For many students, graduate school is an opportunity to continue their academic journey in a new environment. While the adjustment to a new university can be a challenge for anyone, international graduate students and postdocs face another layer of cultural adjustments when transitioning to a new country.
This unique experience often leads to them feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or lonely — all while navigating a multitude of essential well-being resources to support them.
The Graduate Educator Advancement and Teaching, or GREAT, Office, identified this as a challenge and convened a group of IN!SPIRES Wellness Ambassadors to support international graduate students and postdocs at Michigan State University.
Their work focuses on international needs, or IN, while providing spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational and emotional, or SPIRE, support. This entails recognizing everyone’s diverse lived experiences and backgrounds while promoting a holistic approach to health and well-being.
Postdoctoral Research Associate Hima Rawal and doctoral student Qi Huang developed the initiative during their leadership fellowship between 2022 and 2023. During this time, they collaborated with well-being units on campus to educate peers about the support that is available at MSU.
“I have used so many wellness-related resources on campus during my graduate programs. Navigating the linguistic and cultural aspects of wellness, especially trauma healing, was challenging as an international student and a student parent.” said Rawal, speaking about her own experiences.
Interviews with international graduate students underscored the need for an expansive program. “We recognized the challenges they face and wanted to provide a supportive space for discussing mental health resources and help-seeking tools,” Huang said.
Inspired by their efforts, Director of the GREAT Office Stefanie Baier was able to transform their vision into a project funded by the Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant, or CIEG, at MSU, co-sponsored by her office.
“As someone who has lived the international student reality for a very long time and who wrote her master's thesis on international student adjustment to the U.S. about 20 years ago, I finally saw a way to expand on this work,” Baier said.
Navigating cultural adjustments
International graduate students and postdocs experience various difficulties when transitioning to their new environment. With the additional layer of cultural adjustments, they navigate hardships that are inherently different from those of domestic students.
“They struggle with everything from culture shock, language barrier issues and navigating the American educational system and its level of expectations, to health and financial services,” wellness ambassador Iris Margetis said.
This includes making sense of their new health care coverage, which can be significantly different to the systems of other countries. Here, internationals begin with learning about providers and scheduling appointments, while researching into the billing process and understanding deductibles and copays. In addition, they often need to request a social security number and open a bank account immediately upon arrival.
A common issue is that internationals often do not possess a car and must rely on public transport, which Margetis noted leads to daily issues, “given how difficult and time consuming it is to go from one place to another when one does not have a car (...) let alone during the winter months.”
While finding transportation to grocery stores can be a challenge in itself, managing the American food culture is another issue, as internationals sometimes struggle with the adjustment and have a hard time finding foods from back home.
Support through peer mentorship
The IN!SPIRES wellness ambassadors seek to raise awareness around these issues and communicate with university personnel to share information about available resources. In addition, they provide guidance to international graduate students and postdocs during individual meetings or group events.
While not exclusively for internationals, the offer extends to everyone who encounters challenges in transitioning to MSU from a different background. Having experienced this themselves, the group members underscore the need for this support system.
Wellness ambassador Yétúndé S. Alábẹdé grew up in Nigeria and continued her graduate education in the United States. During the adjustment to her new environment, she would have appreciated receiving essential tips.
“I would have loved to get more information on the need to engage in active exercise like walking and taking enough Vitamin D. I also would have loved the regular reminder that it is okay not to fit in at times as an international student,” she said.
In her new role, Alábẹdé intends to share wellness resources with those in similar situations. It is her goal to provide listening ears to graduate students while validating their lived experiences without judgment.
Margetis began pursuing her doctoral degree directly after her undergraduate education. In hindsight, she recognizes that she was not fully prepared for the level of academic rigor and expectations that graduate school came with.
“It felt like no one was looking out for or prioritizing graduate students' mental health, so navigating how to go about seeking help and finding a therapist was a lonely process and felt like a taboo subject to talk about,” Margetis said.
Drawing from this experience, she wants to function as an ally to all graduate students and postdocs. This entails creating a safe space where they would feel welcome to talk about their mental health needs.
Huang began her academic journey as an undergraduate student at MSU and later enrolled in a doctoral program. Although the university feels like home to her now, she said the initial transition felt stressful, as she struggled with language skills and was often too shy to speak up.
“Looking back, having a peer mentorship would have been very helpful to ease this process by offering a supportive, non-judgmental, and encouraging space. Through the IN!SPIRES Wellness Ambassador program, we hope to provide that kind of support, ensuring that students facing similar challenges have the resources they need to succeed,” she said.
Wellness ambassador Saviour Kitcher has experienced the potential of a peer support system first-hand, as a friend helped him settle in and ease the initial stress. As fellow students saw others struggle with the adjustment, it inspired them to volunteer and help.
Kitcher is now in the position to give back: “I am available anytime to assist international students in emergency crises,” he said.
The group organizes various community-building events, such as a wellness retreat, activities and workshops, and continues to raise awareness among university personnel. In addition, they invite international graduate students and postdocs to participate in a survey and interviews to share their experiences.
Those who would like to connect are invited to reach out to the IN!SPIRES wellness ambassadors directly via email. “I encourage students to feel comfortable reaching out at any point, whether they are facing challenges, seeking wellness and self-care resources, or simply looking to making connections,” Huang said.