Creativity by Necessity

An Interview with Chase Smithburg '12

As a professional working with study abroad in Morocco, OU alum Chase Smithburg has seen firsthand the pandemic’s impact on international education. A 2012 graduate who double majored in political science and Arabic with a minor in international studies (he also worked in CIS as Arabic Flagship coordinator post-graduation), Smithburg has lived in Morocco for the past six years, working for American Councils for International Education as resident director of the Arabic Overseas Flagship Program, a federal initiative for American students to learn Arabic and gain skills to become global professionals. “I oversee the program, particularly student well-being, safety and overall experience, including cultural activities, excursions and host families, ” he says.

In March 2020, when countries began to address the coronavirus’s global spread, Smithburg and his colleagues faced an urgent situation: they had to get their students home quickly or risk being stuck indefinitely in Morocco under lockdown. “As the situation deteriorated, we quickly figured out how to get out, ” he recalls. “We were actually on two of the last flights out of the country before they totally shut down the border. So it was certainly one of the higher-stress periods of my employment with this program, seeing the potential for being trapped in this country with quarantines and curfews and being responsible for some 30-some-odd young adults. ”

They managed to get all the students home safely, and though Smithburg had himself planned to return home to Morocco, border closures forced him to continue on to the United States. He spent the next six months with family and friends in Tennessee, Kansas and the Dallas area, working remotely until he could return in September.

But evacuation was far from the only hurdle. Smithburg and his colleagues still had a program to run, and the students needed to complete their coursework in order to graduate. So Smithburg took on the task of helping to transition the program online and train faculty in new systems. “As you can imagine, it’s a bit strange to be responsible for overseeing a virtual study abroad program — an overseas program, online, ” he says. “We had to totally retool the program. ”

As you can imagine, it’s a bit strange to be responsible for overseeing a virtual study abroad program — an overseas program, online.

The 2019-20 cohort finished out their studies virtually, and the entire 2020-21 year has been virtual, a shift that necessitated creative new approaches to teaching and learning. Programming for the virtual experience has included group cooking classes on Zoom, virtual visits with Moroccan families, online internships and mentorships, and individual language partners — a practice that has resulted in meaningful friendships, Smithburg says. “We have been able to do some creative things that get students really in touch with people in an authentic way, or as authentic as it can be in this kind of COVID world. ”

While the program has adapted as well as it can, Smithburg emphasizes that the lack of an in-person experience abroad is a great loss for students. “The overseas year is supposed to be the culmination of their studies, ” he says. “After getting to see the magic of what can happen in this program when students are here, the fact that our students this year are missing out on that is really difficult. Academically, they are excelling. But from a life experience standpoint, getting to know the culture in person, getting to meet people and build those lasting friendships, unfortunately that’s not there. So that’s probably the hardest part for me, is having to face that reality with them.”

Smithburg is working with Arabic Flagship through the end of the academic year, but then he plans to return to the United States for graduate school. Though his time with the program is ending on a somewhat somber note, the challenge of the pandemic has taught him a great deal about adaptability and the future of international education. “I think across international education in general, the impacts of COVID will be felt for a long time, and not just negative, ” he says. “This creativity that has had to be used to come up with different ways to expose students to culture, to other academic aspects, some of those components will remain, even once overseas programs like ours come back in person.”

That said, there is no substitute for the real-life experience of going abroad — and Smithburg encourages students to seize opportunities in the post-COVID world. “Even if you’re getting ready to go out into the ‘real world’ — there are fewer expats in different countries with everyone kind of repatriating due to the pandemic. This means there are a lot of great opportunities out there to go abroad and find a job teaching English, or a job where an American is in high demand, ” he says. “So now is the time. Graduating in 2021 is a really awful thing in many ways because of COVID, but there are opportunities to take advantage of if you can, and make the best of what’s out there. ”