Building Bridges on Campus:
Who Are Your Natural Allies?
In many cases, you may not need to look any further than your own campus to locate resources that may be especially helpful to foreign-educated immigrants.
Yes
No
Checklist
Does your college survey faculty to find out which countries are represented among your full-time faculty and adjunct instructors?
Excellent. These international faculty members have a vital role to play in advising and informally mentoring immigrant students. At Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Dr. Jim Fenton, Associate Professor, ESL/Humanities, makes a point of knowing which of his colleagues are immigrants or fluent speakers of other languages. “That way,” he says, “If I have a Farsi-speaking student who wants to go into accounting and I know I have a Farsi native speaker teaching in the Business area, I can put them in touch with each other. I keep it informal. I’m not asking for a formal mentoring relationship. I just create the relationship between the faculty and the student as an opportunity.”
You should consider opportunities to make these connections. At Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Dr. Jim Fenton, Associate Professor, ESL/Humanities, makes a point of knowing which of his colleagues are immigrants or fluent speakers of other languages. “That way,” he says, “If I have a Farsi-speaking student who wants to go into accounting and I know I have a Farsi native speaker teaching in the Business area, I can put them in touch with each other. I keep it informal. I’m not asking for a formal mentoring relationship. I just create the relationship between the faculty and the student as an opportunity.”
Does your college have a formal workplace culture coaching program for students?
Great! There are many models for this type of coaching. At some community colleges, these type of programs offer business students the opportunity to work one-on-one with a corporate mentor. Students visit their volunteer corporate mentors at work and get help from their mentors to explore career options and the professional working world. These kinds of mentoring programs, intended for all students, can be especially valuable for internationally-educated students who may have no idea how to network professionally in the U.S. These mentoring relationships can be vital in helping them gain a professional foothold in the community.
At some community colleges, these types of programs offer business students the opportunity to work one-on-one with a corporate mentor. Students visit their volunteer corporate mentors at work and get help from their mentors to explore career options and the professional working world. These kinds of mentoring programs, intended for all students, can be especially valuable for internationally-educated students who may have no idea how to network professionally in the U.S. These mentoring relationships can be vital in helping them gain a professional foothold in the community.
Are you advising your immigrant students to join student clubs on campus that are focused on specific careers?
Great! The faculty who advise these and other clubs, and the students who participate in them, are a rich source of connections and informal advising for foreign-educated immigrants. Montgomery College in Maryland surveyed students in its non-credit ESL programs to find out more about their prior employment, educational experience, and career goals. Based on that survey, Montgomery College recruited community volunteers to run Career Clubs for its ESL students. The three Career Clubs – in health care, business, and education – provide an opportunity for ESL students at any level of proficiency to talk with professionals working in the field, network, and practice their English. With the help of the professional volunteers, Montgomery College’s participating ESL students can polish their resumes and research prospective jobs.
Joining career clubs provides a tremendous opportunity to foreign-educated immigrants. The faculty who advise these and other clubs, and the students who participate in them, are a rich source of connections and informal advising for foreign-educated immigrants. Montgomery College in Maryland surveyed students in its non-credit ESL programs to find out more about their prior employment, educational experience, and career goals. Based on that survey, Montgomery College recruited community volunteers to run Career Clubs for its ESL students. The three Career Clubs – in health care, business, and education – provide an opportunity for ESL students at any level of proficiency to talk with professionals working in the field, network, and practice their English. With the help of the professional volunteers, Montgomery College’s participating ESL students can polish their resumes and research prospective jobs.
QuizIs your college resourceful when helping foreign-educated immigrants?
Take this quiz to find out:
Previous
