From long family separations to remote classes in the middle of the night, international students have been tested over the past 18 months. 我们采访了来自英国的伯洛伊特学生, 尼泊尔, 卢旺达, 以及越南在这段不确定时期面临的挑战和令人惊讶的一线希望.
When Covid-19 was declared a global p和emic in March 2020, 在瞬息万变的环境中，伯洛伊特大学的国际学生面临着一个必须迅速做出的选择:留在校园还是回国. 许多人都不知道他们的决定可能会影响他们长达18个月的工作, due to travel restrictions 和 health 和 safety concerns.
“Our main focus has always been helping students make informed choices,香农·乔利说。, 贝洛伊特大学的国际学生和交换顾问. “我们已经度过了这场大流行, 伯洛伊特大学在一贯考虑国际学生的需求方面做得很好.”
在突然安静下来的校园里, 留下来的国际学生很快适应了在线学习和封锁限制, such as isolating in single rooms 和 eating meals alone. 他们想念他们的朋友和家人, many of whom they haven’t seen since the 2019 winter break or even earlier.
为了那些能够回家的人, challenges included readjusting to lost independence, attending classes remotely in the middle of the night, 在与贝洛伊特建立沟通渠道的同时，解决技术上的困难. Some have been away from campus for nearly as long as they were on it, something they couldn’t have foreseen when they chose to attend a U.S. 大学.
“学生们表现出了适应力, 创造力, 和 determination in finding ways to make things work, even 虽然 their 大学 experience has changed a great deal,伊丽莎白·布鲁尔说。, who recently retired as 贝洛伊特’s director of international education.
对他们来说, 面对困难的个人和教育环境，国际学生仍然保持积极的态度. As 贝洛伊特 returns to in-person learning for the 2021-22 academic year, they say they’re looking forward to spending time in their community on campus.
我们请四名国际学生反思他们在全球大流行期间作为beloiter的经历.
克丽丝汀Umutoni的22
来源:格雷格·安德森计算机专业
卢旺达基加利
Christiane Umutoni has made the most of her 贝洛伊特 education, 尽管她与卢旺达的家人长期分离，一路上也有一些失望. 当时她正和朋友们在佛罗里达州奥兰多度春假., in March 2020 when she heard that 贝洛伊特 was moving to remote learning. She knew right away that she wanted to return to campus to finish out the year.
“我当时在申请实习, 这在卢旺达是很难做到的, 是我选择了飞回家吗,她说。. “我很高兴伯洛伊特支持我们住在这里, 因为许多学院和大学没有给他们的国际学生这个选择, which created added anxiety in an overwhelming situation.”
Even in the face of a worldwide p和emic, Umutoni’s résumé has a global feel to it. She has interned virtually in technical sales at San Jose-based Cisco, 和, 2020年秋天, 她加入了下一代程序员网络, 这是一个由来自美国的大学生组成的为期10周的虚拟协作计算机编码项目, 伊拉克, 以及巴勒斯坦领土. 这段经历帮助她加强了跨文化沟通和设计思维能力.
她说:“我学会了与他人一起集思广益，实现造福社会的想法。. In spring 2021, she was a facilitator for the group, guiding others through the course. She spent the summer of 2021 in Madison, where she interned in IT at CUNA Mutual Group.
Umutoni is off-campus this fall at The Philadelphia Center, taking seminar courses 和 interning with a tech company in that city. 她转向了那个选择，即外出学习, as she’d been unable to attend her planned study-abroad program last year at Goldsmiths, 伦敦大学.
她说:“不管疫情如何，我都很幸运地拥有了所有这些经历。. 像她的大多数同学一样, 虽然, 乌穆托尼期待着她的高三, when she’ll be able to return to interacting with others in person. She’s also anticipating a reunion with her family in 卢旺达, 她从2019年夏天就没见过他了.
“I really missed the personal interactions with my professors 和 classmates, 当然, 能够回家,她说。.
西莉亚爱德华兹的24
History major on exchange from the University of York
英国利兹
在英国，大学生在国外学习一年以补充他们在国内的学位课程是很常见的做法. 西莉亚·爱德华兹, a third-year student of history at the University of York, 这意味着在全球大流行期间来到伯洛伊特, 这是一个几乎不可逾越的障碍，因为当时很少有国际学生被允许进入美国.
“我很高兴能专注于博物馆研究和艺术史，体验小型大学生活,她说。.
纯粹靠意志力和一点运气, Edwards became the only exchange student at 贝洛伊特 during the 2020-21 academic year, 也是约克大学唯一一个去欧洲以外的大学留学的学生. 她感谢伯洛伊特大学国际教育办公室的工作人员帮助她在美国获得了快速签证.S. 驻伦敦大使馆.
Edwards is remarkably positive 和 sunny about her time at 贝洛伊特. 她说:“每个人都做出了必要的牺牲，以便有一些面对面的课程和活动。. “It was a valuable year in a community of people who cared about each other.”
“我在洛根花了很多时间, cataloguing textiles 和 researching their design 和 usage,爱德华兹说. 她还研究了洛根和赖特艺术博物馆的展品，这是她艺术史课程远程学习的补充.
To stave off isolation, Edwards grabbed as many new experiences as she could. “I made amazing friends, 和 we made our own fun,她说。. 她加入了Alpha Sigma Tau姐妹会，并在华盛顿州的一个朋友家度过了圣诞节. 在回家之前，爱德华兹参观了几个旅游景点，包括自由女神像. 她希望最终能在一所美国大学的博物馆研究专业读研究生.
“我在伯洛伊特的一年过得很愉快, 我很感激那些帮助过我的人,爱德华兹说.
Sahil聊黎刹的22
来源:格雷格·安德森经济学专业
加德满都,尼泊尔
在他家人的鼓励下, Sahil Rizal chose to remain at 贝洛伊特 when the lockdown began in March 2020, 从那以后他就一直在学校. “我觉得最好还是留下来, mainly because I didn’t want to attend class in the middle of the night,他说. “贝洛伊特非常支持我的决定.”
到2020年夏天, 尼泊尔关闭了边境, so Rizal’s planned summer internship with the 尼泊尔 Economic Forum went online. 他远程研究了新冠病毒对尼泊尔的影响, while also working at 贝洛伊特’s Office of Residential Life 和 Housing. 作为学生会的一员, Rizal与其他学生领袖一起制定了大流行期间学生行为准则, including expectations for self-care 和 interactions with others.
With classes 和 events moved online during his junior year, Rizal longed for the days of social interaction with peers. “我想念和朋友们一起吃饭，”Rizal说. “It’s one of those things you take for granted until you can’t do it.他还提到了自己还没见过面的教授上两节课的奇怪之处. 他说:“伯洛伊特的教授们很容易接近，所以在屏幕之外看不到他们，感觉很奇怪。.
When asked what opportunities came his way because of the p和emic, 而不是他错过了什么, Rizal承认，他并没有过多考虑Covid-19对他的教育产生的积极影响. 在反射, 虽然, 他说，大流行给了他时间——有时间通过虚拟访问探索多个研究生院的选择，也有时间承担一些如果他们亲自去上学可能会与学校重叠的工作. 例如, 他通过达菲伙伴计划与伯洛伊特市合作解决住房问题, which required him to attend meetings during the school day.
“I learned creative time management skills,” Rizal says. “Having everything online allowed me to do 更多的 things. It was almost like being in two places at the same time.”
阮黄齐的22
来源:格雷格·安德森Quantitative economics 和 environmental studies major
胡志明市，越南
“那是一段非常忙碌的时间,黄说, 指2020年3月, when he was faced with the choice of heading home or staying on campus. “一开始我不想回家, 因为当你20多岁的时候, 你想要独立成长. 但最后, 从经济上来说，这是一个更好的决定, 和 for my mental 和 physical health — to come home,他说. He remained at home throughout the 2020-21 academic year, 与越南的家人和朋友重新联系. 他说:“尽管大流行具有挑战性，但我将有一个真正伟大的故事要讲。.
当他第一次到达越南时, Huynh was quarantined for 14 days at a “quarantine camp,或者被封锁的酒店, 然后在家多待14天, all while attempting to acclimate himself to online learning. “Vietnam has taken the p和emic seriously from the beginning, 带着一种“我们会一起度过难关”的感觉,’”他说, which has helped him make peace with his decision to leave campus.
即便如此, 黄觉得自己被悬在两种生活之间, 试着在远程上课和在自动化软件测试公司做内容写手之间找到平衡. “There is a half-和-half sensation of not living in either time zone,他说. “At times, 贝洛伊特 has felt like it’s on hold, waiting for me. It helps that the faculty have been very underst和ing of my situation.”
