STUDENT

An International Adventure
Neucasha Greene
school counseling
In a workshop for international
students who planned to stay in the
U.S. for employment post-graduation,
Neucasha Greene jokingly said she
wanted to recruit for Emporia State
University across the world. Within
two weeks, she was offered the job.
“I was doing international admissions
counseling, and I got to travel and I
got to speak to a lot of high school
students, specifically 11th and 12th
grade, since they’re preparing for
what’s next when they graduate,”
said Greene. “I got to recruit back
home in the Bahamas and at my
old high school … I thought ‘You
know, I could do this. I could kind
of encourage and give students the
realization that getting a job without
any kind of higher education is going
to be very challenging, so you need to
come up with a plan.’ So that was the
main thing that got me interested in
school counseling.”
Her original plan did not include
graduate school, but that soon changed.
The more she thought about it, the
more she realized that graduate school
might work for her. She began the
Parallel Pathways program in the
Counseling Department, and has
thoroughly enjoyed her experience.
“If I got the opportunity, I would
like to be the first stop for students
adjusting to U.S. life, U.S. culture,
trying to figure out grades and
schooling and stuff like that. Just
having some counseling background
can be helpful for helping those
students transition.”
Greene attributes her success thus
far to her willingness to step out on
campus and try new things.
“I think it’s up to students to make
the most of their opportunities,
and to reach out and find those
opportunities, because they are
there,” she said. “To me, there’s always
something going on, you just have
to step out of your comfort zone
and be willing to try new things …
Students just have to be willing to
put themselves out there. I think a lot
of times they miss out because they
want the activities to show up at their
doorstep; they’re not willing to go and
sign up and be a part of things.”
Photo Credit: Emporia State University Photography
10 STUDENT Experience