Every week, a member of the Greater Houston education community is interviewed for Pop Quiz. Please send an email to [email protected] if you know of someone we should interview who has a compelling story to share.
Meet the interviewee
Last week, Paulina Rizk served as traffic control as hundreds of international students from Houston Community College poured onto the school’s central campus for orientation. She welcomed them into the auditorium, checked them in for the required event, and addressed their questions.
With almost 3,600 students from 128 countries, HCC had the highest number of international students enrolled of any community college in the nation during the 2023–24 academic year. International Student Ambassadors like Rizk, a business administration student at HCC, provide them with solace after they have relocated across the globe.
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She assists other international students in navigating college and its many complicated procedures, such as obtaining visas, completing standard paperwork, and enrolling in classes. She links individuals with others in their local area, offers information, shares her personal experiences, and plans social and intellectual events. Her fluency in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian is advantageous.
Rizk has been busy welcoming a new generation of students to HCC as the spring semester begins next week. She discussed her efforts to foster a sense of community on campus with The Landing.
For length and clarity, the interview has been slightly altered.
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You re from Ukraine and Lebanon. What
brought you to Houston
and HCC?
It’s been around a year since I started my trip. Since my visit to Houston last year, I have been a member of HCC. For me, the trip to get here was truly very amazing. To be honest, it felt like a roller coaster. My cousin, who is two years older than me and is currently on the verge of graduating from HCC, told me about it. He informed me that this school offers a good program for overseas students to prepare their transcripts for a smooth transfer to college. Additionally, it is less expensive to begin with.
Since my entire family currently resides in Lebanon, it was a long journey to the United States. You know, throughout all of this, there was the conflict with Israel, and as a result, the American Embassy informed me that my visa interview was being rescheduled. My interview was scheduled for May 2025. “No way,” I thought, “I have to start school.” In order to maybe travel and visit their embassy, I really made contact with other nations, which I did. I visited Cyprus, an island off the coast of Lebanon. It’s Turkish and Greek. I visited the embassy, spent a week there by myself, completed all of my tasks, obtained my visa, and then left. Then, about three weeks later, I departed for the United States. Thus, the journey was insane.
How
do you build community
as an international student ambassador?
I had a significant influence in educating others about who we are. Because I recall not knowing much when I first arrived, particularly that there were international groups. I was unaware that students may be connected to through a group chat. Someone actually told me that, which I was unaware of. Given how frequently we communicate there and how helpful everyone is to one another, I believe that was one of the most beneficial things. For instance, I didn’t know how to open an American bank account. I was unaware that I was permitted to do it. Actually, I was unaware that I could visit an American bank and open an account. However, I was informed by an international student that I may succeed. The steps are as follows. So I went and completed all of my paperwork the following day.
People must understand that asking inquiries is acceptable. due to the fact that some people feel afraid. For instance, some of the international students I know struggle with their English and occasionally become confused. They say things like, “I don’t know what to do, or I was told to go here.” In situations like that, you must help one another. That, in my opinion, truly aided me in realizing how crucial communication is.
How do you
spread the word about ambassadors
throughout the college?
We actually performed a who are we (event) after returning from the summer. We carried it out on each campus. We enjoyed some pizza, food, games, and music. Additionally, we held these mini-fairs to give visitors a chance to learn more about the international student program. To let them know what we’re doing, we also have QR codes that they could use to sign up for our emails and other services.
What drew you to
take on this role
?
I want to take the lead and demonstrate to others what HCC is capable of. I also wish to educate others. I believe I have the capacity to simultaneously educate people about HCC and help them understand its purpose. It’s also just enjoyable. I like to make myself known. I like to engage with students, and I really like to make the community feel like a better place, like we re all family, basically, because people are coming from a lot of different places, and they do not have their family around them.
Like for me, I m alone here, and (the community) just made me feel like more at home, in a sense, because I know people who are also from countries I ve been to, or countries I ve studied in. I think that creating a wonderful community among the students was a major factor in my decision to become an ambassador.
You mentioned
navigating this alone
without family, and that has to be a
very difficult, yet very common, experience
for international students.
I know some students who are in the same bubble as me, that we do not have anyone (here). However, some overseas students are accompanied by their parents or siblings. So sometimes it s nice to talk to people because you don t know what they have to offer, like maybe they could help you in something. Like I ve met people who ve helped me get a job.
You don t want to feel isolated, especially in a country where you don t know a lot of people and a lot of things, because everything s new to you, and it was overwhelming. But that sense of like, Oh, I know I have an international body at my school that can actually help me.
What
advice do you have
to international students who are just starting out this week?
I would say, don t be afraid. People will help you. That s our job, as an international ambassador, that s our job. We re here to assist you because we know everything, we ve been through everything, and we know your struggle, we know your pain, and we know your frustration. So you can come to us. But the thing is, you have to ask questions. You can t be afraid, because I know you re somewhere new and you don t have a lot of people around you, but you need to trust and trust in the process, but also trust in the people who are trying to help you.
Don t be afraid to ask questions. I think that s the most important thing. Because you re there, you re paying for your education. You need to invest in it in a proper way. Don t be scared to ask.
Miranda Dunlap covers Houston s community colleges in partnership with Open Campus. Despite roughly half of Houston s higher-education students attending community colleges, there hasn t been much news covering these systems or students until now. Her reporting holds institutions accountable, highlights barriers faced by students and helps them navigate their opportunities. Reach Miranda at [email protected] or onTwitterandInstagram.
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