by Alina Blasdell
May 3, 2024

The number of international students who came to America for their studies in the
2022-2023 academic year alone was over 750,000. This number is constantly growing and fluctuating, which brings about a necessity for people like Kathryn Fredericks, one of GCC’s International Students Specialists. She is at the forefront of the efforts to navigate through the complexities of international education at GCC.

Fredericks is from Buffalo and began her own education focusing on French language and literature, going as far as to earn a doctorate in this field. During graduate school, she spent a lot of time in France both teaching English or working with study abroad programs. She was a French professor at SUNY Geneseo for ten years, up until 2022.

When COVID came along, it drastically diminished their enrollment at SUNY Geneseo, prompting her to make the move to GCC. “I love working with colleagues, but my favorite part is working with the students and learning about where they are from… and learning about their home and what brought them here,” Fredericks says. Fredericks spends most days advising international students on all sorts of things from their classes and planning their degrees to their VISA paperwork and how their health insurance works.

To give international students the best experience possible, she collaborates with multiple groups on campus like the Student Success Center, Admissions, and more. Along with this, recruitment and outreach are a big part of the job. She will regularly go on trips to high schools in Canada along with attending virtual meetings to find new students who might want to consider attending GCC. Paperwork and meetings with students rule her days. Fredericks agrees that we have an impressive number of international students here (about 100 students from 20-25 different countries to be specific).

There are many reasons why international students choose GCC. Applying to colleges can be confusing and, not to mention, expensive, so the open enrollment process that GCC offers can be seamless and simple. GCC is also seemingly the perfect size for some international students who do not want to go to a college that’s too big or too small. The location is a factor too. Batavia’s placement between Rochester and Buffalo while also not being far from Canada is very convenient. All these things combine to make GCC a popular choice for some international students looking for a school that fits their needs.

GCC being so ideal for international students is a good thing for local students also.
Meeting people from so many different life paths and different countries greatly enhances the college experience. “The international population brings so much diversity to GCC and its students,” Fredericks says. “It’s wonderful.”