St. Olaf Advocates for International Education in Washington D.C.
On March 14-15, Jauza Khaleel ’18 and Karla Huaman Ruiz ’17 traveled to Washington, D.C. with CMIE Assistant Director, Emiko Oonk, to participate in lobbying efforts organized by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. NAFSA’s 2016 Advocacy Day saw over 100 students and international educators gather together to advocate for international education on Capital Hill. A total of eight representatives from Minnesota were present, with the largest single-school representation coming from St. Olaf College.
On March 14th, participants joined a day-long training session featuring tips on successful lobbying and relationship-building with state senators and representatives. Participants were also briefed on NAFSA’s two main points of interest for this year: the U.S.-Cuban trade embargo and High-skilled immigration reform.
On March 15th, the three St. Olaf representatives visited the offices of Minnesota Congressional District 5 representative Keith Ellison, District 2 representative John Kline, and Senator Al Franken, to speak with staff about this year’s focal topics and share their experiences as international students in the United States. Participation in Advocacy Day was made possible through a NAFSA Region IV travel grant and sponsorship from CMIE.
[This] was a very exciting experience as we got to meet the Senators and House representatives from our respective districts and voice out concerns and obstacles faced by international educators. It was very empowering to see change happening at the citizenship level; I really felt the importance of citizens going and meeting their political representatives in the making of legislation in order to make a difference – Jauza Khaleel ‘18
I have learned a lot of the inside of politics and the importance of international students. It is more than our contribution to this economy; it is about bringing new and challenging ideas and learning from our host country. At the same time, I had the opportunity to experience how lobbying works and I could say that this is an interesting dynamic of politics, and long-term effective – Karla Huaman Ruiz ‘17