International students dealing with stresses of traveling during pandemic

By Kyran Crist / Online Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic has made school a struggle for many students.

Schools across the nation shut down in March, and either went online or offered other options.

Students and teachers alike were left struggling to adapt to the changes.

The international students who had just gotten acclimated to the changes of a different country were now having to go back or making other arrangements.

Borders across the world were shut down, flights filled up and some had nowhere to go.

Hutchinson Community College students living in the dorms were told they had to get home if they could.

Some had friends and family in the U.S. to stay with, but not all. Some current international students may not have been here when the pandemic started, some had plans to come for the following school year, had their plans messed up and threw their plans up in the air. Some didn’t even know if they would get to come to the U.S. or not.

HutchCC international students described what the experience was like for them trying to come to school this fall.

Ben Partridge and Harry Crocket, who both are from England, experienced quite a bit of trouble getting to the states and even knowing when they would be able to move.

The U.S. Embassy in England only opened up a week before school started. Since Partridge was still in England finishing high school when the pandemic hit, he said he had time to prepare for coming to a new country. Even then, it was still a struggle.

Since the U.S. Embassy opened up so close to the start of school, he couldn’t get his visa to get to HutchCC in time for the start of classes.

Crocket said he had plans to stay at his job in London and work until he could fly to Kansas if the embassy did not open in time. Once everything opened up, Crocket said it all went quickly getting his visa and flying to the states.

Cameron Rios Ceballos, a freshman from Australia, said COVID-19 affected a lot in his home country, and life was on an intense lockdown. He wasn’t allowed to leave until two days prior to when he was supposed to leave.

Since he is also a freshman, he said he wasn’t at a loss when the school shut down in March.

Many international students had a bit of trouble getting over, or even knowing if they could go to the states.

COVID-19 is still a prevalent issue and international students may have a problem if the school shuts down again because of it.

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