{"id":379,"date":"2024-12-17T17:02:29","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/?p=379"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:02:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:02:29","slug":"international-student-cultivates-sense-of-belonging-by-working-with-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/?p=379","title":{"rendered":"International student cultivates sense of belonging by working with students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5464\" height=\"8192\" src=\"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fatima-for-grad-spotlight-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-380\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Even if you are different, even if you don\u2019t speak English, you will belong,&#8221; says Pellissippi State graduate <strong>Fatima Alhaj Salameh<\/strong>, who moved to the United States in 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fatima Alhaj Salameh<\/strong> didn\u2019t know anyone in the United States upon arriving in 2019, but she knew she had a strong desire to go to college. \u201cEducation is what makes me feel the most happy and most alive, and I always want to develop myself and keep going,\u201d Fatima explains.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was by myself in this country and didn\u2019t know where to start,\u201d Fatima recalls. \u201cI found Pellissippi State on Google, so I took an Uber to visit. Everyone I spoke to here was so helpful, even though I didn\u2019t speak English very well at the time.\u201d Fatima credits <strong>Patricia Higgins,<\/strong> former International Admissions specialist, and<strong> Sarah Davis,<\/strong> manager of Recruitment Services, for getting her prepared. \u201cThey gave me such a clear idea of what I needed to do to get started,&#8221; she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the pandemic hit, Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL) helped Fatima overcome her feelings of loneliness and isolation. \u201cI was freaking out and completely depressed,&#8221; Fatima remembers. &#8220;I\u2019m by myself, COVID-19 has shut everything down, so I stayed in my home for nearly two years alone.\u201d Getting a job to work with students and working with former SEAL Director <strong>Matt Spraker<\/strong>, SEAL Administrative Assistant <strong>Monica Styles<\/strong> and SEAL Coordinator <strong>Delnita Evans<\/strong> gave Fatima a sense of belonging. \u201cMonica always gives 100% and does her best for you, and Delnita lives for helping students and makes every event fun for them,&#8221; Fatima beams.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fatima plans to go to UT and finish her pre-med requirements, then to dental school. \u201cI want to travel the world and work as a pediatric dentist to help children with their teeth,&#8221; Fatima explains. &#8220;Some children in poorer countries do not have the smile they should have. I want to do what I can for my community, for the poor and for refugees. I\u2019m going to work so hard to make our community healthy, and I want to be a role model to make all women in our country proud!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an official college graduate, Fatima offers this feedback to prospective international students: \u201cThe freedom and opportunity we have at this college is amazing. They work so hard to make you feel like you have a part here. Even if you are different, even if you don\u2019t speak English, you will belong. We say here at Pellissippi State to &#8216;Start Strong, Stay Strong, Finish Strong.&#8217; That is what they do. You are never just a number here; you are special!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Congratulations, Fatima!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2014 Story and photo by&nbsp;<strong>Jessie Tipton,<\/strong> visual media coordinator for Pellissippi State<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fatima Alhaj Salameh didn\u2019t know anyone in the United States upon arriving in 2019, but she knew she had a strong desire to go to college. \u201cEducation is what makes me feel the most happy and most alive, and I always want to develop myself and keep going,\u201d Fatima explains.&nbsp; \u201cI was by myself in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":381,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379\/revisions\/381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}