This spring, Northwest College celebrated its various international students, of which it has more than any other community college in the state, well over 100. 

Unfortunately, that high number may be in jeopardy due to foreign policy issues, and through no fault of the college. 

The Trump administration’s recent announcement to suspend most visas for certain countries due to terrorism or high visa overstay concerns has Turkmenistan on the list. It is one of the source countries from which the college has been enrolling international students the last few years.  According to a top Turkmen consul official, NWC is the most popular college for Turkmen students in the country. 

The issue with Turkmenistan, according to the federal report, was visa overstays, although data shows other countries that didn’t make the list had higher overstay rates. 

It’s unfortunate for the college to deal with a potential loss of international students at the same time as it is dealing with a leaner budget due to property tax relief. 

Since I have been in the Powell area I have been thrilled to see the number of international students who want to come to Powell. I don’t think you can get a better impression of this country than to come to Wyoming and see how we live outside of the big cities and populated areas. 

We are a great example for this country, so it's concerning that we could see a drop in those students. It’s not just our Turkmen population that could be affected (President Lisa Watson said while the current students should be OK to stay right now, if they leave to go home — and at least one did — there’s little to no chance they can come back). Watson said representatives from Honduras said while they had planned to send some students to NWC, they have pulled back from sending any students to the U.S. at this time. 

Now, I believe in secure borders and believe people ought to come to this country the right way, as pretty much every other country in the world does already. But if students are coming in the right way, as our international students are, including our Turkmen students, it’s frustrating to think we could lose them. 

Obviously we can't do anything about other nations deciding not to send their students here, but hopefully there’s a way to keep students who are already here and contributing to the vibrant nature of NWC. 

And there's a way locals can help with ensuring the college's international program continues to be strong. Become a Friendship Family, which serves as a cross-cultural exchange between community members and students, who reside on campus but periodically join their Friendship Family for other activities. This often includes sharing meals, celebrating special or traditional events, or trips to nearby locations a student may otherwise be unable to visit.

Those interested in participating in the program should contact Sami Ashcraft at 307-754-6188, or sami.ashcraft@nwc.edu.