Internationally trained professionals bring their talents to Maine
By Caraline Squires | Staff Writer
Hosted on the Lewiston Auburn Campus by the USM Libraries & Learning and the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Impact, Internationally Trained Professionals Bring Your Talents to Maine was a presentation of Marina Chakmakchi’s Roadmap to Success for internationally trained professionals. In addition to the presentation was a panel of USM alumni and current students who shared their experiences as professionals, immigrants, and students.
The roadmap, made by USM Global Talent Navigator Marina Chakmakchi, is available on the University of Southern Maine Digital Commons. In her presentation, Chakmakchi explained that “having the right information from the beginning is important” and when continuing your higher education in the United States, there is an information gap on where and how to start. The program is advertised to Internationally trained professionals with academic credits abroad seeking to continue their education in the U.S. It aims to answer questions like: What’s a bachelor’s or master’s degree? What is the difference between mandatory credits and prerequisites? What credits and courses can I transfer from my degree in my home country? Chakmakchi also advised on how to pay for higher education explaining how FAME can help if you do not have a work permit in the U.S. and suggested asking current employers about their college expenses benefits. Chakmakchi also advised internationally trained professionals to ask themselves, like all college students who work, if they can healthily maintain the balance between work and school.
Following the presentation was a panel discussion by Internationally trained professionals who came to Maine to continue their education. Panel participants Olga, Frank, Anna, and Faranak discussed the challenges they face as learners and immigrants starting again in the United States. Olga explained that it was difficult for her as a self-described learner to hear her degree “really did not matter” in the U.S. but that she needed to do what she loved.
When asked if they had any advice for internationally trained professionals who are hesitant to start their higher education again in the U.S. panel participant Faranak said “It’s hard, but it’s not impossible.” Faranak has a software computer engineering degree back home in Iran and is completing her last semester for her master’s in computer science at USM.
To get more information about how to continue your higher education journey in the U.S. visit the USM Digital Commons and search Roadmap for Internationally Trained Professionals.