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International Students Forge New 'Home' for Holidays

FILE - Students walk in front of Fraser Hall on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kan. Students cite the cost of flights, and worries about visa renewal as the main reasons for not traveling.
FILE - Students walk in front of Fraser Hall on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kan. Students cite the cost of flights, and worries about visa renewal as the main reasons for not traveling.

For many international students studying in the United States, returning to their home country for the winter holidays is not an option.

Students cite the cost of flights, and worries about renewing visas as the main reasons for not traveling. And some who live very far say it wouldn’t be worth the trip to go back just for a week or two.

Calvina Hoff poses with the Christmas tree at her aunt’s house in Georgia. (Courtesy photo Calvina Hoff)
Calvina Hoff poses with the Christmas tree at her aunt’s house in Georgia. (Courtesy photo Calvina Hoff)

"Right now I’m with my aunt in Georgia — Atlanta — this is my first time with her for the holidays," said Calvina Hoff, a student at Livingstone College in North Carolina.

Calvina has spent three Christmas seasons in the United States with different family members from Liberia — aunts and uncles with whom she hadn’t celebrated back home.

Other students like Miriam Komuhendo, originally from Uganda but a first-year grad student at American University, have family visiting them from overseas.

"My sister came over to visit so we're probably going to cook together have something to eat, maybe find the tree to decorate and put presents under it," Miriam said.

"So we're just going to see how it goes."

But many international students don’t have family in the United States and will not have family from overseas coming to visit them.

Especially in a city like Washington, international students have found a large diaspora community that helps them feel at home.

"I'm staying with a family — they're also from Brazil, but they've been living here for a really long time," said Rebeca Oliveira Esteves, a student at American University originally from Brazil.

"They have a tradition of hosting a Christmas celebration with people who do not have their family here. Everyone can bring something to eat or to drink," she noted.

Augustine Achu traveled to Massachusetts from Washington DC to spend Christmas with a group of fellow Nigerian friends. (Courtesy photo Augustine Achu)
Augustine Achu traveled to Massachusetts from Washington DC to spend Christmas with a group of fellow Nigerian friends. (Courtesy photo Augustine Achu)

"We kind of like built this family together ... we all see ourselves as one family,” Nigerian student Augustine Achu explained, describing the community in Massachusetts where he'll celebrate his holidays.

"They're from the same tribe as me. We all come from the same state. That's what I meant by relatives, not like they're like family members, but here in the U.S. we kind of built this family together," said Achu.

All of the students say the holidays are a time of nostalgia, when it’s comforting to be around people from the same cultural backgrounds as them. And although these students have found at least a slice of home in the United States, they all say they miss the celebrations back home, and their mothers' cooking.

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Student dilemma: Financial aid applications can expose undocumented parents

FILE - New graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J, May 17, 2018.
FILE - New graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J, May 17, 2018.

Many students in the U.S. rely on financial aid to attend colleges and universities, but as Julia Barajas reports in LAist.com, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid could cause a dilemma for students with an undocumented parent.

If students fill out the application, they will share their parents’ financial information – and potentially raise questions about their immigration status -- with the federal government. If they don’t fill out the application, they won’t get federal financial aid. (December 2024)

FDA: College students using ‘honey packets’ to enhance sex put themselves at risk 

FILE - Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, August 29, 2020.
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With TikTok videos promoting “honey packets,” the supplements marketed as sexual enhancements have become popular on college campuses.

But as Charles Trepany reports in USA Today, the Food and Drug Administration has warned that ingredients in the supplements could be potentially dangerous. (November 2024)

Some universities encourage Chinese students to return before inauguration

FILE - Visitors pose for a selfie at the Beijing Daxing International Airport near Beijing on Dec. 11, 2019.
FILE - Visitors pose for a selfie at the Beijing Daxing International Airport near Beijing on Dec. 11, 2019.

Some colleges and universities are encouraging international students to return to the United States – or stay in the country over winter break – to make sure any White House travel restrictions don’t impede their return, the South China Morning Post reports.

Chinese students in the United States have expressed concerns about being allowed back in the country after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. Trump has promised sweeping immigration reforms and mass deportations. (December 2024)

Seven charged in social media drug ring at Rutgers University 

FILE - Sign at the Rutgers University campus in Newark, NJ, April 8, 2013.
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An undercover narcotics investigation at Rutgers University in New Jersey led to the arrest of seven people, NBC News reported.

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Mentors can be valuable aid for international students

FILE - In this photo provided by Duke University, commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld speaks during the school's graduation ceremony, May 12, 2024, in Durham, N.C.
FILE - In this photo provided by Duke University, commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld speaks during the school's graduation ceremony, May 12, 2024, in Durham, N.C.

Mentors can be a key asset for college and university students, particularly when the student comes from a foreign country.

This article from U.S. News & World Report explains why. (November 2024)

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