The International Students and Scholars Office (ISS)

Good morning, afternoon or evening, prospective Mudders!

As an international student myself, I know how rewarding but also challenging the process to study abroad can be. When I was building my college list, finding a welcoming community was a top priority for me. That’s why I’m excited to tell you all about the International Students and Scholars Office (ISS), a resource that is essential in making Mudd welcoming to international students.

To enrich this conversation, I’m thankful that Evelyn Real, Mudd’s Program Manager for International Students and Scholars, agreed to share a bit about the ISS with us 🙂 ¹

What is the mission of the ISS Office? 

The goal of our office is to create a space that is safe for international students to express their culture, to learn about the USA and navigate the immigration system, and to build a community on campus (either with other international students or the student body in general).

What kind of activities/events is the ISS Office responsible for?

The biggest activities that we create are New International Student and Scholar Orientation (NISSO), work authorization applications, Social security applications and various other fun activities throughout the year. Some of the fun activities that we have done are movie nights, ramen noodle night, whale watching and a fashion show. And of course, we do a wonderful graduation dinner for seniors and their families during commencement weekend.

What is the purpose of the NISSO?

NISSO is meant to give students a chance to acclimate to Mudd, to the United States and to provide a space for you to meet others who have similar experiences. It also allows me to prepare students for a successful start in the United States by talking about fears, myths and debunking some ideas that they may have before arriving here. NISSO is also meant to provide a few friendly faces for students so they can feel comfortable coming to my office and expressing their fears, concerns and hardships when they happen throughout the school year. Fun fact: we have only had one fully in-person HMC NISSO ever!

Me!: I would definitely recommend NISSO! It helped me make my first friends here, and it gave me the opening to go to Evelyn’s office a ton of times! 🙂 ²

How is it to work with the international students at Mudd?

Personally, I love working with international students! You all bring so much diversity and joy to my work and I love seeing you all thrive. I try to make it a point to get to know each person individually (although that has become extra difficult with COVID) and I try to say hi to each person I see in the Hoch or around campus generally. Truly, it is an honor for me to be able to serve the international students of this community. If I can help students navigate the immigration process (or on campus departments) and make it simpler and less stressful then I have successfully done my job. 

What motivated you to take over the ISS Office at Mudd since its beginning? 

I definitely never imagined that I would be working with international students but it quickly became a passion of mine. Historically, HMC had not had an international office or space on campus and would outsource to the other colleges. After the load became too much for the other colleges, the work was moved back to HMC and assigned to one staff member. […] After I had been at HMC for 6 months, [..] I inherited the international students by default. As you might imagine, I was terrified but excited for the opportunity. So I took on the international community and it began to thrive as I began to do events and specific workshops for them. […] I advocated for myself and the International Student and Scholar Office was born in 2018. Since then, we have grown the community with programs and knowledge by serving with a smile (even behind a facemask sometimes). 

For my fellow international prospective students, I hope that listening from Evelyn Real helped you understand better how the ISS Office works and how it is managed. The ISS and the international community at Mudd are fundamental for me to feel at home even far away from home, and I’m excited for you all to join our community 🙂 ³

¹ ² ³ Happy post, I guess!