International Student-Athlete Focus Groups Overview

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT- ATHLETE FOCUS GROUPS

Park University (Missouri)

• 4 student-athletes

• 2 men and 2 women

• 2 from volleyball, 1 from basketball, and 1 from e-sports

• 1 junior and 3 seniors

• 2 from Brazil, 1 from Ghana, and 1 from Portugal

• 1.5 hours for 6 questions

• Mediator was an international staff member

Park U Key Findings

International student-athletes’ rank of needs:

• Language

• They have a hard time making friends

• They can’t work if they’re not fluent

• Financial

• How to navigate through all information (bureaucracy)

• How to make money to stop depending on their families

• Overall Information

• “Sometimes I don’t know what to ask because I don’t know if I should have a question”

• They feel like they need to dig deep to get answers

• Mental Health

• Cultural taboos

• They don’t know they have access to help

Park U Key Findings

International student-athletes’ cultural challenges: • Food

Transportation

The sport itself

Currency

Social Interactions

Park U Key Findings

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Ideas for NAIA athletics departments:

• International student-athletes group

• Create a support system where athletes help athletes

• Seniors can be mentors to new internationals

• Cultural events or celebration during holidays

• International SA specialist in the Athletics Department

• Coach, administrator, or staff that can be the reference in supporting international student-athletes

• Access to a guide (online or printed) with all information they need to know

• About classes and credits, scholarship and school fees, health insurance and mental health resources, professional opportunities and rules to work legally…

• Workshops by themes (financial, professional, campus resources..) every semester

Florida Memorial University (Florida)

• 4 student-athletes

• 2 men and 2 women

• 3 from soccer and 1 from baseball

• 2 juniors, 1 sophomore and 1 senior

• 2 from Jamaica, 1 from Venezuela, and 1 from Colombia

• 20 minutes for 8 questions

• Mediator was a staff member

FMU Key Findings

• International student-athletes’ rank of needs:

• Financial

• Their main concern is to maintain the athletic scholarship, as it’s the only way they can afford to study in the US

• They don’t have access to other grants

• Their currency depreciates when transferred to dollars

• Mental Health

• Their financial situation has a huge impact on their mental health

• Job Opportunities

• “We have to try twice as hard here to be successful because we don’t have the same opportunities”

• It’s hard to get a job with an athlete’s schedule

• Time Management

• Balance being a student and being an athlete

FMU Key Findings

• International student-athletes’ cultural challenges: •

Food

Making friends and finding a community

Currency

Academic expectations

• Online classes and academic platforms

FMU Key Findings

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Ideas for NAIA Athletics Departments:

• International student-athletes group

• Make it a community where internationals feel like they belong and have a safe space to ask for help

• Time management orientation

• How to balance academic and athletic commitments?

• Onboarding process specialized on internationals

• Focus on explaining the processes and rules they need to know as internationals

• Set up an open channel to keep in touch

• Internationals need to know they can count on the institution, so it’s important to have an easy communication channel to ensure they feel supported and connected

Bushnell University (Oregon)

• 11 student-athletes

• 10 men and 1 woman

• 9 from soccer, 1 from baseball, and 1 from Golf

• All years represented (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior)

• 2 from Ireland, 1 from Australia, 1 from Canada, 3 from Portugal, 1 from Spain, 1 from New Zealand, and 1 from Holland

• 1.1 hours for 10 questions

• Mediator was the Associate Athletic Director

Bushnell Key Findings

• International student-athletes’ rank of needs:

• Overall Information

• “It’s better to give more information than less”

• They have to rely a lot on each other to get information about school, jobs, rules, resources, etc

• Ongoing Support

• The institution needs to keep in touch and have open channels for international SAs

• Food

• They struggle to maintain a healthy diet in the school cafeteria, which affects performance and mental health

• Mental Health

• Specially challenging during finals and holidays

Bushnell Key Findings

• International student-athletes’ cultural challenges:

• Food • Conversational language (“I’m not myself in English”)

• Differences in sports rules

• Transportation • Weather (depression during Winter)

• Examples: pounds, Fahrenheits, ounces, miles

Bushnell Key findings

• Ideas for NAIA Athletics Departments:

• Onboarding process for international SAs

• Send a “preparation book” with basic information before they arrive in the US (e.g. wheather details)

• Conduct a meeting at the start of the semester to explain everything about the university, including campus and athletics resources

• Strengthen the international community

• Pair newcomers with experienced international SAs

• Establish a group or association to connect all of them

• Appoint one SA representative for each language to be the point of contact if they are struggling to get help in English

• International counselor

• Have someone who has empathy for their reality

Georgia Gwinnett College (Georgia)

• 7 student-athletes

• 2 men and 5 woman

• 5 from soccer and 2 from tennis

• 3 from Sweden, 1 from Australia, and 1 from Italy

• 3 seniors, 2 juniors, and 2 sophomores

• 25 minutes for 10 questions

• Mediator was an international former student-athlete

GGC Key Findings

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International student-athletes’ rank of needs:

• Housing

• They have to find a place to live by themselves

• How do you rent an apartment in the US?

• Mental Health

• They feel like they don’t have anyone to talk to

• They don’t want to open up about mental health issues with coaches

• Food

• When teams are on the road, the athletes have to eat fast food before and after games

• Overall Information

• “You ask someone for help, they send you to someone else, that send you to someone else, that send you back to the same person”

GGC Key findings

• Ideas for NAIA Athletics Departments:

• Help with accommodation

• Create a guide that outlines the process of renting an apartment in the US, including the best options close to the campus, their contact information, and the required documents

• International SA specialist in the Athletics Department

• Coach, administrator, or staff that can be the reference in supporting international student-athletes

• Mental health coach

• Offer mental health support focused on homesickness and athletic pressure

Rocky Mountain College (Montana)

• 6 student-athletes

• 4 men and 2 woman

• 2 from ski racing, 2 from soccer, 1 from basketball, and 1 from footbal

• 1 from Spain, 1 from Australia, 1 from Italy, 1 from Netherlands, 1 from Germany, and 1 from New Zealand

• 2 seniors, 2 juniors, and 2 sophomores

• 1 hour for 10 questions

• Mediator was the AD

RMC Key Findings

• International student-athletes’ rank of needs:

• Language Support

• Written is hard

• Abbreviation and terms are hard

• Job Opportunities

• Basic information about it

• What is available on campus?

• Food

• Process food

• Transportation

• Lack of public transportation

• Don’t be a burden

• Mental Health

• Holidays (breaks) – cafeteria closed

• Homesickness

RMC Key Findings

International student-athletes’ cultural challenges:

Explain American holidays

We have all come here for the american experience. It is a country that has more resources than most of the places we have come from. Our families have sacrificed a lot so we do feel pressure to perform well academically and athletically. That does create different stress being so far from home but it is what we want for ourselves.

RMC Key findings

• Ideas for NAIA Athletics Departments:

• International student-athletes group

• Continue to meet to talk about international student issues

• Overall information

• A video and a written guide for international athletes (video also because sometimes language is a barrier when written only)

• Student-athletes community

• Maybe periodic times in the department where they can get together (not just international but all) and celebrate a culture's food or traditions etc.

• Possibly organized trips to local stores for those without vehicles so they could shop for food and other needed items

• Organize social events with transportation

• Mentorship program

• Possibly getting connected with an upper class international student before arriving so could ask questions and get a feel for the place since often the first time they se ethe campus is arriving for school