{"id":15842,"date":"2020-04-23T16:10:20","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T21:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?p=15842"},"modified":"2021-06-14T14:47:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T19:47:10","slug":"coping-with-a-pandemic-while-far-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2020\/04\/coping-with-a-pandemic-while-far-from-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Coping with a pandemic while far from home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

UND\u2019s support helps, but international students who\u2019ve stayed in Grand Forks face special challenges, the students and their advocates say<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"
From left to right: Sivi Andre, Mohammed Boukhsheem and Chialin Chang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Sivi Andre paused. The 26-year-old \u2013 who\u2019s from Angola and is a petroleum engineering major at UND \u2013 had been asked how he\u2019s doing, given that he\u2019s sheltering-in-place in Grand Forks, half a world away from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m fine,\u201d Andre said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m still missing a lot.\u201d And by \u201cmissing,\u201d he means missing his friends, missing his family and missing his face-to-face campus life at UND, the life that\u2019s been upended by the University\u2019s \u2013 and world\u2019s \u2013 response to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

So it goes with the other international students who\u2019ve stayed in Grand Forks for the spring semester and who were interviewed by UND Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mohammed Bouksheem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To a person, the students have high praise for Interim President Joshua Wynne and other UND leaders. The administration made smart decisions early on, and then \u2013 just as important \u2013 kept the University community very well informed, the students say.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think UND did a very good job of telling us about the situation,\u201d said Mohammed Boukhsheem, a student from Saudi Arabia who\u2019s majoring in airport management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are basically sending us emails every other day, if not every day. They\u2019re always giving us new information about the changes and the decisions that are being made. \u2026 Those early actions and the way the University is still communicating have given us a sense of feeling safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Time to pay attention’<\/b><\/h4>\n

Andre agreed. \u201cI have been very happy with how they\u2019ve kept us informed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany students, like me, were not paying attention to the coronavirus in the beginning. So when the University started notifying us and saying, \u2018This is serious,\u2019 I was like, \u2018OK, it\u2019s time to pay attention.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Chialin Chang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Similarly, the students are grateful that UND has responded to students\u2019 situations with compassion — for example, by keeping residence halls open for those who need them and making counseling, advising and other services available.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a member of the UND International Organization,<\/a> and we still hold our regular meetings on a weekly basis,\u201d said Chialin Chang, a graduate student from Taiwan who\u2019s pursuing a doctoral degree in educational foundations and research.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, of course, the meetings are held on Zoom. Still, it helps a lot to see people, to talk with them and get to know how everyone\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That being said, the students admit that they\u2019re \u201cmissing a lot\u201d \u2013 that remote learning and virtual conversations are only partial substitutes for the full campus experience.<\/p>\n

And it doesn\u2019t help that \u2013 unlike most other residents of Grand Forks \u2013 the international students are hunkered down in a foreign country, far from their homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy life \u2013 it\u2019s a bit lonely,\u201d Andre said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sivi Andre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEverything is so different. Plus, I had taken only one online class before this \u2013 and the exam for that class was actually given in the classroom,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love meeting people face to face. I used to be a very shy guy, but coming to UND, this was one of the things that got me out of my comfort zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I just love going out and making friends.\u201d But these days, that\u2019s much more difficult because of the coronavirus, he said.<\/p>\n

The Internet helps<\/b><\/h4>\n

Chang is in Grand Forks with her husband, so that helps with her situation. \u201cAnd the Internet also helps, especially for international students, because we\u2019re much better able to keep in touch with our families than international students used to be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my case, I\u2019m also glad because I have a community outside of campus. I play board games, and there\u2019s a group called Grand Forks Board Gamers that now plays online board games. So, I have a bunch of friends with whom I\u2019m chatting online frequently.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can tell that people still want to connect,\u201d Chang said. \u201cThat means we have to find alternative ways of doing so. I think it\u2019s human nature to want to be social.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comments echo those heard from other international students, said Amy Senger,<\/a> assistant director of the International Center<\/a> at UND.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, aside from disliking the isolation, our students have been pretty resilient, I believe. No one is panicking,\u201d Senger said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Amy Senger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The International Center recently sent out a survey, asking UND\u2019s 400-some international students for updates on their status. The survey gave students the option to tell how they were feeling, Senger said.<\/p>\n

And among the students who responded, the biggest concern they reported was academic. \u201cThat\u2019s especially true because a lot of our international students are aviation students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the University had to shut down flight training is going to push back the students\u2019 programs, which means the students won\u2019t be able to finish on time. So that has been a huge frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the International Center has remained open, with advisors having virtual meetings with students to help with academic, immigration and other questions, Senger said.<\/p>\n

Special challenges<\/b><\/h4>\n

Katie Dachtler sees students\u2019 situations from a unique perspective. A student records specialist at UND, Dachtler also is advisor to the UND International Organization and a member of the Grand Forks City Council.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Katie Dachtler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFirst, I want to mention that I\u2019m really grateful for President Wynne, because he was very forward-thinking in addressing COVID-19,\u201d Dachtler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis message always was, \u2018Yes, you need to social distance, but that doesn\u2019t mean you need to be socially alone.\u2019 From the beginning, he had his eye on that mental health piece; and that\u2019s why I believe a good majority of the students feel supported in this situation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of unknowns. There are a lot of things that people are struggling with. But when the head of your organization cares enough to say, \u2018We\u2019re here alongside you\u2019 and \u2018Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions,\u2019 it\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, the UND and Grand Forks communities should recognize the unique challenges that international students face, Dachtler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re alone \u2013 literally, physically alone \u2013 it\u2019s hard to feel a part of something larger than yourself,\u201d she noted. \u201cAnd even though they can Zoom, even though they can FaceTime, there\u2019s still something about not being in the same country as their families. It\u2019s harder to be sure that your family\u2019s really safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

International students also face financial challenges, given not only the economic shutdown, but also the students\u2019 ineligibility for key government aid programs.\u00a0For example, because most on-campus employment has gone to remote work, many international students have not been able to keep their positions.\u00a0 Those students also may not able to work off-campus (unless they have specific authorization to do so), and they’re not eligible to receive funding through the federal CARES Act.<\/p>\n

A great way to help support international students financially is through the UND Angel Fund.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I keep hearing people say, \u2018This is the new normal.\u2019 But let\u2019s be honest: This is not normal,\u201d Dachtler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when international students reach out to me, I try to say, You are not alone. Everybody is feeling these insecurities right now, and you mustn\u2019t feel ashamed if you need help. Let\u2019s get you connected and supported the way that you need, so you can stay safe and healthy and finish your school strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd at the same time, understand that eventually, we\u2019ll be able to interact with each other again,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll be able to hug your friends again, go to coffee again, go to class again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be different rules or strictures put in place; but eventually, we\u2019ll go back to something\u00a0closer<\/i>\u00a0to normal. And that\u2019s being able to talk to one another in person, and have that community aspect which the students are missing\u201d \u2013 that same word that Sivi Andre used \u2013 \u201cright now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UND\u2019s support helps, but international students who\u2019ve stayed in Grand Forks face special challenges, the students and their advocates say<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":15862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-strategic-plan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCoping with a pandemic while far from home - UND Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2020\/04\/coping-with-a-pandemic-while-far-from-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Coping with a pandemic while far from home - 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