Storify of November 16th WES #IntlEdNow Tweet Chat - A Discussion on Career Expectations, Experiences, and Outcomes of International Students

On November 16, 2017, I participated in the second World Education Services (WES) #IntlEdNow tweetchat entitled A Discussion on Career Expectations, Experiences, and Outcomes of International Students.  I also participated in the first WES tweetchat back in June 2017 entitled A Discussion on International Education in a Shifting Geopolitical Climate.

WES crated a cleaned-up version of this second #IntlEdNow tweetchat via Storify and I have embedded their tweet below that you can click through to view the conversation:

ICYMI: Our tweet chat on career expectations and outcomes for int'l students in story form (includes a wealth of great resources!) #IntlEdNow https://t.co/xh26o508FN @DavidComp @ProfJasonLane @pdxnicolle @BryceLoo @SundevilCareers

— WES (@WESPicks) December 19, 2017

#IntlEdNow Tweetchat by World Education Services - A Discussion on Career Expectations, Experiences, and Outcomes of International Students on November 16th at 1:00pm EDT

Join @DavidComp, @ProfJasonLane, @pdxnicolle, @SundevilCareers, and @WESPicks this Thursday as we discuss career expectations and outcomes of #intlstudents! pic.twitter.com/tgmXvgcdTC

— WES (@WESPicks) November 14, 2017

This coming Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 1:00pm EST I will be participating in the second World Education Services #IntlEdNow tweet chat.  I participated in their first #IntlEdNow tweet chat back in June, 2017 (you can read the Storify of that tweet chat here) and I'm very excited to participate in their second tweet chat as well.

This tweet chat will be a discussion on career expectations, experiences, and outcomes of international students.  I will be approaching this discussion from a U.S. perspective.

If you are able to follow along and contribute to the discussion that would be wonderful.

The Human Face of Climate Change

Climate change is not only about melting ice caps and polar bears. Climate change is about people.

Swinging weather patterns are creating disasters on a scale that human civilization has never before witnessed. For the world’s poorest people – the ones least equipped to deal with its effects – climate change is devastating their crops, livelihoods and communities.

"Climate change is worsening the plight of those hundreds of millions of men, women and children who already live in extreme poverty – and it threatens to push hundreds of millions more people into similar destitution," says CARE International’s Secretary General Robert Glasser. "A concerted international response to this unprecedented challenge is required if we are to avoid catastrophic human suffering."

CARE is working toward a world where poor people can create opportunity out of crises like climate change. But the current reality is that climate change makes poor people even more vulnerable.

For instance, agricultural production will likely decline in the poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Less reliable rainfall will likely affect planting seasons, crop growth and livestock health – and lead to increased malnutrition. In other parts of the developing world, flooding will likely further diminish the quality of already-marginal soil and could cause outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.

Climate change also is hurling many poor families into “Catch-22” situations. For example, they may select crops that are less sensitive to rainfall variation, but also less profitable. As incomes decline and people are not able to eke out a living, children are forced to leave school, assets are sold off to afford essentials, malnutrition rates increase and large-scale migration ensues. The end result? Deepening poverty for tens of millions of people around the world.

What Must Be Done?

At the international level, negotiations to develop a new treaty to guide global efforts to address climate change will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in just a couple weeks. The United States must help lead those efforts, and forge a strong agreement that caps emissions, stops global warming and responds to the effects already in motion. We must do this for the sake of all of humanity.

What can I do to help?

First, you can make a tax-deductible donation to CARE to help poor families access the tools and education they need to adapt to the effects of climate change, make efficient use of their existing resources and overcome poverty for good.

Second, if you live in the Unites States, you can write your senators and urge them to pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a critical step toward U.S. leadership in tackling climate change. U.S. leadership is critical to making the Copenhagen negotiations a success.

Third, you can join the CARE mailing list to be kept up to date on CARE’s activities and other ways you can take action in the days counting down to Copenhagen.

To donate, take action and join our e-mail list, please visit www.care.org/climate

Thanks to CARE for this guest post!

Working World-Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development

This past week I came across two excellent resources that IHEC Blog readers should know, visit and consider purchasing. The first is Working World blog which is maintained by Sherry L. Mueller and Mark Overmann. Working World blog is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to enter (and those who want to advance their career in) the field of international education, exchange and development. Working World blog not only provides well written and insightful posts on career development and planning but it also offers excellent and timely pieces on the field itself which engages readers on a second level (meaning you don’t need to be on the market for a new job to benefit from the content on Working World blog). Please check out Working World blog here and come back on a consistent basis to read and comment.

The second resource is tied to the first resource as Sherry and Mark have written an excellent book entitled Working World-Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development (2008) published by Georgetown University Press.

I have copied and pasted an excerpt from the description[1] of Working World below:

“Are you looking for a career with professional rewards and personal satisfaction? Perhaps you'd like to find meaningful employment in the field of international relations? Working World is the perfect resource for making sound career choices, and is particularly valuable for those interested in exploring a career in international education, exchange, and development.

Sherry Mueller, head of a large nonprofit organization with an international focus, and Mark Overmann, a young professional on his way up, serve as spirited guidance counselors and offer valuable insight on launching a career, not just landing a job. The two authors—representing contrasting personalities, levels of experience, and different generations—engage in an entertaining dialogue designed to highlight alternative approaches to the same destination: making a difference in the world.

With a rich mix of anecdotes and advice, the two authors present their individual perspectives on career development: identifying your cause, the art of networking, the value of mentors, and careers as "continuous journeys." Mueller and Overmann push job seekers to challenge assumptions about what it means to pursue a career in international relations and to recognize that the path to career success is rarely straight.

To help the job seeker chart the best course, Working World provides specific resources including annotated lists of selected organizations, websites, and further reading. Profiles of twelve professionals, from promising young associates to presidents and CEOs, illustrate the book's main topics. Each professional provides insight into his or her career choices, distills lessons learned, and offers practical advice about building a career in international affairs. All of these resources were chosen specifically to help job seekers map the next steps toward the internship, job, or other opportunity that will give shape to the career they envision.”

I encourage IHEC Blog readers to consider adding Working World to their personal library. You can read more about this very reasonably priced book as well as view sample content here.

Working World is also on Facebook here.

See a related IHEC Blog post about the Forum Pathways to the Profession Survey 2008: Report and Results here.

[1] Description obtained from Georgetown University Press page on Working World found here: http://tinyurl.com/WorkingWorldFacebook