If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Thailand

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, Steven Risch spans the globe in search of prospective students

By Jennifer Mullen

Old Dominion University boasts a thriving international student population – more than 1,100 students representing over 100 countries. But the recruiting work involved to bring such diversity to the campus and its classrooms is no overseas vacation. Steven M. Risch, director of international and graduate admissions, is Old Dominion’s primary international recruiter who almost single-handedly represents the university to potential students around the globe. Each year, Risch visits approximately seven to 10 countries on behalf of the university.
The countries change slightly from year to year and are chosen in part by information from an annual report on demographics and education trends released by the Institute of International Education. Coupled with statistics particular to Old Dominion and the university’s international connections, the data enable Risch to determine which countries will yield the most qualified students interested in studying at ODU.

Then the hard work begins.

On a recent recruiting trip, Risch flew from Norfolk to Newark, then 16 hours to Delhi, India, where he switched planes yet again to continue on to Kathmandu, Nepal. He spent three days in Nepal before flying back to India, passing through Delhi on his way to Trivandrum, a city on the west coast of the country. Four days later, it was back to Delhi for a few days before jetting off to Bangkok, Thailand, for five days and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for two. Finally, Risch headed for home, a nearly 10,000-mile trip that took him through Seoul, South Korea, and Atlanta, Ga., before arriving back in Norfolk.

Despite the stress that most people associate with so much time in the air, Risch notes wryly, “My most relaxing time is usually on the plane.”

Indeed, while Risch is on the ground, he spends his time attending college fairs, visiting high schools, meeting with students who have already expressed via e-mail an interest in ODU, visiting the U.S. State Department’s Education USA Advising Centers, and meeting with parents of prospective students and with Old Dominion alumni. His workday averages 15 hours while abroad.

“It’s not as glamorous or thrill bound as a lot of people think. It’s hard work. You don’t have time for jet lag, culture shock or sightseeing,” Risch said. In a typical three-week recruiting trip, he usually gets one day to himself.

But there is obviously an upside to the work, for both Risch and Old Dominion.

Risch, who joined the university in 2001 and has served as director of international admissions since 2003, has been enthralled with international travel and culture since he participated in an exchange program to Germany in high school.

His first job after college was in the admissions office at Ohio’s Franciscan University, where his duties were part domestic recruiting and part international. “I traveled to Asia and Europe and realized, ‘This is what I want to do,’ ” he recalls.

He earned a master’s degree in education, concentrating on international comparative education, intercultural counseling and cultural geography, and hasn’t looked back since. He spent four years as coordinator of international admissions at Western Illinois University before coming to ODU, and is an active member and sought-after expert for NAFSA: Association for International Educators, the premier professional organization for the field.

“You’re always learning something new or seeing something differently in this job,” Risch explained. “It is fun to see different places and learn new cultures. And it’s wonderful to be invited into homes, as I often am. You see a different side of things than a typical tourist.”

Risch’s enthusiasm translates into an international student body at Old Dominion that spans the geographical alphabet. Countries represented on campus include Afghanistan, Bermuda, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Poland, South Korea, Turkey and Zimbabwe, to name just a few.

This year, the countries that have the most students studying at Old Dominion are India (269), China (81), Turkey (51) and South Korea (36). Risch attributes this to both demographics and university connections: India, China and South Korea are the world’s top three leading places of origin for students studying in the U.S. ODU’s dean of engineering, Oktay Baysal, hails from Turkey and has established academic partnerships with several of his home country’s institutions.

While Risch does the majority of overseas travel for recruiting, the university’s international admissions team consists of five professionals, within the overall Office of Admissions, that handles an international student’s journey from creating awareness of and interest in studying at Old Dominion to arrival on the Norfolk campus.

Old Dominion also provides a full slate of support services to help international students with their transition to American culture. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) is the campus resource for all student and scholar immigration and advising. In addition, the office organizes airport pickups, new student orientation, and local sightseeing and shopping trips. The on-campus English Language Center offers multiple levels of intensive English instruction and administers ODU’s institutional TOEFL exam.

There are also nine student organizations on campus specifically for international students, and the university provides online access to television programming in various native languages from around the world.

While the staffs of international admissions and ISSS stay busy working to ease the transition for international students, staff in the Office of International Programs are helping ODU’s American students and faculty better understand their international classmates through cultural courses, special programs and study abroad opportunities.

According to the Institute of International Education, education is the fourth largest service export of the United States and international students contribute nearly $14.5 billion to the national economy. But according to Risch, the benefits to Old Dominion students, faculty and staff are more tangible:

“International students enrich our campus environment both in and out of the classroom and provide an aspect to education that enables Old Dominion graduates to excel in any environment.”