The faculty and staff at the 5X School of Communication Studies want to see all students succeed and, to meet the varied needs of the school’s international students, hired an international program advisor in December 2012. Miao Liu is the international program advisor for the School of Communication Studies. Her job responsibilities are to help the communication studies international students be successful not only in academic study, but also adjust to their new university and college life.
At the beginning of every semester, Liu organizes the international student orientation, meets with every international student face to face and help them with any questions. She also encourages her students to get involved on campus and shares and reminds them of upcoming events. She is always able to provide assistance and help her students with whatever issues they have, especially some specific problems only international students might face such as completing the Online International Student Orientation in Blackboard before they register for classes or how to work on campus or off campus as an international student.
Liu earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Kent State and received her master’s degree in accounting from Kent State as well. Before joining the School of Communication Studies, she worked in internal audit at Kent State. During her time in internal audit, she performed financial and operational audits of the university, state and federal compliance audits and prepared audit reports.
Liu said she saw the employment information about the job for the school by chance and she applied. As an international student at Kent State herself, she understands and relates to international students and has rich experience to help her students avoid troubles and solve problems.
“I really want to help our international students because I know how hard it is for those students to study aboard, not only the language barriers, but also the problems they face on their own here,” Liu said.
Her degree and previous work experience are different from her current job, but she said she really appreciates this opportunity, because it shows the school cares about every international student.
Liu said that in the context of globalization, higher education is facing worldwide competition, too, and it is imperative for the school to progress with the times and be competitive in recruiting students worldwide.
And because of her, it will be a lot easier for international students to succeed in both their academic and personal life. “I really appreciate the school’s emphasis on our international students,” Liu said. “Watching the students grow and successfully graduate is the most rewarding thing for me.”