In this episode of Roompact’s ResEdChat, host Jasmine Nettles sits down with Trevis Belle to discuss the international student experience through the lens of student affairs, from enrollment to graduation. Whether you’re looking to improve your efforts or looking to deepen your impact with their international student population, this conversation will offer powerful takeaways and practical ideas to do so. Trevis shares both personal and professional insights on the unique challenges international students face—from cultural transition and visa pressures to finding community and accessing support. We’ll also explore how student affairs professionals can better serve international populations, create inclusive environments, and challenge assumptions about the “typical” student experience!
Guest: Trevis Belle (he/him/his), Assistant Director of Multicultural Student Affairs, North Carolina State University
Host: Jasmine Nettles
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Roompact’s ResEdChat podcast is a platform to showcase people doing great work and talk about hot topics in residence life and college student housing. If you have a topic idea for an episode, let us know!
Transcript:
Jasmine Nettles:
Hey y’all, welcome back to the Roompact ResEdChat podcast. I’m one of your hosts, Jas Nettles, and thank you for joining me today on this episode. Today, I want to talk a little bit about international students and how we support them in higher education. And to do that, I brought one of my favorite international students/human beings on the planet, to do so. Trevis, can you introduce yourself please?
Trevis Belle:
Yes. Hello. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever time you’re listening to this. My name is Trevis Belle. I currently serve as an assistant director in multicultural student affairs at North Carolina State University. And yeah, I’m from St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. And if you’re watching this, I’m actually wearing my shirt with my flag on it.
Jasmine Nettles:
I was wondering if you were going to say where you were from, love that. Lovely. So just a little background. So Trevis and I met back in the summer of 2018. He was an ACUHO-I intern at the University of Central Arkansas. We didn’t know each other, we didn’t get to spend a lot of time together at all. I was in my first year, he was leaving. And then he actually came back in the summer, the fall of 2019 as a grad in my second year, and he was paired with me as his buddy. And so I had a very unique opportunity to learn a lot more about what international students experience, and what their transition from their home country to the States is like. And so I want the first question to get us into this conversation, Trevis, talk a little bit about what you believe or maybe your own experience that led you, or maybe other students, to leave home and come to the States to further their education, because I know there’s colleges and stuff like that where y’all are? So what’s the draw?
Trevis Belle:
Yeah. I would say for me specifically, I was granted a scholarship to come to the US. College in the US was not a thing in my mind for the most part. I was looking to attend the University of West Indies, so UWI. That is one of the universities in the Caribbean. But opportunities, I would say it’s probably one of the biggest things. We see all these things like on the internet, TV, about all the glitz and glamour that’s in the US, and what a US education can bring you, that type of stuff. And if I wasn’t paying for it, why not?
So I think when it came to looking into institution or where I wanted to go, I think one of the biggest things was location-wise, especially if there’s a big airport so that I could fly back home, and what does that look like traveling to and from? Another thing as well too was city. I’m a big city type of person. So I’m fast-paced, everybody just go, mind your business walking, that type of vibe. It’s like a New York, Miami type of vibe. But outside of that, just newness. I’m an explorer, adventurer type of person, and you know that jazz.
Jasmine Nettles:
Can confirm, can confirm.
Trevis Belle:
I would travel anywhere by myself. So this wasn’t something that was hard for me. This wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make. But I know some people like treasure family and things like that. Not saying I don’t treasure that, but I’m thankful to have a support from my family that encourages me to explore different opportunities and stuff like that.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. I got you. And I know that for sure, the explorer, the just interested in seeing something else, I get that for sure. I know one of the first conversations we ever had, I think we were talking about your nonprofit and what you did back in your home country, and then how you were able to use that experience for philanthropy and stuff like that when you got here, and that wasn’t even the intention. And so my next one for us to talk a little bit about, what are some key factors or key things that you have to maybe go through, or a checklist maybe? You talked about location, and so obviously you think about that. I don’t think a lot of the international students think that. They’re just like, “Just go to the States.” They look for California and New York or Florida, that’s it really.
Trevis Belle:
It is a difficult process, a process to attain a visa in itself. When I tell people what you have to go through and what the experience is like, well, let me paint a picture for you. So the first time I went for it myself, I did not know that when I walked into the embassy, it was going through a bank. It was very much like a bank. So in my mind, I’m like, okay, I thought I was going to a private room, you could answer the questions and everything. But no, everybody can hear your business, so on. So everybody can hear whether you get approved or denied. So then imagine getting denied and then having to do that walk of shame type of thing. And then imagine getting all those questions asked, and you’re just up there like, “Oh my God, I’m here sharing all my business, not only with this consulate officer, but also everybody in this space.” So knowing that you have to be fearful, you have to be fearful and confident in your responses as well too because they can tell when you’re lying, and they can tell when you’re nervous.
So just being confident. If you have nothing to hide, then you should have no issues. The second thing as well, you need support when you’re moving to the states, because again, it’s a cultural shock. It can be a big and a huge transition, especially depending on where you’re going. So making sure that you have that type of support both from family and friends or just whomever. And then money is also another huge one. So if you are able to attain scholarships from the university that you’re going to, or if you’re able to get loans from your home country or something like that. But money is also a big one. And then I think the biggest thing as well too is the ability to pivot.
Things happen, and it could be stressful knowing that, “Dang, I just moved from home to the US, something’s going wrong,” unless you have nobody to call. But you just need to be able to just pick yourself up, take it to the chin, and just find a solution. I would say one thing that happened to me, and it’s crazy, it’s crazy, and I always say because I came to the US, in August 2016, I lost my hearing when I came to the US. I think I went to a concert, and I always blame it on, dang, if I had stayed home…
Jasmine Nettles:
Don’t you blame the concert.
Trevis Belle:
… I’d have been able to hear. But that’s just joking. But yeah, those are some of the key things students need to think about when they’re transitioning or once they even get here as well too.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. Yeah. So then because talking about the experience of even going to apply and qualify, you get that and you get here, whether you did all the research to get here or you had the immediate support or not. You get here, you’re a student, you’re working, or you know need to work, so you’re not working yet, what specifically drew you to student affairs because I want you to talk about what your experience was like at FAU? What did you do? Who did you work with? Who did you work for?
Trevis Belle:
Yeah, so luckily, my first RA was somebody from back home that I knew from back home. Ironic, right? So he pretty much helped me. Zavi, if you’re listening to this, if you ever get to listen to this, I appreciate you. You’re not always appreciated.
Jasmine Nettles:
He in Dubai somewhere right now.
Trevis Belle:
Zavi is that guy that really helped me, and I think he helped position me for where I am right now. He is a key person that I definitely dedicate a lot of my undergraduate career towards. He helped plug me into a different student organization on campus, so the Caribbean Students Association. He helped connect me with fraternity’s and sorority life, Greek life, stuff like that. He was the main reason why I even applied to be an RA because of the work that he did. And I got the job when I happened to work with him on the same staff as him. So working with your [inaudible 00:08:52] type of thing.
And then my supervisor, Danica, she actually went to the University of Central Arkansas for grad school. And I was like, “Oh, you doing some great stuff here as ROC,” so Residence life coordinator. And she was telling about the work that she’s doing. I was like, “This is dope. I think I might want to do this.” So then she talked to me about Kuhua internships, and that’s how I found out about the one at UCA. And she plugged me into it, because again, she knew people there because she went there. And that’s how I went to Arkansas for summer 2018. And one thing that I didn’t know when I went from that internship was, and I found out quickly, so in my mind I’m thinking, okay, I’m in school, I’m enrolled. Now I’m enrolled. So I could work in the summer still because I’m [inaudible 00:09:40] visa.
Well, that is not the case. So I was about to start working at UCA, and then I got the email saying, “Hey, you are in violation of your visa stuff.” So I’m like, “Whoa, what is happening?” I’m scared, I’m freaking out. I’m like, “What is about to happen,” type thing. So I called Vanita. Vanita, if you’re listen into this again, shout out to you, top tier, love you today. So I called Vanita, I’m like, “Hey, Vanita, I don’t know what’s happening right now, but I think I might have to leave the US.” So she’s like, “Calm down, first of all, just take a breath. Just take a breath. We’re going to figure it out, we’re going to fix it, whatever.” So then ended up fixing it. So with that, I had to enroll in a class in order to qualify for CPT, so that’s curricular practicum training. That allows international students to be able to work like an internship over the summer when class is not in session, but you have to also enroll in at least a one credit class in order to qualify for it.
So that was something that I did not know. So I was like, “Well, that’s good to know now, so I could share that information with other people that may be inquiring about it at least.” So stuff like that, I would say, one, drew me. And the stuff that kept me is, again, the opportunities. I knew I wasn’t ready to go home after I finished undergrad. So I was like, “Well, I’m going to try grad school.” Then Vanita, she was like, “Hey, got a position here. And I know you told me you’re not going to come back to Arkansas, you’re not going to come back to UCA unless you are working for me specifically.” So she made it happen. And the only reason why I ended up going to Arkansas and to UCA, and I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made. And I always tell people those who were some of the best two years that I ever had in my life as well too.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. Period. And yes, we love Vanita, a hundred percent. Can confirm, she’s great. I love it. So you talked a lot about your RA, the supervisor that was there. So obviously, student affairs connection is already there, the people doing the work, whether it’s students or full-time staff. So I wonder if you could talk about your experience with student affairs professionals as a professional now. So what does that collaboration look like between international students or just knowing the rules, or understanding that international students come from 70,000 different countries and there’s not one way to do that?
Trevis Belle:
Yeah. So the first thing is that awareness piece, and just taking the time out to actually read and make yourself knowledgeable about it. So even the difficulties that I share as an international professional, so getting a work visa when I was job searching, it was extremely difficult because not every institution sponsored, or not every department would sponsor. And that’s another thing that I didn’t even know.
Jasmine Nettles:
The department piece, yeah. And we thought if the university did it, the departments would do it, but that’s not it.
Trevis Belle:
Yep, and that is not the case. So with that, a lot of talent is in those international professionals. But I think hiring managers, if you’re going to put on the job application, “Do you require sponsorship for this position?” At least read upon it to know if your department actually does it type thing, because COVID might have impacted that. Maybe they have done it before, but they’re not doing it anymore. But moving off of that, in terms of the collaboration piece, I think knowing what those touch points look like and seeing what different student populations interact with your office. So for example, I worked in housing as a professional. A lot of international students stayed on campus. So I was one of those persons that a lot of staff would either recommend, refer those students to because, “Hey, he’s experienced, he’s knowledgeable about those different issues international students are facing, so he’d be better best to support you.”
And I’m like, “No, I want to be able to pour that knowledge back into y’all so y’all are also able to support these students as well too.” So mitigating that issue and presenting to the RA’s during RA training, like, “Hey, this is how y’all can support international students.” And then also reaching out to your international student services offices, and collaborating with them as well too. So seeing what are some initiatives or programs that maybe they’re doing that, one, you could attend as a staff or a faculty member, two, you could bring your students to attend as well so that they’re aware. And not only international students, but also US bond students as well too.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. And I think the first intentional relationship I had with an international student was with my RA’s at UCA. So my first year, I had eight RA’s and two peer coaches. And out of those 10, five of them were international students. And they were from everywhere, The Bahamas, they were from Nigeria. And so I think of course, they probably had international students at Ferris where I went to undergrad, but I had never even considered or interacted with them because our university didn’t do sponsorship, so international students couldn’t work for us. And so I would see them, but I would only see them around on campus. But they obviously lived in the hall. They worked where they could locally in Big Rapids. But I wonder if you have a moment or maybe something you’ve done or something someone did that you experienced in undergrad that was specifically for international students, whether that be an event or creating a program or mentorship experience for somebody. And how do you think that impacted those students?
Trevis Belle:
Yes. I know one particular example. One thing that I did when I was in grad school, and my first year of grad school, actually, the area that I was overseeing was heavily populated with international students.
Trevis Belle:
[inaudible 00:15:37], yeah. And one thing that I know from experience as an international student is how expensive it is to purchase groceries. So one thing I wanted to do to alleviate that for these students was to do a monthly grocery raffle. They didn’t have to do nothing but just show up to a program, and then their name got entered into a raffle monthly. And each month, we pick three to four students. And based on what they put on their needs for that month, we go out and purchase it for them.
So we helped at least 48 students throughout that academic year. I was surprised. I was surprised that one, the feedback was so high, and two, the students were really appreciative of it. People that were already rewarded, they even kept coming to programs even more after as well. So something that small that had such a huge impact, I think that was a shining moment for me. And then two, one thing I would always credit UCA for, the work that they do for international students, they’re very intentional with the way that they support international students. And Ms. Pam…
Jasmine Nettles:
Somebody’s said this to her so she can see this.
Trevis Belle:
I love Ms. Pam down, Ms. Pam down. She supported and she assisted me so much throughout my two years at UCA with anything I had, whether it was with trying to get my OPT stuff sorted out, my CPT stuff sorted out, my I20 stuff sorted out. She was very patient, she shakes in a lot of grace to me. And I think that’s what a lot of practitioners and student affairs professionals need to do with international students, extend grace. One, English might not be a lot of their first language, two, even if-
Jasmine Nettles:
Or they sound like him when they speak in English. So you have to be a little patient, you have to listen with your active listening ears.
Trevis Belle:
Yeah, exactly. Somebody like me coming straight from the Caribbean might not soften the accent, they might just come up with it raw and just [inaudible 00:17:42]. So being able to be like, “Hey, I didn’t understand nothing you said.”
Jasmine Nettles:
“Say that one more time. Let’s try that one more time.”
Trevis Belle:
So just being patient and understand it might be a learning curve, and they’re also adapting to this new environment, to this new situation as well. So just being patient, being able to support them, and just help them any small way that you are able to.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. And I know that that experience in the folks that helped you, I know you’ve had some interesting situations going through from undergrad to grad school to now professional, but you don’t have a lot of horror stories about working with student affairs people, or just learning how to work through the system because someone was always helping you. And so I know that that truly encouraged you to go into student affairs, but also stay in the states. Granted, he don’t want to leave me, y’all because that’s my little brother, he not going nowhere, but I know that. So I want you to also, because again, I have never worked with anyone that’s an international professional anywhere because that’s just not something that the institutions I work for, they do. And so can you talk about what the transition from student to employee is like, and what are some things that if you work with someone that is an international student or now an international employee, what are things what we need to know as your colleagues, to either be of support or just to help?
Trevis Belle:
That’s a really good question. That’s a really good question. I think just being open to whenever we’re venting frustrations, and not offering support, but just listening, just listening. And then the second thing as well too is that patience piece. We’re not able and fortunate to have other jobs type thing, just because of the restrictions of our visa statuses. So if we are in a pinch type vibe, we got to suck it up and eat it, or just [inaudible 00:19:50] type things. But again, that grace piece as well too. I have been very fortunate to have friends and colleagues like Jas, Bernard, a lot of different people that I’ve worked with that truly are intentional about learning about the stuff that I experienced as an international professional, taking it upon themselves to, I don’t know, just find ways to support in all little ways.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. I’m going to add, I know, learn the rules. And you don’t have to be best friends with somebody to just look up what the process is like for them. If you don’t know what an I20 is and you don’t know the difference in the work visas, if you don’t know and you’re working with someone who does that or is experiencing that, learn the rules. And I know we talk a lot about burnout in our field. We talk about overworking and different things like that. If you’re someone that’s single, has no kids, has no dependents sitting next to an international employee that’s in the same situation as you, it’s not the same. And so if you haven’t taken the time to familiarize yourself with what that process looks like, and especially given the current administration and what is happening right now, familiarize yourself with the rules.
And even if that international employee you know doesn’t work in your department, you still need to know, because literally as a professional courtesy. And so some folks I know that I’ve talked to now because I’ve learned to pay attention and just seen the things, they don’t even want to speak up in certain places, even if it has nothing to do with anything that’s political. They don’t want to be the one to rock the boat because to them a visa is how they get to stay here until they get their citizenship. And some of them, the goal is not citizenship, it’s to work here until they’re ready to go back home.
So just to add that for those of you listening if you didn’t know. But yeah, so I want to also make sure that you have an opportunity to talk about your passions and what you are doing at NC State because you’ve done lots of cool things. You’ve won awards. You don’t have to talk about your awards, I know how you get. But I want you to talk about what you’re doing to stay connected, not just to your culture, but to keep the students around you connected to theirs.
Trevis Belle:
Yes. So as I mentioned earlier, working in multicultural student affairs, this is the first time I’ve worked in a functional area that is not housing. So kudos to that. Shout out to that. It’s different over here. It’s much better over here.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. Well, he used a lot of his housing experience in this job, so don’t let him fool you.
Trevis Belle:
A lot of freedom over here. But outside of that, I enjoy the beauty of being innovative in my role and creating a lot of new things. So one thing that I really enjoy that I created that a lot of students also enjoy that they’ve been a part of is our multicultural leadership challenge. So the overall goal for that is to help students become more culturally aware leaders in today’s society, and doing so through experiential learning experiences, through cultural practices, through cultural experiences, those type of stuff.
So students pretty much go through four workshops, do community service, do professional development, do a trifle presentation. And then we have students share about how the program impacted them and that type of thing. Outside of that as well too, for the first time, we did a cultural immersion trip to DC. Students appreciated that. Some students had never been to DC before. So being able to see their faces lit up, and they visited some of the museums out there. And I think one thing I truly appreciate about this role is the ability to collaborate with a lot of different people on campus.
So we are a part of the division of Academic and Student Affairs, and it is a big division. It is huge. I say it’s a university in the university, because over 700 employees in the division. But outside of that, I appreciate the students that we work with as well. They are very intelligent. Again, it is a research intensive institution, so some of the students and some of the things that they be talking about, I’ll be like, “Yeah, couldn’t it be me.”
Jasmine Nettles:
Don’t know.
Trevis Belle:
A lot of the students that frequent our space are engineering students. So they be talking about the classes they’re taking. I’m like, “You know what? You are strong for that, and we need you. We need you [inaudible 00:24:26].” But outside of that as well too, this is the first time that I’ve also interacted with a lot of Native American students too. So there’s a high population there at NC State, and a lot of students frequent our office and they engage with our office a lot too. So hearing about their experiences, hearing them debunk a lot of different things that are out there that are shared about their culture is very exciting to hear and just learn about, because the same way that I enjoy sharing about where I’m from, the Caribbean, Saint Kitts and Nevis, I also enjoy hearing about other people’s experiences as well too.
And I think empowering students to share about their cultures, because students also may think that, oh, because I’m from the US, I don’t have any culture, that type of stuff. But your small town, that is the culture that you have. That is where you are socialized, the way that you were brought up. So you are able to share those experiences. And they are as valid as somebody that may have came from a big city. So don’t think because you came from a small town of 5,000 people, your experiences are not valid because I can tell you, my country’s 50,000 people. My undergrad had more people than where I came from. So imagine moving from a country with 50,000 people to a school with over 55,000 people and feel as if you’re just small. No. The experience is up to you. You take up as much space as you want because again, you already got to go through so many different obstacles and challenges. So just make the best out of the situation that you’re in.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. Yeah. And just from when you talk about the things you do at NC State, I know everyone knows about the multicultural graduation ceremonies, and that’s becoming a trend. I think a lot of the times, people, practitioners, we forget that those super small things that we do are also significantly impacted. That’s why I’m glad, I remember your grocery raffle that you used to do, but I completely didn’t even think about it when we were talking about recording this. But I remember how impressed I was. I was like, “I would’ve never thought about something like that when we were in grad school.”
So I know that your connection to this work is deeply personal, and also very passionate. So just to wrap us up and take us to the end here, I want to give you an opportunity. There’s a scenario, there’s a student. They’re almost there. They’re deciding between staying home in their country or coming here, knowing everything that’s going on in the world right now, either in their country or here, and just what the relationships and outside feels real scary. But what would you tell that student, and how would you talk to them or support them through that decision?
Trevis Belle:
The same way that I would live my life, life is all about risks. You don’t want to live and sit and be like, “I should have done this, I could have done this,” that type of stuff. I always tell people here, “If anything goes wrong, I know I always have a home back in Saint Kitts and Nevis that I can go back to. And that’s always in the back of my mind. And every decision that I make here, whether it is a positive one, one that’s not going to benefit me, or one that I think I need to just take some serious movement and reflect upon, but just go ahead and take that risk.” Me coming to the US was a risk. Applying for a visa is always going to be a risk because it’s not guaranteed. But you don’t know that you’re going to get it if you don’t go and try. I remember I went for my student visa on my birthday. It was crazy.
I said, “This is going to make or break my birthday.” But that was the only appointment available before school started. So visa appointment, August 10th, first day of classes, August 16th, mind you. So that was scary to me. But again, I still went ahead and take the risk. If they said no, then I knew I could get back to Saint Kitts and find a job and just go to school in the Caribbean. But just go ahead and take the risk, because even right now with everything that’s happening, you don’t know, you might be that lucky one. But if you’re going to constantly doubt yourself, then the answer is going to be no. Closed mouths don’t get fed, so just go ahead, take the risk. And if it pays off, it pays off. If not, then you just take some time, sit in it, reflect, think about another plan, and you move forward. That’s all.
Jasmine Nettles:
Yeah. Perfect. I love it. And honestly, if you’ve never heard him give a presentation or speak, I hear him talk like this all the time. And so I love that. Thank you for coming on here to talk with me about this, Trevis. Again, we talk about it all the time. But some of the things you share and the things that you do are very impactful and benefit students. And I think if more people were around professionals like you or with similar experiences, I think we’d be better for it. So just to wrap us up, I want to make sure I share because y’all know me, I like to leave a little [inaudible 00:29:24] information at the end. I want to make sure as of 2023, the academic year, 23, 24, more than 1.1 million international students were enrolled in US colleges and universities. That’s almost 6% of the total student population. And so those numbers are not going down. They are trending up. Obviously, they look uncertain right now. And that is to be expected when there’s a shift in the economic ethos. Were you about to add, help me out?
Trevis Belle:
I was, because also [inaudible 00:29:58] too. And you know what? That’s so silly of me that I enrolled in a doctoral program. And my research is around international students and how they develop a sense of belonging to want to stay within the US as well too. So a lot of the experiences that I shared in this interview, if you are an international student and you’re listening to this in the next year, year and a half, if you’re still enrolled, by all means, I will be reaching out. So yes, [inaudible 00:30:25].
Jasmine Nettles:
And I’m going to link his thesis to this episode so y’all can read it. And when he defends, he’ll be back. So he can talk about what that experience is like. And then also just to make sure, while the United States obviously is the place where they come from, students come from more than 200 countries to be students here. So they’re looking for something, and when they get here, it’s our job to take care of them. And if you don’t know what that looks like or what you can do, start by asking questions. Yeah, so I love it. Thank you, Trevis again. Send me your thesis so I can link it in this. But thank y’all all so much for joining us today on this episode of the Roompact ResEdChat Podcast, and I’ll see y’all next time.
