Restoring Student Agency in Global College Decisions
Two weeks ago, a student in Chennai asked me if she should study music or engineering. Her question exposed a truth we avoid: we've built an international education system where every stakeholder profits from student passivity, except the students themselves. Private equity owns platforms. Agents work off commission. Universities measure success in enrollment numbers, not student fulfillment. It's time to name the problem and reclaim student agency in global education.
Full Circle
Ten days in Japan became a study in cycles. SIIEJ in Kyoto, long walks in Tokyo, and breakfast with a Croft friend reminded me that global education is not only policy and programs, it is the patient work of becoming.
What A Privilege
Back from Italy, I reflect on the privilege of movement, the serendipities that connect generations, and what it means to carry a duty of care for students. A small meditation on access, safety, joy, and gratitude.
Mid-Program Reflection from 🇮🇹
Halfway through Italy, our pre-health students are shifting from observers to participants. Connection over speed, healthcare as a window to values, and walking that reveals accessibility gaps. I reflect on faculty support, pre-departure prep, and what Rome and Florence might teach next.
My Digital Carry-On
From ChatGPT and Google Lens to Evernote and iTranslate, here’s what lives in my digital carry-on. These AI tools help me plan, translate, take notes, and work on the move so the logistics quiet down and I can be present with students and place.
Pack Light, Wear Many Hats
Next week I head to Italy as resident director for a faculty-led program on comparative health disparities. This piece lifts the curtain on what faculty leaders juggle, why co-creating with SAI matters, and how the IDI helps us measure intercultural growth.
Humor Across Borders
Humor is one of the most surprising bridges in global education. From Monty Python to tree tomatoes, I explore how laughter builds empathy, supports language learning, and where jokes can misfire without context, offering practical ways to use humor with care in the classroom.
Faith’s Mile
Watching Faith Kipyegon chase a sub-4 mile in Paris, I saw a bigger story than records. Courage over perfection, non-linear paths, and lessons for students who are told to play it safe. International education should make room for risk, meaning, and becoming.
The Myth of “Best Fit”: Why Students Deserve Better Advice
“Best fit” often sells more than it serves. I examine who benefits from the slogan, how it can mask bias, and what to ask instead: purpose, mutual alignment, and real support. Students deserve transparency on outcomes and costs, and advisors who start by listening.
AI for Equity or Extraction?
AI is arriving in international recruitment with promises to optimize and personalize. I ask a harder question: at what cost and to whom? I unpack bias, black-box vendor scoring, and offer three fixes that center equity: transparent data, enforceable procurement terms, and student agency.
The Cost of Coming to America
From application fees and SEVIS payments to administrative processing, visa interviews, and the uncertainty at the border, studying in the United States demands courage and cash. This reflection traces the real costs of a travel ban and urges campuses to meet students with empathy.
Rehabilitation
After Harvard’s SEVP certification was revoked, I argue for rehabilitation over fear. Build quiet consortia, invest in in-house immigration expertise, prepare leadership, document the chilling effects on F and J students, and publish transparent plans. Stop leaning on dollar figures; commit to mutuality, belonging, and coordinated action.
Smarter, Not Harder
Tired of AI hype, I map where it actually helps international education: recruitment, admissions and visa docs, student support, and risk readiness. Practical tools, ethics and equity guardrails, and a start small plan that lets teams work smarter without losing the human work that matters.
Beyond the Balance Sheet
We over-index on the dollar figure and ignore the human one. Across the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US, restrictive policies and revenue dependence are narrowing the story of mobility. This essay argues for reciprocity, transparency, and student dignity beyond the balance sheet.
The Paradox of Non-Immigrant Intent
U.S. law presumes every F-1 applicant plans to immigrate, then we ask graduates to stay. That contradiction, rooted in 214(b), costs talent and credibility. I trace the policy logic, compare Canada, the U.K., and Australia, and sketch reforms universities can champion without reducing students to revenue.
Degrees of Connection
From my Junction 91 talk in New Delhi, this piece maps India–US collaborative degrees: what twinning, dual, and joint programs mean, what NEP 2020 enables, where UGC and accreditors get involved, and a practical path to build equitable, durable partnerships.
Digital Refugees: How TikTok's Ban Created an Unexpected Bridge Between Nations
With TikTok briefly dark in the US, many sampled Xiaohongshu and stumbled into something rare: respectful conversations between Americans and Chinese. I read this moment for what it reveals about digital rights, platform governance, empathy, and the ordinary bridges people build when politics stall.
A Letter To The Adventurers
A snow day sends me back to my study abroad in Yunnan and Beijing and forward to what I tell students now. This letter names the stages of culture shock, the value of language, journaling, community, and care. Take the risk. Be present. Let yourself change.
Sat Sri Akal, Y’all
At a high school in Chandigarh I greeted students with “Sat sri akal, y’all,” then kept thinking about how language, food, and family stories make bridges. From dal makhani to cornbread and chow chow, holidays remind me that y’all means all and that real cultural appreciation starts with humility.
The Things We Keep
My parents keep handing me boxes of the past. In one, a 20th-birthday note from my dad becomes a compass. I watched the U.S. election from Dubai and felt both distance and resolve. This essay ties memory to a simple claim: global education grows empathy and hope.