Student Union
Helping International Students Through: 5 Questions with International Student Advisor Lee Seedorff
Lee said the University of Iowa begins talking with international students before they even arrive on campus, offering pre-arrival checklists to prepare students for what they need to know to come to America, and then continuing with orientations and special programs to help international students navigate their life in the U.S.
So after all that communication experience, what does an international student advisor have to say about communicating with international students? Here are Jane’s 5 questions with Lee Seedorff.
1. What are the most common topics during your communication with international students?
Lee: Well, just by the nature of what we do a lot of it is immigration-related. Students are coming in because they may need to extend an immigration document or need authorization for something, or to make sure they are following the immigration rules they are supposed to follow. Much of what we do is related to that.
But outside of that, there is still a fair amount of just personal issues. Maybe people are having conflicts with their roommates - that’s definitely a common one. Or sometimes workplace, particularly with graduate students - they’re having conflicts with their graduate advisor or lab supervisor.
At the beginning of the semester we see more adjustment issues. Students feeling they are not connected, they are feeling lonely, like they want to go home.
Hear Lee talk about how the University of Iowa stays in touch with foreign students:
2 So when you talk to international students, do you encounter some communication challenges, like some students who can’t speak fluent English?
Lee: Sometimes. But I will say that’s actually rare. Most of the students who are coming here have pretty good English conversational skills, so just meeting and discussing something with a student in person it’s rare that I encounter problems like that.
Definitely there are some names that are difficult for me to figure out how to pronounce. But from time to time we have workshops for our office staff and invite people in to go over name pronunciation. We have done that a couple of times with, for example, Chinese names. So I am not going to say I am that good, but I am probably better than many Americans are.
Of course, because you have encountered so many Chinese students, right?
Lee: Yes, we have good practice. But definitely, there are other Thai names, Vietnamese names. We always have some practice we need to do, definitely.
3. For many international students, they haven’t had a lot of chances to talk to American people, so when they communicate with you, would you give them some suggestions on how to improve their communication skills or other things?
Lee: Sometimes students do ask us about that. For example, just a few weeks ago I had a student asking me what’s considered rude in American culture. He gave me a couple of examples of some things that had just happened to him in a store when he was making a purchase, or in a conversation with someone on the street. [He wanted to know] whether or not the person he was speaking to, who was an American, was being rude to him or if that was normal behavior.
4. Could you tell us about a time you felt particularly unsatisfied with your abilities to help a student?
Lee: I think most often when I was unsatisfied or when I was very frustrated it has to do with when students are caught up in immigration regulations that don’t permit them to do something. Or there’s an administrative process that’s happening and we cannot get that resolved.
It’s truly frustrating because those types of things really impact peoples’ lives, and that shouldn’t be the case. I mean, bureaucracy should never end up meaning somebody has to go home, but unfortunately that has happened. I am not talking about people who violate immigration laws, but I am talking about just the timing of when an application received, those types of things. It is frustrating.
And then the other thing that can be really difficult is when there are mental health issues that just can’t be solved, and can’t be helped sufficiently. So sometimes that means students do have to end up going home as well.
5. Do you have any suggestions for international students on how to be successful in society, social life, their personal life?
Lee: I guess the number one suggestion would be: always seek out sources of help. Whether it’s talking to your professors or your teaching assistants if you are struggling in a class, talking to our office, your academic advisor.
For students who are really struggling or feeling emotionally down and depressed, we recommend our campus counseling office. I know for some students that’s not the natural place that they would consider going, but we are really fortunate where we have a counseling office who actually has psychologists on staff who were international students themselves and understand what a lot of the students are going through. So that’s always a good resource we encourage students to go to.
We encourage students to get involved with campus activities. And also, it’s hard, but to meet to other students outside of your comfort zone, particularly either American students or students from other places where you are not from. That’s where the big challenge is: what do you do, because they are probably shy and don’t know what to talk about, just like you do. But what do you do to step out of your comfort zone and try to make that connection? So we try to help with that when we can.
So just encourage them to step out and open their mind, right?
Lee: Sometimes, it is just like jumping in the pool, you know? You just have to hold your breath and do it.
Listen to this conversation:
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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