Welcome to the first instalment of GEEC Speak!—our new series of articles spotlighting individuals and teams who are working to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), wellness, and sustainability initiatives at McGill University.
We chatted with Jos Porter to learn more about the Local Wellness Advisors and Jos's role in supporting international students at McGill. Jos had some great insight into the international student experience, including common challenges and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic—check it out below!
Tell us about the role of the Local Wellness Advisors and who at McGill is eligible to use their services.
Sure thing! As Local Wellness Advisors (LWAs), we’re part of the Student Wellness Hub, but we’re embedded in different faculties and units across the university. In my case, I work with International Student Services (ISS). We do wellness-related programming and outreach, as well as providing one-on-one sessions for students who are seeking short-term mental health support. Sometimes students aren’t exactly sure what they need or who to turn to, and that’s OK too! In that case, we can orient and connect them to the appropriate resource for their situation. Anyone who is currently enrolled and paying student services fees is eligible to see us.
Tell us a little about yourself: your background, interests, motivation for engaging with students as an LWA, and anything else you’d like us to know!
As an alumnus (I did both my undergrad and masters at McGill), it’s really nice to be back on campus working with students. I’m a licensed social worker now. Before taking on the LWA role, I spent over a decade working in community non-profits and healthcare settings, in particular doing support work with vulnerable groups such as youth, recent immigrants and asylum seekers, sex workers, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, the homeless, and people living with mental illness. I’m passionate about working from a social justice and intersectional framework, and I see an opportunity for that in my role here. There’s this stereotype out there about the elite, privileged McGill student, but that’s really reductive. Our students come from a huge variety of backgrounds and complexity of experiences.
I meet a lot of really brave and determined students who have jumped over significant barriers to be able to study here. These barriers are sometimes financial, but they can also be social and cultural. Even when you’re seeking new growth, it’s rarely easy to leave home and everything that comes with that. It’s a privilege to work with these students and to get a glimpse into their stories.
As the LWA for International Students, does your approach or expertise differ from other LWAs? How should students decide which LWA to contact?
This is a common question that we get. There are 13 of us now and some students are eligible to see multiple LWAs. GEEC’s students have the option of seeing the Engineering LWA (Lauren Weber - GEEC wrote a post with her here!), the Grad LWA (Devon Simpson), and if they’re international, they can also see me! We all offer a comparable service, but the idea is that we’re each specialised within our areas. I strive to be extra sensitive to the lived realities and challenges that international students face while studying at McGill. Working with the team at ISS also helps me to be more tuned in. For students who are eligible to see multiple LWAs and don’t know who to reach out to, my suggestion would be to let their issue guide them (for example, if someone is having a problem with their football coach, our Varsity LWA would be a great go-to!). Alternatively, students can just check to see which of us is available soonest, and that’s fine too!
International students face many barriers to success and stressors not typically experienced by domestic students. This is especially pertinent during the current pandemic. What are the most common challenges you’ve observed either within or outside of your role as an LWA?
This is such a good question. Let me preface my answer by saying that it’s hard to generalise about international students. We have representation from over 150 different countries, and the issues faced by a U1 student from Vermont might look really different from the issues faced by a PhD1 student from Bangladesh. That said, some common challenges that I see international students grappling with are loneliness and isolation, social anxiety, financial stress, coping with pressure (internal or external), as well as difficulty navigating (often unspoken) cultural norms. Students from collectivist cultural backgrounds, for example, are sometimes less likely to ask for help and advocate for themselves, so they can be at risk of falling between the cracks if they don’t get the support they need. And of course, international students also face all those other common university challenges, like exam anxiety and heartache!
I see how the pandemic has brought up a lot of additional stressors for international students. Our Chinese students felt it first; months before Canadians were impacted, many of our Chinese students were deeply worried about the safety of their loved ones back home. Additionally, many Asian students in general have felt the effects of coronavirus-related racial prejudice. Now that the virus has achieved global pandemic status, all of our students are affected in one way or another. Many are unable to travel home due to restrictions and are forcibly separated from their families and support systems. Some have lost financial support and aren’t eligible for government relief programs, unlike our domestic students.
Are there unique challenges faced by international grad students and postdocs? What about those in STEMM fields?
Grad students are really interesting to work with. They’re at a different stage in the life cycle than undergrads and have often assumed more responsibilities. I meet lots of grad students who have children and/or spouses, and others who want to start “settling down”. Many have already started their careers and have stepped away for a few years to do further training. A recent trend I’ve noticed among grad students in STEMM is anxiety about future career prospects. Students who graduate from these fields usually anticipate some degree of job security, but nothing is certain right now; it’s very natural to wonder what jobs will be out there when you’re staring down an economic recession brought on by a global pandemic!
You’ve already mentioned a few – are there other challenges related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) among our international population that you’d like to highlight?
Once again, it’s really hard to generalise; lots of our domestic students face EDI challenges and some of our international students are relatively sheltered from these. That said, many of our international students become members of racial and religious minorities while living here, English isn’t always their first language, and there can be significant cultural hurdles for them to jump over. Some come from backgrounds where there are restrictions on what they can do and who they can be. It’s important that faculty, staff, and fellow students be sensitive to these elements when interacting with international students.
What kind of programming do you offer and how can students access it? Is there any special information we should know about the Wellness Hub during McGill’s closure and heading into the summer?
Along with the other LWAs, I offer Wellness Hub programming such as “Skills for Managing Stress & Anxiety” and “The Science of Happiness”. I also get to partner with ISS and other groups on campus to offer programming that’s more tailored to needs that I see among my student population, such as “Accessing Healthcare as an International Student”, “Winter 101”, and “Self-Advocacy for Student Caregivers”. Since the university’s closure, everything’s gone online and we’ve shifted the focus of our programming to make it relevant to the current circumstances. I’ve been involved in facilitating a COVID-19 emotional support group, which went online in March.
To see up-to-date programming offered by the Hub throughout the university’s closure, students can go to www.mcgill.ca/covidsupport. I’m also happy to report that we’re now offering remote one-on-one sessions with students, so if anyone is interested in meeting with an LWA for an individual session, they can book here.
Many thanks to Jos Porter for this wonderful conversation!
If you have any questions, please contact us.