LEXINGTON, Ky. — College students across the commonwealth are graduating and preparing to become true adults. Some Lexington students bring the skills they learned in Kentucky back home or come here for a new life.
On a weekend when many were celebrating the Kentucky Oaks and Derby, 14 international students from Bluegrass Community and Technical College celebrated completing the Community College Initiative program in the school's Global Learning Department.
“This is a partnership with the State Department that sends 14 J-1 scholars for a year, where they earn a short-term qualification and then take them back to their home countries to impart that knowledge and prepare them for employment in the United States. It's a global market,” Carissa Porter said.
Porter, director of the Refugee Career Pathways Program, said the Global Learning Division serves refugees, immigrants and international students.
“Lexington has one of the highest numbers of refugees in the region and in the United States, far from the Congo. We have a large number of individuals and families who arrived as refugees from the Congo,” Porter said. Ta.
Although the students celebrating Friday were not refugees, Porter has been working closely with the program for the first year. The university has expanded its services for refugees to include vocational training.
“We have welding assistant, electrician assistant, nursing assistant, fashion production and A+ computer programming, five programs that can typically be completed within one semester,” Porter said.
Porter says the current refugee program prepares students with existing skills to earn certifications in the United States, and he finds it rewarding to work with international students who are new to the United States.
“There's nothing better than that. I'm so proud of my job because I get to interact with people every day who have shown such resilience, yet are so excited about what's next,” Porter said. he said.
Eligible students for the Refugee Vocational Training Program include refugees, asylum seekers, Cuban/Haitian immigrants, Afghan/Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, and victims of human trafficking.
