Introducing ‘Students With Borders’ a Newsletter for International Students
Information and resources delivered to students every two weeks.
It’s safe to say, based on the most recent data available (via the Institute of International Education), that there are currently more than 100,000 international students currently living and studying in New York. Across the country, there are more than one million. This is a large and diverse community here in the United States.
And as part of my social journalism program, I’ve spent the last 9 months trying to understand this community’s needs. I’ve done this through a variety of interviews, meetings and callouts. I’ve walked through every college campus in New York, talking to international students at each one. Some interviews have lasted 10 minutes, others have lasted 4 hours. And I’ve learned a lot. But mainly, what I’ve learned is that this community is in dire need of knowledge and guidance when it comes to the immigration process.
You see, many international students hope to stay and work in the US after graduating, but only a small percentage succeeds in doing so. In the 2015–16 school year, only 14% of international students obtained jobs under Optional Practical Training (OPT), a form of work authorization dedicated to international students. Usually, this period lasts up to a year, though graduates with STEM degrees may apply for a two-year extension. But companies are reticent to the idea of hiring international students with the knowledge that they may not be able to keep them after their OPT expires. Beyond a student’s OPT period, other work visa options are limited and hard to navigate.
“I want to stay. But I’m also aware that it’s very difficult to stay even in a field like journalism, so I’m so stressed out about what I’m going to do after my OPT ends. I don’t think I’ve ever been this stressed out in my life. I’m trying to figure out what to do because I don’t even know which route to take.” — Monica E., an international student from Colombia
Community Insights
- Because many colleges only begin guiding their international students on various work visa options when students get to their senior year, or towards to end of students’ graduate programs, international students aren’t sufficiently prepared for the job market as foreign applicants, and are therefore at a disadvantage.
- International students aren’t keeping up to date on immigration news that could potentially impact their plans to stay in the United States. They also currently have no news source specifically dedicated to their journalistic needs.
Students Without Borders: A Bi-Monthly Newsletter
This newsletter, entitled, “Students Without Borders,” will try to address these practical and informational gaps by providing subscribers with news updates regarding immigration, guides on various visas and other useful information.
It will be delivered, via MailChimp to international students every other Monday.
Feedback from the Community
It was important for me to gather feedback from the community about this newsletter before I actually went about putting it together. Below are a few responses I gathered:
“There’s clearly an information gap. [International students] don’t know much about [the immigration process] because the government makes it so difficult to understand the process and makes it so cumbersome. [The newsletter] has to be really digestible. Because a lot of information online, school wise or… I don’t know why they make it so difficult to understand.” — Harry C., an international student from China.
“I actually had to learn all this immigration stuff on my own. I didn’t know I could work on campus. I didn’t know that I could get paid on CPT — these things are helpful to know, so I think biweekly or monthly newsletter explaining these things would be helpful. ” — Soukaina A., an international student from Morocco.
“Finding information about immigration procedures is very difficult and most people don’t have the right information. So it would be really helpful to know what options I could qualify for. Of course it depends on nationality, profession, level of experience, etc. But at least being familiar with the options would really help.” — Monica E., an international student from Colombia.
Distribution — How Will I Reach This Community?
Because this is an e-mail newsletter, a lot of outreach via social platforms, as well as outreach done via colleges themselves, will be crucial in reaching the community.
I will be tweeting out information about the newsletter to major colleges and their international offices. I will contact schools directly about it.
It will be important for me to do a substantial amount of in-person marketing of this newsletter (another thing I learned about my community: in-person communication works best; it is crucial in establishing trust).
Different Approaches to Revenue
My goal in producing this newsletter is to, first and foremost, serve the international student community. However, to best serve this community, costs must be involved in making the best quality newsletter.
At this stage in the process, revenue could potentially be acquired by pitching the newsletter to various schools. A school could potentially pay for a newsletter catered to its very own international students.
This is a work in progress, and I actually welcome any advice via the comments section!
I Have All the Q’s (well, just two big ones for now)
Q: How do I define impact?
A: Though the number of subscribers could be a good indicator of how I’m doing, real impact will be defined by how my newsletter has helped people in this community by explaining something to them.
Q: Should I open up this newsletter to immigrant hopefuls in general?
A: Maybe. There isn’t a newsletter targeted to this community, and opening it up could be a way to generate more traction and ultimately be of more service for my community. Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Thank you
For reading about Students With Borders. If you’re an international student I’ve interviewed, thank you for opening up to me and for listening to my ideas. Stay tuned — I will post a new Medium piece sometime in the coming weeks announcing the launch of the newsletter.
P.S: Help Me Help You
If you’re an international student reading this Medium post, please tell me what you think via the comments or by e-mailing me at ghita.benslimane@journalism.cuny.edu.The more feedback I receive throughout the course of this project, the better this newsletter will be.
