Lena's OPT (Optional Practical Training) Experience!

Hey guys! My name is Lena Nalchigar. I’m 23 years old and I moved to Santa Barbara around 3 years ago from my hometown in Sweden. After having finished 5 semesters at Santa Barbara City College, I received my Associate degree in Graphic Design and Photography and like most recent graduates, I wasn’t completely sure of what I wanted to do.

Studying abroad comes with plenty of exciting opportunities and possibilities. One of these is OPT (Optional Practical Training), which is basically a 12-month work permit to work in the United States after graduating from college. 

So, how do you apply for OPT? There are several steps in applying to OPT and a lot of paperwork to fill out. First, you need to fill out an OPT application and submit it to your college's International Student Services office. Your international advisor will provide you with a new I-20 and materials/checklist of what you will need to send to the USCIS. You will have 30 days from the date the OPT-endorsed I-20 was issued to send your application, or else you will be denied.

Graphic Design is a broad field and I chose to do my OPT before transferring to a 4-year institution. This allows me to gain hands on experience working alongside professionals in similar fields to get a glimpse of what my future work might look like and ultimately realize what I want to specialize in. Aside from this, many of the world’s biggest and most well-known companies have their headquarters here in the United States, so it is a great opportunity to gain work experience here. Finally, work experience is very helpful for growing your professional network. Learning about networking, strengths, weaknesses, what you’re good at and what kind of career you want to pursue and then ultimately, to deepen your knowledge and gain skills and experience in jobs that are related to your major.

There is a 90-day grace period from when the OPT officially starts to find a job, if you don’t find one during this time, your SEVIS is expired. In other words, you would have to go back home. Apply as early as you can - the earliest you can apply for your OPT is 90 days before graduation, but take into account the time that will take you to put your application together. Get all your forms in order beforehand so that when the day comes, you can just drop your application in the mailbox. Applying early is only about getting your EAD card (the physical Work Permit card required to be allowed to work in the U.S.) as soon as possible. Your OPT period start date—within 60 days of your graduation date—is completely up to you.

(Views from my new job in Santa Barbara)

When I applied for my OPT in February, I was told the process of receiving your EAD could take up to 4 months. In other words, I could be stuck in the US waiting for 4 months without being allowed to work. Luckily, I received my EAD in April. After receiving my card, my job hunt started. After almost 2 months of applying, I was hired at a Social Media Marketing Agency based in Santa Barbara. Right now at the agency, my responsibilities include helping clients with social media campaigns, creating ads, thinking of new and fresh content as well as monitoring our clients social media engagement. It is a very fun job and I learn something new every day. All the stress and hard work finally paid off, even when I thought It wouldn’t.

Looking back at the experience, there is nothing I would do differently. In a way, this is my first step into adulthood, and It has been a stressful, yet great and educational experience that I’ll never forget.

Reflections On My Time at SBCC (Lise Andersson)

In January 2017, I packed up my belongings and moved across the world. I had been wanting to do this for so long. It felt like it was never going to happen, but I stayed determined and the next thing I knew, I was was settling into my new home in Santa Barbara.

I am now finishing up my last semester at Santa Barbara City College. If I were to summarize it all, I would say that it’s been a crazy, but amazing ride. I honestly can’t imagine what I would be like, and what I would be doing right now if I never moved here.

I have taken about 24 classes since starting my first semester at

SBCC. Classes ranging from Criminology, to Graphic Design, to Astronomy, to Anthropology, to Public Speaking, to Political Science, and the list goes on. I think that one of the main differences between colleges in Sweden (where I’m from) and the U.S., is that in the U.S. you have to take classes to fulfill GE (general education) requirements, which are classes such as math, English, science, and so forth. All students are obligated to take these classes in order to graduate with an Associate’s degree.

I have learned and changed immensely since I entered my first semester. In all honesty, I didn’t have a clue of what exactly I wanted to study, and I changed my major three times. I went from Psychology, to Graphic Design, to Communication which is what I ended up sticking with. Although I sometimes wish I knew from the beginning what I wanted to study, I’m also incredibly happy that I did change my mind a few  times. It allowed me to take classes I otherwise wouldn’t and some of them ended up being my favorite classes ever. Studying at SBCC granted me the chance to really figure out what I’m interested in and what I want to get out of my education. Fast forward two and a half years later, I have gained so much knowledge and grown as an individual. I finally have a goal in mind that I’m passionate about and determined to reach.

I’m so thankful for all the opportunities that I’ve had at SBCC. I got a job at Starbucks in the campus bookstore my second semester and I have since then made an endless amounts of lattes and frappuccinos. I joined a non-profit organization called The American Scandinavian Foundation of Santa Barbara as an intern and helped them with their marketing and graphic design. I became the Vice President of SBCC Graphic Design Club, and I worked as a Teacher Assistant in a Graphic Design class. With this being said, I encourage all international students to be open-minded to all the opportunities that we are given; join clubs, get an internship, become a SBCC Ambassador, or work on campus. These experiences truly helped me immerse myself in the culture and make a web of friends in a place I didn’t know anyone at first.

So was it worth it? - 110% yes! I will forever be grateful for my experiences at SBCC. I’m graduating on Friday and it is without a doubt the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m so happy that I made this happen for myself. To be continued...

Follow my dream? (Ruth Zapico)

Should I follow my dream? Should I think about being stable? Is my major going to make me succeed somehow? But wait, is there many job opportunities in this field? What would I end up becoming? How much is my profit going to be?

Hello Readers! My name is Ruth Zapico Mancebo, I am an international student from Spain studying at Santa Barbara City College. I am sure that many of you have all this questions running around your head, going also back and forth, doing couple sprints until you get headaches. I would like to talk to you about my dream job and I would like to share the advice I got from my dad which is what keeps me strong and motivated to fight to achieve my dreams. Since we are young we dream about being a productive individual and doing something valuable with our lives. Many kids dream about being police officers, singers, pilots or some kind of professional athlete. However my dream was to be an actress.

While I considered my choices, I saw a lot of advantages in acting. It is a very dynamic and social job, and it is also a job with a good salary. I believe acting is a kind of “art” because not everyone can convincingly create a fictional character by layering emotions, on top of attitude, on top of actions. I believe acting can teach us to know and control ourselves in a deeper way, and it can gives us a higher self esteem. On the other hand, acting is a really competitive profession and is a hard field to get into. In the acting world, your level of experience or education may not earn you the job you are looking for.  No matter how hard you work, if you are not liked by your viewer you will not get the job. Another downside to acting, is that it is not the usual 9 to 5 job. You may be employed one day and then looking for work opportunity the next. In my opinion acting is a talent which can not always be learned, but can be improved upon. Acting does not depend on the effort, the hours or the work you put into it, but in fact, acting is a job that has a very subjective way of being judged. Not everyone has the same kind of humor, fears or feelings and all acting is open to interpretation.  

Therefore, I decided to avoid acting as a major and just take couple classes at Santa Barbara City College. (Which was a wrong decision. I should have made acting my major because I spend all day waiting desperately for those acting classes to start. A passion, is a passion). I decided to have business as my major. My plan is to graduate with a degree in business entertainment, media and technology. This degree hopefully takes me somewhere related with acting and film. After graduating I would like to receive my master’s degree either in advertising or marketing. I imagine myself working for a big multinational company in their marketing and advertising departments. I picture myself working for brands such as Nike or Adidas but my dream would be working with either Versace or Gucci. I would love to work for either of these brands because they are big, high end, and exclusive brands that need a really powerful marketing to keep their high status.

In the end, I have no idea where I am going to end up or what I am going to end up doing. All I know is that the harder I work and prepare myself for the future the better my resume is going to be and the easiest and faster I will find the job that makes me happy. My dad always told me that we have to do what makes us happy. If it makes us happy, we are not going to care about the amount of effort we put in or the hours we spend doing it. For this reason it will make us succeed easily. The money will come with that success; in fact we will have a personal success too. It looks like everything is a proportional and related logic. With happiness we will succeed and with the success will come the money.


Thank you Reader for getting all the way here. I hope you find whatever makes you happy!!

See you soon!

Ruth.

My experience at Santa Barbara City College (Astrid Sidibe)

It’s a bittersweet feeling that the semester is coming to an end. I have had such a great experience here in Santa Barbara both in and out of school. I have spent this semester with new found friends, myself and my amazing husband. In my last blog post I would like to share some good experiences I have gotten during my time here, mostly from school. The first thing was that I got this job as a blogger from the international student office my first semester here. Thank you Shelby! It made my semester even better!

The student Health Services, have been part of my support system while being here and that is a great place in school that offers a lot of different types of services. You can get 6 meetings with a counselor that you can talk to about anything for free during the semester. My counselor Betsy has been a great support during my time here. She is like mother nature herself with lots of  love and compassion.

THE WELL

I also fell in love with The Well this semester. It is a great spot for people to go to and work on their wellness. I am so thankful for Rebecca and her crew! You guys are giving us an opportunity and place to go and heal and grow. You ROCK!!

Thank you “Food Pantry” for all the food you have given us students! You are doing an wonderful thing for the students.

The CLRC center offer workshops that are very interesting and for free. I’ve been to 4 of them this semester and I have one more I would like to attend. They have been really helpful and/or a lot of fun. I hope more people take advantage and attend because you can learn so much and it gives a lot of value, at least to me. I really appreciate the workshops! It has been great! Also all of my teachers have been killing it during class this semester. They been really focused and driven to teach us what they know. So to my teachers I would like to say THANK YOU! I have had a great time here at SBCC!

San Francisco

Last I would like to share a little from our road trip last weekend. I went to San Francisco with my mother, brother and husband. It was a great weekend! We rode bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge, made a stop on our way to the bridge at the palace of fine arts, spent some time on Pier 39 and visit the famous prison Alcatraz. It is a lot to see in that city and also on the way back home especially on road 1, it was magnificent nature with beautiful views.  

If you ever get the chance to go there, then I think you should! Have a great day!

Love // Astrid S.

How did I prepare to study abroad?

How did I prepare to study abroad?

Studying abroad is obviously not as easy as living at home and studying there. I chose not to be part of an organizational program to find my study abroad destination, as I knew where I wanted to go for college and therefore had to do a lot of research and complete all of the following steps on my own. Nevertheless, I completed the exchange year during high school with a study abroad organization. If you to take part in a program offered by a study abroad organization, the institution will assist you with getting a visa and more. At first, it may seem like a lot of work, but it is worth it!

Exploring Knapp's Castle

Beautiful palm trees in Santa Barbara

First of all, you have to know where you want to go. For me, the choice was obvious but if you are a little adventurous, you may choose a country that you have never visited before, don’t know the language, or never even heard of. Taking into consideration that I mainly wanted to improve my English, my options were limited (U.K, Australia, and U.S). Since I am definitely a warm-weather person and cannot stand the cold, I short-handedly decided to go to California when deciding where to do my exchange year. In addition, I wanted to live near the beach and have sunny days all year round, so Santa Barbara was the perfect choice for me (BTW, SB got voted the city with the best weather in the U.S!!!). Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t handle much rain and coldness. Furthermore, if you already have your mind set on a specific major, you may want to select a university by looking for the best program in your major. Not all universities offer all majors. Therefore, you could start your google quest by researching (i.e. the best business universities in the U.S). If you don’t have a specific major, but you know that you want to attend a prestigious college or university, just look for the best universities in the U.S. SBCC got voted the #1 Community College in the Nation so this would FOR SURE be a great place to start! 

Hiking to Lizard's Mouth

Great websites include www.internationalstudent.com, www.usnews.com, www.topuniversities.com, www.niche.com, www.businessinsider.com, www.forbes.com, and many more. In addition, I conducted some research about Santa Barbara and about California in general... what to do, what to see, demographics, and more. Nevertheless, don’t worry about having to do extensive research because it is important to take things as they come and form your own opinion about the destination, the sights, and citizens.

View from the Humanities Building at SBCC

Once I decided what college to attend, I had to apply to SBCC. (See application checklist and procedures). Then, I had to wait for the acceptance letter before I could apply for my F-1 visa at the American embassy in Austria. In the meantime, I prepared all documents needed for the visa application process. Getting a visa took about one to two months including the time to get all the documents in order. The documents include, but are not limited to an application form, passport pictures, a financial statement, and the acceptance letter from SBCC. Eventually I had to go to the American embassy for a quick interview and that was about it. Two weeks later, I received my passport with an American F1 visa in the mail and I was ready to move to the other side of the world!

Santa Barbara Waterfront Pier

For a girl, I was always a light-packer and I only brought one big suitcase and one carry-on handbag with me. The only things you basically need are clothes, shoes, electronics, documents and other personal things. I bought all personal hygiene and household stuff as well as furniture in the U.S, which is definitely the easiest thing to do. Since I am living with my boyfriend now, I did not have to worry about getting an apartment, but there are always great options for international students no matter where you go! In Santa Barbara, there are many apartment buildings close by SBCC, there is Coral Group (specifically for international students), the Orchid House, and many more organizations, which you can all find online. On the day of my departure, the goodbye from my family was the hardest. However, I always keep in mind that I will see them again (I always go home for the winter holidays and for summer break). Also, thanks to our advanced technologies, I am able to FaceTime with them almost every day to keep up. Naturally, it is difficult to leave family and friends behind, but wherever you go, you’re gonna meet new people and make great friends soon! The relationships you build while studying abroad are simply the best because you will have been through so much together and have shared so many amazing experiences with one another. Whether you’re thinking about studying abroad for one month, half a year, or for your complete studies, it will be the greatest time of your life!

Making new friends!