested in is the first step you'll get a very good sense of the university by visiting their websites and seeing how accessible they are the communication via email or what communication tools they have available we've got some global interns like a food who answer phone calls answer questions well in advance to you even arriving so those tools are really important when you're considering studying in the U.S. and the admission process that's very good advice and it is a large question I assume also from our end certainly using Education USA's services is something we want to recommend because they're free they're worldwide they're targeted at the best fit for the students so what we want is for students to find the right place to study so that they can succeed personally and professionally certainly academically and our advisors are all focused on that and I hope that all of your I know that all of the universities here certainly work with Education USA in terms of promoting U.S. higher education generally who can I ask you anything or a few things that you did that helped you prepare for arriving in the United States well yeah I did so many research before I came to Michigan specifically because I used to be in different universities and I transferred to Western when I first decided to study abroad I go online I search about everything about United States like even something you will never think about it I search exactly for every single thing like the life American culture I saw so many videos I even so many episodes some stuff in TVs to just see how is the life look like in the United States and those kind of like showing those picture and videos helped me to prepare myself especially when I came in the winter I saw so many picture about how much like I went to Michigan in winter and it makes me feel like nervous and good at the same time like I will see snow for the first time in my life but it will be so cold so I was good with searching about the universities the majors because after graduating from high school I found myself I loved working with computers networking and communication so I started searching for universities for those majors and yeah so I did so many research I also communicate with some current student in the United States there's so many omanis around here I contact with them and see like what should I have before I came and what to bring with me from home and all these things they were so helpful to stay positive they told me I will like face so many problems in the airbursts it's normal, it's not a problem this is the precious so they really helped me to feel good about these about starting new experience and yeah that's great advice it's a great story and it's great advice for people who are thinking about coming thank you very much our next question is from education USA what do universities do to help international students adapt to US culture I know that of course you've already spoken about the seminars at the beginning but are there other things that in your experience helped you adapt that the university did Karim, sorry if you wrestle yeah I think we have international student office they also offer a program called like the family, your host family so the host family program what they do when those new students come in they'll assign a student with a host family to really understand the culture and you know go get dinner with your host family understand what his family look like in the US and also for me when I came into University of Northern Iowa you know this is my first time in the US that was my first time in Midwest and learning cultures getting used to with everything and having a host family that you can always call and in a situation that oh I don't know how to do this and understanding that so I think University you and I have done a really good job really assigning as a host family also they assign host family based on interest if some of the host family they have interest on East Asia that they have visited they have very keen interest in this culture they would assign those kind of host families so they really helped us University also I think we also talk about the orientation the first week of the orientations they kind of lay out all the resources that available for on campus from that health center to need like you know even counseling center like a mental health homesick and all those assistant you would need so I think University in the US they usually do really good job explaining your resources that you have on campus thank you very much very valuable advice and good perspective our next question is from Grace in Kinshasa who is asking about health insurance Grace asks did you have to have health insurance as a student in the United States and how do you get that insurance Elizabeth can I ask you that question health insurance in the United States is a big topic and it is important and required for all international students to have health insurance University is handled this differently and for western we have health insurance coordinator in our office that meets with students and we have selective plans that they can choose from that meet all the requirements we also follow up with students that are listed that don't currently have insurance and our coordinator is even kind enough to kind of fight some of those battles about insurance claims she'll call up the insurance companies on behalf of the student in certain scenarios to help with bills and things like that so it is a complicated process but it is something where the staff are here able to help you navigate that we also have you know resources on campus about the health centers and the information and availability to make appointments there at a better rate that is covered with your insurance some universities to automatically enroll them in a standard plan unless you produce otherwise so keep that in mind as well when you're looking towards that thank you very much Elizabeth Nashi would you like to add something to your experience was that how it worked for you? Health insurance at Howard University is very easy once you're enrolled and you're registered for that semester or that year academic year you're automatically enrolled in an insurance plan and you have to do your flu shots or your health screening every year so once you go to that health center they make sure that your plan is active and that go last throughout the entire year and then it starts refreshing for the following year so I literally don't have to do anything but make sure that my I'm active and that I can get my service when I go to the hospital Excellent thank you so a few of our viewers are asking about budgeting and spending money they ask how did you approach that during your time as a student and can you work on campus Ahud can I ask you that did you how have you approached planning spending okay I'm not really good with spending I mean I'm good with spending there is so many opportunities to work on campus and I really recommend it to a student if you are a legal if you are like if you can work on the campus just go for it because it will give you a good experience not just the money but it will give you a work experience you can just put it in your CV or resume and it will help you so yeah some people also can work outside depending on their visa but if one student visa were not allowed to work outside the campus so there is so much opportunity for us to work inside the campus or to get internship paid or not paid internship as I said it's important to manage the money especially if you are like if you are like depending on yourself for getting your money working it's so important every month to build like a plan for you like okay this is how I should like spending money on food this is how much I should spend on electricity and all that things especially in the winter when the haters don't say you want to save good money for them so yeah it depends on every person how much they spend for like for their stuff they have to get for bills and if they can find a job in the United States that will be great that will support them financially and it will give them a good experience okay thank you very much Russell let me ask you because you now you're actually working on campus after graduating did you work while you were studying yes so I think working on campus I would mention not just you know you work for money but the experience you get the real life experience working on campus working on a job the skills you learn I think that is like huge value so I actually had multiple jobs at the same time on campus I was working as an IT technician I worked as an IT technician for the university for three and a half years during my college I also work at the Gallagher Blue Dome as a you know for the performance art center so you know you get to work in different things and learn different things and I think one thing for my professional success after college was the experience I have received throughout my college like you know I worked as an IT technician for three and a half years that helped me to secure a job after I graduated on campus and I was a former analyst for the university even throughout my university life those kind of experience helped me to get like you know valuable internship you know I did two internships and two really amazing companies so this is really helpful helped me in my professional career Fantastic, Neshiba, I think you want to add do you have an experience working? Yes, I think if you can work on campus especially in that first year you can do it because I've worked as a resident assistant so that made my housing was covered I didn't have to worry about housing I also worked in the office of career services as an intern so when recruiters are coming I get to meet them so right there you're networking you're building so I think you can work but be mindful of your visa status and most of us as international students are not eligible for FAFSA so if you are considered to work contact student employment early, you know, can you apply for HUSEP, do that early because it goes by really quick, don't wait until you get to campus to start looking for on campus job, do it before put your name in and even if you don't get it, go to an office or something that you want to work in and volunteer that's why I got my job at the office of career services because you did that experience here So volunteering is also a fantastic opportunity, be very careful about the rules budget carefully very strong messages from all of you, thank you. We have a specific question about for you in Michigan which is how did you cope with the cold weather in Michigan so I came to Michigan in the worst winter ever 2014 so yeah, when I first came, it was the first week of January the class was cancelled orientation was cancelled as well and I called my mother, I called my family I was so scared that I'm in the wrong place yeah, I was crying, it was cold because I came from very dry, hot weather to very cold, snowing and the snow was more than three inches up and I can't walk outside but by the time I get used to it and I feel like it's just about time and it's good to prepare yourself like when I ask students how is the weather in Michigan, they told me it's snowing but I saw the picture I said, I will not be that snow I will just have my jacket with me and that said I will be fine but I wasn't fine actually so I recommend new students coming anywhere in Michigan for the spring please if you don't have boots or gloves or jackets prepare yourself to buy from here there's so many stores you can get from here but like yeah, so you have to know it's the winter it's kind of hard here but by the time it's Michigan have a very nice environment like you can see different seasons like I can't tell this is winter, this is summer so I love getting experience with the four different seasonings so as I said it's just about time when you get yourself ready for it, prepare yourself well, get the cold shot as soon as you can you will be fine yeah, just about time that's a great message, the seasons can be beautiful things all parts of the country are very different and beautiful in their own way thank you, that's a lovely answer so we have a question from Sasan from Cairo who wants to know how do U.S. universities ensure the safety of students on campus, Elizabeth could we start with you yeah, and I'll even feed into the winter concerns on campus they take that very seriously the weather conditions and so there are different modes of transportation, public safety and groundskeeping are keeping the campus safe, getting rid of any ice our campus is also a little bit designed with the winters in mind so a lot of the buildings do connect which means very limited time outside further and like to go full detail there is a fully staffed public safety that also operates in Kalamazoo area and most universities have a campus safety, most universities have those blue light call boxes that you can contact if you have a concern and during our orientation we have a police officer come in and even tell students no question or no concern is too small for those blue lights don't be afraid to use them and they also have a lot of universities have after hours if you don't want to walk alone you're able to contact services to walk with you from building to building or to your home so it's very accessible they encourage you from day one to get those alerts from campus safety and weather updates so you're very well connected and comfortable on campus that's fantastic, I know that safety and security are certainly one of the things that US universities think about most and absolutely prioritize Bushra from Pakistan is asking about leadership programs or internships available on campus Nashiba I know you participated in several internships can you tell us a little bit about your experience my internship was great my experience was great I think first you should start with what exactly one would achieve from that internship and what are you going to do after that so get involved in internships that really build you a step further in your career so I had a lot of internships I had internships, most of them were at clinical settings like hospital, Kennedy Krieger Bridgepoint also did community and a part of one internship was a research one so you actually conduct research I know I'm into the clinical field and research so that really helped me but in terms of internship networking, network, network, network share your interests, share what you want to do with your professors and your advisors and they will plug you into that right spot, so to say so you get and maximize that internship that's fantastic, thank you very much we have a student in Peshawar who is asking what kinds of platforms are there for getting information and guidance on US higher education and of course education USA is one of them did you all have contact with schools directly or how else did you approach that Russell? I actually directly contacted education USA actually I had an amazing experience with the American Center in Bangladesh so they actually have a counselor there you can actually make appointments schedule appointment with them, meet with them plus the resources that they have available at the American Center they had all those education fairs so you know the other countries you know the university from the US they will come in and present their university so you get to also directly connect with those universities as well so I actually how exactly I came into the US I met an amazing counselor from Northern Iowa who happened to visit in Bangladesh and met her there and contacted them but I think a lot of prospective students they can try multiple universities before I came in I applied six universities in the US so I was actually continuously communicating with them about scholarship in terms of the environment I chose to go Northern Iowa because of the Midwest and in the environment and the Ionize so I think there's a lot of opportunities in the American Center I totally encouraged them to work directly with the American Center in different countries that prospective students are Thank you so much, I appreciate that perspective and it sounds like you really did your research and that you knew how to about looking for the right place So unfortunately we are almost out of time I would like to ask each one of you to share a final thought for our viewers Elizabeth could we start with you Well first of all it's been a pleasure to participate in this and one of my final thoughts is just emphasizing the engagement and maximizing your opportunity once you do arrive on campus here don't be afraid to reach out to friends from your country, American students the campus resources that you have available you're going to make memories for a lifetime from your professional academic and personal life so it's a lot to look forward to and a lot to research Thank you Elizabeth, that's exactly right Ahud, can I ask you Yeah, thank you for having us here today and for the new international student or excited to come to United States or to participate in the study abroad programs don't feel afraid to come and try it, like it's so interesting to learn new things about new culture and American culture it's so, there's so much thing to learn about and even if you came here and you get engaged through the American culture just don't lose your own culture just try to bring them or stay with both culture, respect other cultures also make you like in a good situation and people here love talking about the other culture they love asking where do you came from like what is the life is like there so be prepared to answer all those questions and it's so interesting to get out of your like comfortable zone, try something new learn a new language very good for you that's very good advice thank you very much Ahud Nashiba thank you for this opportunity and I would say to everybody in Grenada please research contact me if you can this is a great opportunity if you're interested you know come to the US and study or anywhere just for the experience and higher education and one thing I want to add is that keep your uniqueness because it adds to the diversity wherever you go so keep that and just keep pushing so you've brought a little bit of Grenada with you wherever you go oh yes a little bit of spice wherever I go so beautiful, beautiful Caribbean representatives that's fantastic that enriches us yes thank you thank you so much that's a great perspective Russell I think for me you know education in the US like in American education absolutely paved my you know my personal and professional life after graduation I think there are so much opportunities for students or you know international students prospective students in the US that sets these kind of educations you know are different from any other country so if anybody have the opportunity I absolutely you know recommend them to pursue education in the US and I think American Center is definitely the best place to reach out and work with them and thanks for having us today we really appreciate it well thank you for that promotion of EducationUSA we appreciate it and appreciate your perspective thank you all thank you for joining us today and of course a special thanks to our guests Elizabeth, Awud, Nashiiba and Russell a very special thanks to our viewing groups joining us around the world and especially those at EducationUSA Uganda the American corner in Pristina Kosovo EducationUSA Qatar EducationUSA Colombia EducationUSA Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo the Colonel John C. Robinson American Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia the American corner in Getheba, Burundi EducationUSA Nicaragua the BNC Centro Cultural Nicaraguan North American in Nicaragua 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 436 around the world currently 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 goodbye from Washington