Coffee with Diplomat - “Higher Education in the U.S."

On April 28th 2016 the American Corner Bitola organized Coffee with a Diplomat event on the topic “Higher Education in the U.S - A Brief Overview of U.S. Student Visas" with Ms. Carolina Ardon Ayala, Professional Adjudication Specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia. Ms. Ayala currently works as the Professional Adjudication Specialist in the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Skopje. Previously, she worked in higher education at George Mason University for over ten years in various roles, including: Program Manager & Outreach Coordinator, Academic Adviser & Career Counselor, and taught undergraduate level courses.

Ms. Ardon Ayala started the presentation with an Icebreaker “5 lives “ asking the students to write down their top five choices and later pair up with a the person next to them with the purpose of talking about why they picked those particular jobs. Ms. Ardon Ayala continued with answering the basic questions: “Where are you interested in studying? What do you want out of a school—school size, sports and extra-curricular programs, location est?; What are you interested in studying—does the school offer your program/major? What type of financial resources/support is available—is the cost feasible? How will you finance your studies?” Later on in the presentation Ms. Ardon Ayala walked them through the different types of visas, the requirements, and the interview process. 

Q & A followed opening a interesting discussion on the topic.