SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 44

FEATURE ARTICLES
Coming To America: Navigating Res Life
as a Caribbean-Born Professional
Trevis Belle, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
" I'm not ready to go home " has been a line I've repeatedly said time and time again. What does it mean?
Well, simple. I'm not ready to go back to the Caribbean. I'm not ready to go back to St. Kitts & Nevis, I feel
there is more I can still get from living in the United States. So here I am. Still here.
When I came to the U.S in 2016 for undergrad, I had no idea that after graduating in 2019, I would find myself
still here, especially in the field of Student Affairs. Navigating higher education as an international student is
no easy feat both during my undergraduate career and even during my graduate career. There are so many
hoops to jump through and one little mistake could result in you having to pack up and leave the country
because you could be in violation of your immigration status.
Summer of 2018 I was a rising senior and I had gotten the opportunity to pursue an ACUHO-I internship
as a Camps & Conferences Coordinator at the University of Central Arkansas. To my knowledge and
understanding, I thought I would have been able to just go and instantly started working. I was dead wrong.
I did not know I needed to have certain authorization and paperwork in place to do this internship. I had
gotten an email saying that I was in violation of my immigration status, and instantly I went into a frenzy. I
called my internship supervisor and I was panicking because I thought I would have to leave the country
and that I would lose the scholarship I was on. However, she calmed me down and we talked through it. She
made contact with the International Student Office at UCA and they informed me and her of all that would be
needed so that I can properly work the internship that summer. They informed us that this process was going
to be done through Curricular Practical Training (CPT). This was a new experience for her as well as myself,
however, we navigated through it together.
So as a heads up for any international students as well as employers who may want to hire international
students as summer interns, you would need to ensure the following:
* Your I-20 from your host institution is updated with the information of the school you have the
internship with.
* You are enrolled in a class that allows you to take on an internship role whether it is paid or not (I was
enrolled in a summer 1 credit internship course).
* All of the necessary paperwork is completed way in advance to the start date of your internship so
you are able to get any proper compensation on time.
* Speak to staff in your International Student Office if you have any questions.
You would think after a scare like that, I would be inclined to go home right? Well, that's not the case. After
that internship, I realized that I wanted to continue doing student affairs, specifically housing & residence life.
My grad school search found me ending up right where I got an extensive experience working in Student
Affairs, back at the University of Central Arkansas where I served as a Residence Coordinator.
44

SEAHO Report - Winter 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Winter 2022