Sitting Down With the Professionals.
My first study abroad experience was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It changed me in many ways and paved the way to my later educational and professional endeavors. It was, in fact, the principle motivator of my decision to attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in international education and study abroad. Due to my interests and career goals, when presented with the chance to conduct an interview with a professional in the field of international education, I looked no further than the Office of Study Abroad at Florida International University in Miami.
For this assignment I had the exciting opportunity to meet with and interview Marissa Lewis, the assistant director of study abroad. Before meeting with her I had done the usual background research on her position and responsibilities and found them to be very parallel to the kind of work I hope to one day perform myself.
Lewis primarily works with international students from FIU’s partner institutions as part of the exchange program. She also has the exciting task of working with students who are looking for, preparing for, and going on FIU study abroad programs as well as internships abroad. The study abroad office also deals with the Fulbright US Student Program and, therefore, she assists with operations related to this endeavor as well.
The relevance of her work to Voy is twofold. The simple fact that she works in a study abroad office and as an international education professional makes her line of work concomitant to Voy’s mission. Study abroad professionals work to attract and motivate students, both domestic and international, to participate in study abroad, international internships, and other various intercultural activities. They often have a hand in policy implementation with regards to exchange programs and may even help design study abroad programs and curricula.
In an effort to obtain the most relevant and helpful information possible and also to help the interview flow more smoothly, I grouped my interview questions into three separate themes. The first theme we discussed dealt with her personal background in the field of international education. The second theme we explored was related to the nuts and bolts of FIU’s study abroad initiatives. The final theme I wanted to examine with her was the job search theme, where I was able to ask for advice on increasing my marketability and competitiveness in the field.
Upon entering her office to begin the interview I immediately noticed the array of photos she had up from various foreign locations. Due to my insatiable appetite and passion for international travel, these photos are what started off the interview as I instantly wanted to hear about her travel experiences. This led to me telling her about my background, including my study abroad experience in Argentina and how this led to my eventual career goals and my later sojourns in Spain and France.
With career goals in mind, the first question I posed to Lewis was about when exactly she first knew that she wanted to work in the field of international education and study abroad. She explained to me that she was very lucky in the fact that she became acquainted with the director of international student services at the University of Miami who hired her into the office as an assistant. She was eventually offered a permanent position in the office and she held this position during all 4 years of college. She explained that, even though she had initially entered college as a Psychology major, her interest in international study and travel piqued during this experience.
Going into the interview, and even after the interview had begun, I assumed that, as is true in my case, her inspiration to pursue her career track had likely blossomed during a study abroad experience. I was very shocked to find out that she has actually never studied abroad. This was definitely one of the things that most surprised me during the interview. Despite never having studied abroad in college, she did point out that now that she is working in the field, she has since had many exciting international travel experiences.
The final discussion point in the first theme of the interview was in regards to her favorite and least favorite aspects of her job. I specifically wanted to know what, in her personal experience, were the best and the worst parts of her job as an assistant director of study abroad.
Her favorite parts of the job included participating in post- and pre-study abroad orientations. I admitted that being a part of these orientations are something that I always think about being enjoyable when imagining myself in the field. She mentioned specifically that at the post-orientations, she loves to see how much the students have been changed by their experiences.
At the post-orientations, the students have a kind of reunion with one another and all discuss their personal memories. She enjoys hearing about everything that happened when students were abroad on programs that she sometimes helped develop. Furthermore, post orientation discussions often involve teaching the students how to effectively market their experience, make sense of everything they learned while abroad, and address any possible reverse culture shock and readjustment complications.
The pre-orientations differ significantly from the post-orientations in that they are more geared toward clarifying rules and codes of conduct. Students are warned about the possible disciplinary actions and dangers of being abroad if acting recklessly. They also advise the students on what to expect from the host country and culture. The pre-orientation is usually the first opportunity students have to meet their fellow participants and can thus acquaint themselves with one another discussing their anxieties and motivations. Insurance options are also discussed and explained at these initial meetings.
Her least favorite part of the job was very interesting to me. She explained that emergencies could sometimes occur while students are abroad that can put them and the entire program in immediate danger. I had honestly never thought of this aspect of study abroad work and found this to be a very intriguing detail.
I became interested and asked for examples, of which one was in regards to natural disasters. She mentioned that she had had a group of students studying in Japan when the tsunami and earthquake of 2011 struck and this was a particularly stressful occasion and experience. Other examples of such stressful situations would include having students in places like Libya or Egypt when civil unrest or government instability can quickly put the students in danger. Students who find themselves in the midst of such unexpected calamities may have to be quickly accounted for but have severe lack of communication for days. In some dire situations the students may even need to be evacuated out of the host country. I can imagine this being a very stressful part of the job and also one that I have never considered.
The next theme of the interview focused on specific details of the study abroad office at FIU. This theme covered such points as how many students participate in FIU study abroad programs and what regions of the world tend to be the most popular destinations. She had a lot of very precise answers to these questions. According to Lewis, 843 students participated in undergraduate study abroad programs last year (2012/2013), 500 of which were participants of a summer program. Furthermore, 100 of these took part in the student exchange program. While FIU study abroad participants go to a large number of countries throughout the world, the most popular destinations tend to be in Western Europe, concurrent with data in recent study abroad literature.
Continuing to discuss FIU specifically, I then asked Lewis what she thinks could be done by FIU to increase the number of students who take advantage of study abroad opportunities and also if she thinks the factor of affordability seems to be an obstacle for many students to participate. We also briefly discussed financial aid and other financing options. She pointed out that FIU, like many universities, needs to obtain more funding in order to afford more study abroad scholarships. She also mentioned that she would probably consider this constant pursuit of more funding as another of her least favorite parts of the job.
Apart from financial aid and internal scholarships, she advises that students who are interested in incorporating a study abroad experience into their studies start saving money as soon as possible. She recommended such steps as setting aside financial aid refunds, working part time jobs on or off campus, and applying to external scholarships. Students should explore all options of external funding as it is not always possible to get funding through the university itself. She mentioned that it is very frustrating to have to cancel a program because there are only five students extremely interested and investing their time but the requirements state that at least six students must enroll. Due to lack of funds, however, sometimes programs have to be cancelled for not reaching the required number of participants.
Before moving onto the final theme of the interview I asked her what she interprets to be the main goals for study abroad from the perspective of her office and of the students. She explained that the entire office staff is extremely passionate about their work and that they strive to increase participation, feasibility, and opportunity for students to study abroad. They are constantly working to find ways to make study abroad a reality for students.
Students earn independence, maturity, increased cultural exposure and sensitivity, and foreign language competency. Many returning students claim that the experience has changed their lives in one way or another. Indeed, one of her favorite parts of the job is seeing this change in the students upon completion of a program.
The final theme of the interview, and most important in regards to implications and information that I might personally use in the future, dealt with marketability and obtaining employment in the field. More specifically I asked her, “Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to an aspiring study abroad professional?”. She recommended to me that in order to be competitive in the job search, an aspiring study abroad professional should have international study, work, volunteer, and internship experience. She also pointed out that good networking skills is imperative and needs to be a constant endeavor undertaken throughout one’s career.
The final and related question I posed to her was to benefit students looking to enter the field of International Education: “What kinds of qualities do you feel stand out in the field? Are there things I could do now to become a more marketable candidate for future jobs in the field?” Her responses confirmed much of what I have always assumed to be the case. The more languages you speak and the more experiences you have had living, working, and studying abroad will indeed correlate to increased competitiveness and marketability. Qualities most sought after and vital to any career in study abroad include strong multi-tasking skills, attention to detail, openness (“open heart, open mind, and open to change”), patience, leadership, cultural sensitivity, people skills, and oral and written communication skills.
I can conclude this report by acknowledging that I was very pleased with the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with Ms. Lewis and learned a lot about study abroad and the field of International Education. Furthermore, anything that wasn’t a startling revelation to me simply confirmed my previous assumptions of what such a career might entail. I enjoyed learning about her experiences and work, as well as being enlightened of new aspects, such as the emergency situations, that I had never thought of prior to the interview. I will surely take her marketability recommendations and advice to heart as I continue my education and plans for the future.
By Paul Downey
This story uses pseudonyms to assure anonymity of all parties involved.