Treasure Map to Success: Surviving as a DSO

1
Treasure Map to Success Surviving as a DSO

• Robyn Brown, Director, International Programs
  Services,
• Walsh University
• Molly Heidemann, Foreign Student Advisor,
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• Melissa Hughes, Immigration Compliance
  Specialist,
• Kent State University

2
Overview of Session

• Seeking your destination
• Job search strategies and tips
• Preparing for the journey
• Ethical/Situational Dilemmas
• Loading your knapsack
• 19 tips we wish someone had given us before we
  started
• Allies on the Journey
• Where to turn when you need help or advice
• Survival kit
• Tools to use along the way
• Troubleshooting
• Question Answer

3
Seeking Your Destination

• Our stories
• Education and Background
• Transferable Skills
• Some Typical Qualifications
• Job Search Strategies and Tips

4
Preparing for the Journey

• You may find yourself in Ethical / Situational
  Dilemmas.
• Be prepared to ask questions, gather all the
  relevant information and make educated and
  judicial decisions.
• Activity time

5
Loading your knapsack

• 19 tips we wish someone had given us
• before we started
• You dont need to know everything.
• Grey areas abound.
• Immigration advising involves a good deal of
  paperwork.
• You will develop pen pals.
• Dont over-commit and burn out.
• Develop a relationship with your supervisor(s)
  and talk openly about frustrations or issues.

6
Loading your knapsack

• Travel while you are still a student!
• It can be challenging to balance friendships and
  work relationships.
• Dont be afraid to suggest new ideas.
• If you are a creative person, you will need a
  creative outlet, either at work or at home.
• Share funny/challenging situations with
  colleagues because they can appreciate these
  situations.

7
Loading your Knapsack

• Unfortunately, students will sometimes screw up,
  lie, or not do what you tell them.
• Its hard to give bad news and you will have to
  give bad news (see 12).
• Youll be someones hero and someone elses
  nightmare (and sometimes both for the same
  student).
• Build relationships with key people on campus so
  you have an ally or a contact in times of need.

8
Loading your Knapsack

• Ask how students are doing, how their lives are
  going, what their research is about not just
  about their immigration status.
• If you see the need for a program or a service,
  take the initiative to create it.
• If you dont know the answer to something,
  research it. Its likely someone else could
  benefit from it as well.
• Be Prepared Students frequently do things at
  the last minute.

9
Allies on the Journey

• On Campus
• Academic Departments
• Business Offices (Bursar, Registrar, Financial
  Aid)
• Admissions Office
• Student Involvement/Student Activities
• Off Campus
• NAFSAns
• Other regional schools with similar composition
• Government Agencies (SSA, BMV/DMV, Police
  Department, etc.)
• Community Volunteers

10
Survival Kit

• Job Search Strategies
• Sample Job Postings
• Ethical / Situational Dilemmas
• 19 Tips we wish someone had given us
• Allies on the Journey
• Listservs and Newsletters Instructions
• NAFSA Acronyms / Other NAFSA Resources
• Useful Websites
• Candy (a little goes a long way)
• Kleenex (in case of some tears)

11
Troubleshooting

• Questions and Answers

12
Presenters Contact Information

• Robyn Brown
• Director, International Programs Services
• Walsh University
• 2020 E Maple St
• North Canton, OH 44720
• 330-490-7105 phone
• 330-490-7087 fax
• rbrown_at_walsh.edu
• Molly Heidemann
• Foreign Student Advisor
• Office of International Services
• Indiana University - Bloomington
• Franklin Hall 306
• 601 E. Kirkwood Ave.
• Bloomington, IN 47405
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]

• Melissa Hughes
• Immigration Compliance Specialist
• Office of International Affairs
• Kent State University
• 106 Van Campen Hall
• PO Box 5190
• Kent, OH 44242
• 330-672-3243 phone
• 330-672-4025 fax
• mhughes5_at_kent.edu
• http//dept.kent.edu/oia
• Electronic Versions of these materials
  http//www.personal.kent.edu/mhughes5/treasure/Tr
  easureMap.htm