When you’re walking around campus or sitting in class, you see many people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. But out of all the students attending Western Washington University, do you know how many are from another country?
In 2021, there were 15,197 students who attended Western, with 1% coming from other countries.
Currently, Western has 155 international students and about five international student-athletes, International Student Adviser Valerie Kimble said.
Kimble advises international students on F-1 and J-1 visas. The F-1 visa students attend Western to receive a degree, either as an undergraduate or graduate student. J-1 visa students are at Western for about one to three quarters on exchange from their home university.
“I provide advising in several areas, primarily academics, immigration, health insurance, personal and cultural issues,” Kimble said. “I advise students from pre-arrival and orientation until graduation and sometimes beyond that.”
Second-year student Dani Bailey hits the ball at Lake Padden Golf Course in Bellingham, Wash., on Sept. 10, 2021. Bailey is from Queenstown, New Zealand, and competes on the women’s varsity golf team. // Photo courtesy of Jeff Evans
Kimble also serves as a Designated School Official who guides students through immigration requirements of studying in the United States as well as maintaining records in the Student Exchange Visitor Information System.
Sophomore Daniel qi jue Lai is from Guangzhou, China. He is attending Western to get a degree in engineering and competes on the club golf team. He currently holds an F-1 visa.
Before Western, Lai completed half of his high schooling in China, and when he was 16 years old, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, to complete his last two years of high school. He then attended Langara College for two years in Vancouver, B.C., and competed for their men’s golf team.
“The international students’ resources department at Western is being very helpful,” Lai said. “They are very kind, and they have events for us frequently.”
He said that academics at middle and high schools in China are harder and that when people get to a university, the workload is not as high, making it easier to be in a university. In North America, he said that the academics are easier, but it gets progressively harder at a university.
Lai also mentioned the different emphases on sports.
“Since I never studied at a university in China, I don't know much about this,” Lai said. “But I think the universities in China don't focus on their sports teams as much as Western does.”
Sophomore Dani Bailey is from Queenstown, New Zealand, and she is majoring in communications as well as competing on the varsity women’s golf team. She holds an F-1 visa as it allows her to study at Western for five years.
“Everyone is very welcoming and kind, and it hasn’t been hard to make friends here as everyone is super accepting,” Bailey said. “It’s been easy to get used to class schedules [and] the way campus activities work.”
Bailey said academics are harder in the United States because in New Zealand, the General University Requirements are not required, so students can get into their major right away. Doing the GURs, however, even though they may be harder, provides students an all around education, Bailey said.
Another major difference was the emphasis on sports in her hometown versus the United States.
“In New Zealand, we don’t have big sports teams at our universities,” Bailey said. “That’s a major reason I came over here. The school spirit is so exciting to see as we don’t have anything like catchphrases, big school mascots or cheerleaders.”
Freshman Lina Hattenbach is from Lidingö, Sweden, and she is thinking about majoring in business. She also competes on the varsity women’s golf team.
She was supposed to start her studies at Western in the fall of 2020 but couldn’t because the United States Embassy in Sweden was closed for visa appointments until the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19. She traveled to Paris and their United States Embassy twice and was finally able to receive her F-1 visa.
Hattenbach said the people at Western are also very welcoming, and the adjustment to new things has been easy.
She said there were differences in academics between her hometown and the United States.
“The Swedish school system is very different,” Hattenbach said. “In Sweden, you get accepted into a specific program and therefore only take classes within that field. I would say academics are harder in Sweden. However, I like that you are given the opportunity to change your mind and explore different fields during your education here in America.”
Sports are also incorporated into schools very differently. By coming to the United States, Hattenbach said that it gives her the opportunity to combine education and golf in a fun way by playing for a team, since golf is more of an individual sport.
Here are the steps for applying to Western as an international student, and here is the process to get a student visa.
Read more about each of these students here:
Daniel qi jue Lai — Guangzhou, China
Dani Bailey— Queenstown, New Zealand
Lina Hattenbach— Lidingö, Sweden
Taras McCurdie (he/him) is the sports editor for The Front this quarter. He is an aspiring sports journalist entering his final quarter at Western Washington University (WWU). Outside of school, you can find him freelancing for the Lynden Tribune, playing on the WWU club tennis team or running on the treadmill at the Rec Center. When chilling at night, he listens to throwback slow jams and ’90s hip-hop. You can reach him at tarasmccurdie.thefront@gmail.com.
