“我们的主要重点一直是帮助学生做出明智的选择,” says Shannon Jolly, Beloit’s international student and exchange advisor. “As we’ve navigated the pandemic, 伯洛伊特大学在一贯考虑国际学生的需求方面做得很好.”
On a suddenly quieter campus, 留下来的国际学生很快适应了在线学习和封锁限制, 比如隔离在单人房间,独自吃饭. They missed their friends and families, 其中许多人自2019年寒假甚至更早以来就没见过了.
For those who were able to return home, challenges included readjusting to lost independence, 在半夜远程上课, 在与Beloit建立沟通渠道的同时,解决技术上的困难. 有些人离开学校的时间几乎和他们在学校的时间一样长, 这是他们在选择美国大学时无法预见的.S. college.
“Students have shown resilience, creativity, 以及找到解决办法的决心, 尽管他们的大学经历发生了很大的变化,” says Elizabeth Brewer, 他最近刚从贝洛伊特大学十大菠菜台子主任的职位上退休.
Beloit supports its international student community, both on campus and around the world, 并建立了一个由教职员工组成的国际学生网络,帮助他们了解不断变化的旅行政策, visa processes, financial concerns, and remote learning.
For their part, 面对困难的个人和教育环境,国际学生仍然保持积极的态度. 随着伯洛伊特在2021-22学年回归面对面学习, 他们说,他们期待着花时间在校园社区.
我们请四名国际学生反思他们在全球大流行期间作为beloiter的经历.
Christiane Umutoni’22
Credit: Greg AndersonComputer science major
Kigali, Rwanda
“I was applying for internships, which would have been difficult to do from Rwanda, had I chosen to fly back home,” she says. “I’m so glad Beloit supported us in staying here, 因为许多学院和大学没有给他们的国际学生这个选择, 这在势不可挡的情况下造成了额外的焦虑.”
即使面对世界性的流行病,Umutoni的rsamsums也有一种全球性的感觉. 她曾在总部位于圣何塞的思科公司(Cisco)从事技术销售方面的实习工作, and, in the fall of 2020, she joined the NextGen Coders Network, 这是一个由来自美国的大学生组成的为期10周的虚拟协作计算机编码项目, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories. 这段经历帮助她加强了跨文化沟通和设计思维能力.
今年秋天,乌穆托尼将在费城中心校外活动, 参加研讨会课程,在那个城市的一家科技公司实习. She pivoted to that option for study away, 因为她无法参加去年在金史密斯学院计划的出国留学项目, University of London.
她说:“不管疫情如何,我都很幸运地拥有了所有这些经历。. Like most of her classmates, though, Umutoni is looking forward to her senior year, 她什么时候能和别人面对面交流. 她还期待着与卢旺达的家人团聚, whom she hasn’t seen since the summer of 2019.
“我真的很怀念与教授和同学的私人互动, and of course, being able to travel home,” she says.
Celia Edwards’24
约克大学历史系交换生
Leeds, England
在英国,大学生在国外学习一年以补充他们在国内的学位课程是很常见的做法. For Celia Edwards, 约克大学历史系三年级学生, that meant coming to Beloit during a global pandemic, 这是一个几乎不可逾越的障碍,因为当时很少有国际学生被允许进入美国.
“我很高兴能专注于博物馆研究和艺术史,体验小型大学生活,” she says.
Through sheer force of will and a bit of luck, 爱德华兹在2020-21学年成为伯洛伊特大学唯一的交换生, 也是约克大学唯一一个去欧洲以外的大学留学的学生. 她感谢伯洛伊特大学十大菠菜台子办公室的工作人员帮助她在美国获得了快速签证.S. Embassy in London.
“My year at Beloit was a charmed existence, and I’m grateful to those who helped me get there,” Edwards says.
Sahil Rizal’22
Credit: Greg AndersonEconomics major
Kathmandu, Nepal
With his family’s encouragement, 2020年3月封锁开始时,Sahil Rizal选择留在Beloit, and he’s been on campus ever since. “I felt it would be best to stay, 主要是因为我不想在半夜上课,” he says. “Beloit has been very supportive of my decision.”
By summer 2020, Nepal had closed its borders, 因此,Rizal计划在尼泊尔经济论坛进行暑期实习. He studied Covid’s effect on Nepal remotely, 同时也在伯洛伊特大学的住宅生活和住房办公室工作. As a member of student government, Rizal与其他学生领袖一起制定了大流行期间学生行为准则, 包括对自我照顾和与他人互动的期望.
During his second summer on campus, Rizal是经济学教授Laura Grube和Disha Shende的研究助理, 与Grube一起研究小型社会科学实验的可扩展性,与Shende一起研究基于成本的医疗服务提供者报销的经济影响. 他还与机构研究办公室合作编写了学院的事实手册, Assessment, and Planning.
当被问及疫情给他带来了什么机遇时, rather than what he missed out on, Rizal承认,他并没有过多考虑Covid-19对他的教育产生的积极影响. Upon reflection, though, 他说,大流行给了他时间——有时间通过虚拟访问探索多个研究生院的选择,也有时间承担一些如果他们亲自去上学可能会与学校重叠的工作. For example, 他通过达菲伙伴计划与伯洛伊特市合作解决住房问题, 这要求他在上学期间参加会议.
Credit: Greg Anderson数量经济学和环境研究专业
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Nguyen Huynh returned to the city of his birth, 他再次与父母和其他一些家庭成员住在一起,同时继续他在地球另一端的伯洛伊特大学的教育.
“It was a very hectic time,” Huynh says, referring to March 2020, 当他面临回家还是留在学校的选择时. “I initially didn’t want to go back home, because when you’re in your 20s, you want to grow independently of your family. But in the end, it was a better decision — financially, and for my mental and physical health — to come home,” he says. 整个2020-21学年,他都呆在家里, reconnecting with Vietnamese family and friends. 他说:“尽管大流行具有挑战性,但我将有一个真正伟大的故事要讲。.
When he first arrived in Vietnam, 黄在“隔离营”被隔离了14天,” or locked-down hotel, and then for an additional 14 days at home, 同时,他也在努力让自己适应在线学习. “越南从一开始就认真对待疫情, with a sense of ‘we will get through this together,’” he says, 这让他平静地接受了离开校园的决定.
Even so, Huynh felt suspended between two lives, 试着在远程上课和在自动化软件测试公司做内容写手之间找到平衡. 他说:“有一种一半一半的感觉,感觉自己没有生活在任何一个时区。. “有时候,贝洛伊特觉得它被搁置了,等着我. 老师们非常理解我的情况,这对我很有帮助.”
黄恩错过了计划中的新西兰留学经历,但他平静地接受了这个消息. “Sometimes things just don’t work out,” he says. “新西兰政府不希望其他国家的学生入境是可以理解的. I’ll get there eventually.”