International alumni spiders offer advice at Alumni Career Panel

The 7th annual Alumni Career Panel for international students was held on March 2 in the Tyler Haynes Commons. The event featured three international alumni who are working in the U.S. who shared their career experiences and advice with current international students.

The first speaker was Bilal Hindi, ‘20, who is originally from Lebanon and majored in psychology and neuroscience. He is currently working at Beyond Conflict, an organization that offers programming relating to global conflict resolution and the racial wealth divide in Boston, according to the InfluenceWatch website.

“My global perspectives really came in handy when searching for jobs, especially since employers want you to have diverse perspectives and backgrounds,” Hindi said.

Hindi further stated how campus resources like the Office of International Education and Career Services were helpful for him to figure out information about visa and recruitment, respectively.

Maria Navarro Castillo, ‘20, is a mathematical economics and business administration graduate and was the second speaker of the evening. She is currently working at TESLA Forecasting Solutions, a company that aims to be the premier global provider of energy industry forecasting solutions, according to the TESLA website.

Castillo mainly focused on how stressful it can be for international students to find a job in the U.S. 

“I remember being stressed and overwhelmed because I did not know what kind of jobs to apply for,” Castillo said. “Many jobs had requirements of being a US citizen so as an international student, I was not even considered for the position.”

Castillo’s academic advisor was particularly helpful in her job search process, especially since international students can only apply to jobs directly related to their majors, she said. She also advised students to be persistent throughout the job search process.

The last speaker of the evening, Eleazer Afotey Allnice, ‘22, echoed similar beliefs as the previous speakers. Allnice is a computer science and mathematics graduate and is currently working at Kinsale Insurance in Richmond.

Allnice’s main advice to international students was to start the job search process early and to apply to as many opportunities as possible.

“I applied to a lot [of] internships because usually, everybody wants an internship so it gets very competitive. You should also focus on using your professor networks to find opportunities, “ Allnice said.

The event ended with students getting their questions answered by the panelists. The questions ranged from work visas and getting internships to securing accommodation during an internship period. 

Contact international editor Ahona Anjum at ahona.anjum@richmond.edu.