| Washington Semester’s Oakley forms special bond with international students
Photo by Jeff Watts |
As the international student coordinator for Washington Semester, Katie Oakley is an ambassador of sorts, traveling to Germany, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and many points in between to promote the program. “I love seeing how excited students get about the program. They’re thrilled to study and work in Washington, D.C., for a semester,” said Oakley, who recently returned from a recruiting trip to France. “It really is an opportunity of a lifetime for them.” Although international students usually make up 20 percent of Washington Semester participants, more than a quarter of this semester’s students—116 people—hail from abroad. The record international enrollment has meant more work for Oakley, but it’s work she truly enjoys. “Our international students have to go through lots of bureaucracy just to study here. Their enthusiasm and work ethic is proof that they really want to be here,” said Oakley. “These are students with so much potential; I can see them going on to be government officials, business leaders, and journalists.” After months of corresponding via e-mail with international students, Oakley is the first person they meet when they arrive in Washington. “I help them with administrative issues and personal problems,” she explained. “It can be anything from trying to open a bank account to dealing with concerns about how they’ll be perceived as international students.” A 2001 graduate of the School of International Service, Oakley is especially qualified to work with international students, as she studied abroad twice, herself, while at AU. Oakley said her semester-long stays in Berlin and Namibia “were eye-opening” and help her to better relate to her students. “I understand their worries and their adjustment issues, because I’ve been there before. I loved studying abroad, though, and I just want them to have an equally good experience at AU,” said Oakley, who worked previously as an academic counselor for Washington Semester’s domestic students. A master’s student in AU’s International Training and Education Program (ITEP), Oakley plans to continue working with international students after graduation next summer, perhaps at a study abroad program overseas. Germany, she said, is high on her list. “My first international experience in high school was in Germany, so it feels like home to me,” laughed Oakley, who also studied in Japan before her freshman year at AU. “It’s also where I was really bit by the ‘study abroad bug,’ so it’s a very special place for me.” —AF |
