By Celine Tomas
What could be more challenging than leaving your homeland for a new country? Hundreds of international students do it every year and are sometimes overwhelmed by the stress of living in a brand new environment. Feeling comfortable in a new country often depends on the impression you get from the first people you meet.
Elizabeth Sullivan is one of RVCC’s international student advisors. “I think RVCC is a very pleasant, clean and friendly campus” she says. “I enjoy welcoming international students and I know when they get here, it is life-altering.”
Sullivan started at RVCC almost eight years ago as an academic advisor. After 9/11, the government implemented the SEVIS tracking system (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) that forced colleges to invest in her current position, international student advisor. The intent was to monitor those entering the country while promoting and facilitating the admission of legal students, those with an F-1 visa.
Culture Learning
The new position certainly fits Sullivan, who says she always wanted to travel the world. “I love to learn about the students’ cultures, traditions, religions and foods. They even bring me little souvenirs,” she says. “I am very patriotic and I promote that students come here with valid documentation to pursue their studies.” Sullivan maintains the documents and records for the students and also makes it possible for them to change their visa status.
New Experiences
About 67 international students are enrolled at RVCC every semester. They come from 30 countries around the world and major in nearly as many different academic areas. Some of them come from third-world countries and are desperately looking to improve the quality of their lives.
Sullivan’s first international student, Sheik Mohammed Kaba, from Liberia, arrived in the country the very first day of the semester. Sheik came to her office with no idea how to register for classes. It was hard at first, but with her help, he made it happen. He started working in the counseling center between classes and got very involved in campus activities. Sheik eventually became an honor student and was voted President of the Student Government Association.
“I feel international students are more capable of taking initiatives and are more independent in their thought process,” says Sullivan.
A Helpful Advisor
Most of the students look for activities on campus where they can meet other international students as well as make friends with the natives. Therefore, Sullivan holds orientations and information sessions for potential students and their sponsors. She knows the right people and the right places. “Elizabeth is very friendly and really nice” comments German student Marina Dercks. “When I was in Germany and I had a question about my application, I would send her an email. She would reply within an hour, even if she wasn’t at work.”
Sullivan helps the students find jobs on campus and is available every week if they need her guidance. “I am a good first person to contact” she said. “If students are valid to explore the USA and better themselves, I am here to make the transition easier for them. It’s not just a job, the students rely on me.”
Sullivan recently became a new mom and is trying to balance her family and work lives. She works only part time now, twelve hours a week. She has been helping hundreds of students, but —after all—they are helping her too, she said. Working with them has inspired her to pursue further education herself.
“I am motivated to go back to school and concentrate on getting another degree,” she says. “I don’t think the kind of college matters; it is what you make of it.”
As the immigration issue pervades the media, people like Elizabeth Sullivan make it easier every day for those who intend to study and live in the country legally.
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