Executive Director of ISSA Haowen Ge tells Seek Common Ground about what programs ISSA provides for low-income immigrant students. ISSA has begun the Career Readiness and Passion Project Summer Program with the CSMD School District and Thomas Jefferson Academy. Watch the video to learn more about what ISSA does and what students will be doing this summer!
Equalistic Dream For Hope
Asem Biography
My name is Asem, and I’m from Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan is a very beautiful country, with a rich history. I came to the US on January 18th, 2023. I’m a freshman in Mayfield High School and I really enjoy dancing and singing. In the future I want to be a programmer.
I joined the Equalistic Dream for Hope Club when my friend Ruzanna told me about this club and I decided to join. Now, in this club I’m just learning different skills and improving my English, and I like all the things that we are discussing about. I have high expectations of myself, that I’ll do my best to learn every skill in this club.
This October, ISSA will be partnering with school districts in India and Mexico to lead students from all three nations in a Global Perspective Project.
The project will center around climate change and environmental issues. Students will learn how these issues affect people all over the world and understand their effects beyond what they themselves can observe. Over the course of the project, students will collaborate to solve problems, learn how to take steps to curb global warming, and implement their solutions.
The project will serve a secondary purpose of teaching the students about STEM careers and collaborating with people from other cultures. They will have to meet challenges such as reliance on technology for communication, differences in culture and custom, and working with people in different time zones. These experiences will be of incalculable value to them as they prepare for jobs in an increasingly globalized world.
Written by Michael Maynard
Equalistic Dream For Hope
Leela Reeves Biography
My name is Leela Reeves. I’m a senior at Brush High School. I came to the USA in November, 2012. I was born in Liberia, a small country in West Africa. Liberia is enriched with various tribes, food, culture, etc. My favorite hobby to do is draw digitally and read.
I have a GPA of 3.4 and above.
I joined Equalities Dream for hope in 2023 for a chance to connect with other immigrant students like me. We create blogs and make posts. Many reasons I love this club is because it teaches life-term skills such as communication skills, leadership, and teamwork skills. I see this club as a great way for students from various schools to come together and make a change in the community.
I have a GPA of 3.4 and above.
I joined Equalities Dream for hope in 2023 for a chance to connect with other immigrant students like me. We create blogs and make posts. Many reasons I love this club is because it teaches life-term skills such as communication skills, leadership, and teamwork skills. I see this club as a great way for students from various schools to come together and make a change in the community.
Equalistic Dream For Hope
Manmish Biography
My name is Manmish and I am a 10th-grader at Mayfield High School. I am from India (Hyderabad) and Hyderabad is well known for the food and traditions. India is a beautiful country which contains many ancient places with a beautiful touch of scenery. Many people come from other countries to see the places in India. India is the seventh largest country. I came to the US at the end of August 2022. I enjoy listening to music, dancing, reading comics & manga, and painting.
I am a member of the Equalistic Dream For Hope Club. I joined the Equalistic Dream For Hope club in 2022. The reason I joined the club is to improve myself and to learn to be confident and improve my skills like communicating, time management, leadership, and teamwork, and many other more. The club helped me in many ways like making me patient, helping me in understanding things, and so many other things.
WKYC “We The People” host Leon Bibb interviewed Executive Director of ISSA Haowen Ge, which aired on July 2nd, 2021.
The interview covered topics such as what the International Student Services Association does, and what are ISSA’s future plans. The ISSA team worked on coming up with questions for the interview that encompass the ISSA values and mission statement. The interview can be found on the WKYC website, as well as ISSA social media, or by clicking on the link below.
The ISSA team is excited about more article submissions and interviews in the future!
Written and uploaded by: Juliana Croce
Equalistic Dream For Hope
Nataeya Biography
I am Nataeya and I am a 12th grader in Charles F. Brush High school. I am from America! I enjoy drawing and playing video games.
I am a member of the Equalistic Dream for Hope club, and I joined the club because I want to be able to help students feel more comfortable in their school. This club helped me learn more about immigrants and how they feel in their school, and I learned how we can make others feel more comfortable.
While the United States is often viewed as a land of freedom and opportunity by immigrants looking to come here, there are many issues they face after arriving. One of the main issues is how well immigrant students integrate into the education system and perform in school. Here are the potential struggles for immigrant students in the United States:
- The Language Barrier – Many immigrant students are not fluent in English and therefore struggle when they begin receiving an education in the United States. It’s difficult to learn new information when you don’t fully understand the language your teacher is speaking. This can lead to immigrant students performing poorly in school, having trouble making friends, and falling behind other students in their grade.
- Discrimination and Racism – Immigrant students also have to deal with discrimination and racism from both teachers and other students. “Context of reception,” is a phrase used to help explain how immigrant students perform in U.S. schools based on how they were received by teachers and their fellow classmates. If they are discriminated against, immigrant students tend to perform more poorly in school. On the contrary, if an immigrant student is welcomed and embraced, they feel more comfortable in their learning environment and perform better.
- Poverty – Many immigrant students come from low-income families and therefore do not have the same resources available to them as U.S.-born students. Nearly 45% of immigrant families are considered low-income and the schools that serve poor families tend to underperform compared to schools in wealthier areas.
- Beginning of Schooling – Immigrant families are less likely to put their children in preliminary school programs like preschool and pre-K. This is normally because of issues like poverty, language barriers, and potential discrimination. However, not enrolling immigrant students in early education programs may impact their success in later grades and contribute to them falling behind other students.
International Student Services Association (ISSA) is dedicated to creating a better future for students who are immigrants to the United States by providing information, inspiration, and motivation for students to navigate their education and develop their future careers beyond high school. We want to see immigrant students perform their very best in U.S. schools and avoid any potential struggles by giving them the resources they need to thrive. Find out more about how we help immigrant students and how we can help you get started today!
Written by: Dom Lincoln
Moving to a new country can be a very difficult process. There are often many barriers to overcome as you try to assimilate into your new home country, like speaking a different language, eating new food, learning new cultural traditions, and even attending different schools. The number of immigrant students in the United States continues to climb as more and more immigrants move to the U.S., with over 28% of college students in the United States coming from immigrant families. So, how do immigrant students perform in the United States?
Immigrant students often have more obstacles to overcome in school than U.S.-born students. Things like language barriers, reception by teachers and other students, suffering from poverty, and starting school later result in immigrant students performing worse than U.S.-born students on average through the end of high school. Immigrant students are more likely to be bilingual, but it takes them longer to get up to speed when learning English.
However, nearly 33% of immigrant students attain a bachelor’s degree or higher, which is almost equal to the percentage of U.S.-born adults completing that level of education. Recently arrived immigrants hold an even higher completion rate of a bachelor’s degree or higher at nearly 50%. This data suggests that immigrant students are more successful when they come to the U.S. for higher education, like a bachelor’s degree or higher in college, and less successful when they begin their education in the U.S. in grade school or high school. This could be attributed to having more access to resources on campus and being able to adapt to U.S. schools more easily at an older age.
International Student Services Association (ISSA) is dedicated to creating a better future for students who are immigrants to the United States by providing information, inspiration, and motivation for students to navigate their education and develop their future careers beyond high school. We want to see immigrant students perform their very best in U.S. schools by giving them the resources they need to thrive. Find out more about how we help immigrant students and how we can help you get started today!
Written By: Dom Lincoln
International Student Services Association Hosts Career Readiness Competition Wednesday, May 26th at Brush High School
By: Juliana Croce, ISSA Communication & Youth Program Intern
Throughout this past year, five students from Brush High School worked with the ISSA youth program team to complete their career readiness profile. Withstanding the challenges 2020 brought, the students were able to put together their portfolio by participating in job tracker research as well as develop their hard and soft skills. Their presentations included the activities and research they completed, along with a personal reflection about what they learned through the whole process.
Brush High School hosted the event that brought in an audience from multiple different cultural backgrounds for a night of celebration and community. Family and friends of students and the South Euclid Lyndhurst administrative team attended the competition, and watched as each student gave their approximately ten minute long presentation. After presenting, dinner was served as the judges finished the students’ evaluation forms. Dinner consisted of food from many different cultures, and also gave time for networking and getting to know people from each of the tables.
The students from Brush High School’s ESL program: Zol Chen, Joshap Rai, Sujing Chen, Bimala Rai, and Leela Reeves, practiced their presentations in the days leading up to the event with Executive Director Haowen Ge and his team. When the day came, the students presented in front of the five judges made up of school district and ISSA staff. Each participant in the competition received 12 volunteer hours and the chance to win a prize by presenting their Career Readiness portfolio. The prizes included the ability to win a brand new iPad, and gift cards, as every student that participated was able to leave with a prize. This year’s award winner was Sujing Chen, sophomore student at Brush Highschool! Congratulations to Sujing Chen and wonderful job to all participants!
Group Picture:
Left to right: Hall Edmund, South Euclid Lyndhurst College and Career Pathway Coordinator, Haowen Ge Executive Director at ISSA, Participants: Leela Reeves 10th grade, Sujing Chen 10th grade, Zol Chen 11th grade, Bimala Rai 12th grade and Joshap Rai 12th grade. ESL staff: Claudia Albrecht and Allison Sanson
Pictured: Award winner Sujing Chen with her siblings and parents!
Pictured:
Students Bimala and Joshap Rai and family!
Pictured:
Sujing and Zol Chen and family!
Networking and dinner time!
Left to right: Haowen Ge Executive Director at ISSA and Melissa Thompson Assistant
Superintendent at south Euclid Lyndhurst
If you interest to learning more about ISSA program please feels visit us at https://internationalstudentsvc.org/ or contact us at staff@internationalstudentservices.net