Celebrations, Challenges, and Encouragement for 2022

This was a year like no other: for our world, for the United States that I call home, and for me personally. I began this year as a doctoral student and researcher, and I end the year as a visiting assistant professor teaching higher education policy. Throughout 2021, I also had the wonderful opportunity to give back to the international education community as chair of NAFSA’s Region VIII team and led the planning of the Region VIII programming of the All-Region Summit. These experiences frame my reflections on this year and my vision for our future as international educators.

Things to Celebrate About 2021

I am encouraged by so many aspects of our field. First, international education research is thriving and forward-thinking. Of my PhD cohort at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Virginia, all three May 2021 graduates published dissertations on international education topics. My own study was centered on education abroad outcomes for U.S. community college students, which uncovered tensions regarding race and ethnicity that merit further exploration.

The community of researchers focused on international education topics is collaborative, encouraging, and, above all, publishing and presenting important contributions to further the field. I think of Melissa Whatley, PhD, who served as Research and Scholarship Network leader for NAFSA’s Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Knowledge Community in 2021. Whatley happily agreed to partner with me (a virtual stranger at the time) on a study exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international education at community colleges.

I think of Kimberley