“In order for [international students] to be successful,” said Elizabet Woche, “we have to set them up to be successful.” Woche started at Western New Mexico University as a recruiter in the Office of Admissions and Recruitment and now also serves as the compliance official for students attending WNMU on student visas. The position has given her insight on what international students need to succeed and she is now implementing her ideas through an orientation program and by advising a new student organization.
This year, Woche planned and led the university’s first orientation program dedicated to international students. The need for the orientation became apparent to Woche as she observed the complex processes that international students had to navigate. “Students [in prior years] would come to WNMU and figure out everything by themselves,” said Woche, “Transportation from El Paso or Tucson, classes, laws, immigration, visas—all those responsibilities were on the students.”
The complexity of starting life as an international student could prove too much for some students. “To have that huge responsibility—to understand immigration law, to understand Western culture, American culture—it is overwhelming,” said Woche. The new orientation she said, was designed to provide relief among the chaos. “By doing this,” she said, “we are going to alleviate the stress and the work.”
Woche knows about this stress first-hand. Originally from Kenya, she immigrated to the United States in her early teens. “I totally understand the fear of moving to a new place and moving to a new school with a different culture,” she said.
The orientation covered topics ranging from how to access healthcare to how to open a bank account. Special attention was given to academic expectations and the support services available to students to help them succeed academically. The new students had an opportunity to ask questions of returning international students. There was also time set aside for international students to get to know one another, and the second day of the two-day orientation included both a short hike and an introduction to Silver City’s downtown and shopping areas. Marcela Valenzuela Fierro, one of the new students who attended the orientation, appreciated the introduction to life at WNMU. “The international orientation was an event where I met many WNMU students from many different countries,” she said, “I felt so understood because all of us were far away from home, family and friends.”
Andrew Lunt, Director of Admissions and Recruitment, said that the new orientation was “desperately needed.” “There are laws and regulations, along with many policies and procedures that have to be followed as an international student,” said Lunt, “The orientation allows us to cover that information, answer questions, acclimate students to the local culture, and calm the natural anxiety that comes with going into a foreign land away from family and friends to study. One of the largest benefits, though, is to allow international students to feel supported, make connections, and build immediate bonds and friendships after leaving their home country to come to the U.S.”
While Woche and her team designed the international orientation to get students off on the right foot, her aspirations for helping international students extend beyond the beginning of the school year. She recently worked with student leaders to launch a new International Student Association. The new association is designed “to create an inclusive and welcoming community where members can connect, exchange ideas, and find representation in the university community,” according to the organization’s mission statement, “We aim to promote intercultural awareness, empathy, and open-mindedness through engaging activities, educational initiatives, and meaningful interactions.”
Both Lunt and Woche see the International Student Association as continuing a process started during orientation. It “allows the bonds, friendships, and support to continue on throughout [international students’] time here at WNMU,” explained Lunt. Said Woche of the organization, “This is going to be an ongoing process to make sure [international] students are taken care of. … Knowing that your school is going to take care of you—it changes things.”
Woche’s passion for creating a welcoming campus for international students is inspired by her own experiences as an undergraduate at South Dakota State University, where she was involved with the university’s multicultural center. “Even though we were in Brookings, SD,” she said, “our school made sure that I had a community. We had a multicultural center. … They created this community. … It made a huge difference to me, and I remember that, and it’s the reason their retention rate was great. If South Dakota can do it, Silver City can totally do it.”
Ultimately, though, it is the international students at WNMU that motivate her. “I want them to feel like we care,” said Woche, “because we do.”