S2E36: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! Assistant Director for International Admissions Isaiah Peterson at Seattle Pacific University

In this our thirty-sixth (36th) episode of Season 2, join Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich in Seattle, Washington as he interviews Isaiah Peterson, the Associate Director of International Admissions at Seattle Pacific University.

1:44 - Meeting Isaiah!

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Transcript

Evan Franulovich: 0:05

Welcome to Seattle Colleges, international programs and our show conversations with where we talk to people that help you understand how you too, can be an international student in the United States and why Seattle Colleges should be your first choice. We'll talk to students and staff and agents and government folks, all kinds of people about what you can expect when you're getting ready to apply or travel here, what you'll experience while you're with us, and how it can all lead to an amazing life. Don't forget to check out the Seattle Colleges International Programs website at Intl dot Seattle colleges.edu, where you can find a treasure trove of information about the school, the programs here and best of all, fill out and submit your application. Again, that's Intl.seattlecollegesintl.edu. Hey, everybody, welcome back to"Conversations with" we're here at Seattle Pacific University, here in the great city of Seattle. And I'm with Isaiah. Welcome, Isaiah.

Isaiah Peterson: 1:19

Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on the show and the podcast.

Evan Franulovich: 1:22

Well, thank you for having me on your campus.

Isaiah Peterson: 1:24

Yeah, absolutely. Welcome.

Evan Franulovich: 1:26

It's beautiful day.

Isaiah Peterson: 1:27

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 1:27

Check it out.

Isaiah Peterson: 1:28

The whether is always like this in Seattle by the way. So...

Evan Franulovich: 1:31

It usually is... It's pretty nice here.

Isaiah Peterson: 1:34

Yeah, I would say so.

Evan Franulovich: 1:35

No, everybody always talks about how much it rains. But I don't think it rains all that much.

Isaiah Peterson: 1:38

Oh, no, I don't think not nearly as much. Yeah, people complain.

Evan Franulovich: 1:41

It's an exaggeration. Yeah. So this is my first time on campus. I'm not, I gotta be honest, I'm not very familiar with your school. I would, I was, I'm from Oregon originally. And when I was thinking about going to school, I hadn't even heard of SPU. SPU is Seattle Pacific University. For those who don't know, but tell us? Well, first of all, tell us how you came to be here and tell us why. What SPU is and why someone should even bother considering it.

Isaiah Peterson: 2:11

Yeah, sure. Yeah. So I grew up around this area of around 40 minutes north of Seattle up in the Mill Creek area. That's where I was raised. So kind of seemed like a no brainer to kind of work around this area where I wanted to. Yeah, I was really attracted to this job and the International Admissions because I spent some time living abroad too. So that kind of seemed like a nice fit for sort of that path I was going towards and really enjoying it so far. But yeah, ended up here at beautiful SPU. I wouldn't say, yeah, a couple of key things to know about us. We are a private Christian University, up here in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle. So it's about a 15 minute drive or so north to the Space Needle. So still pretty close to that downtown area. We're a bit of a smaller school. So it gives that like community sort of feel to it. Also, the smaller class sizes can be really nice to for those looking for, like, kind of more individual attention to...

Evan Franulovich: 3:07

For sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 3:08

Yeah. So those are some of the kind of key things about us.

Evan Franulovich: 3:11

Right? So when I think private schools, I think, oh, my gosh, the price tag is going to be super huge. And one of the first things that most of my students ask us when they're thinking about coming to Seattle Colleges, how much does it cost? So let's just get right to that. I mean we might as well...

Isaiah Peterson: 3:26

Lets do it.

Evan Franulovich: 3:27

So let's talk about tuition. And then let's talk about ways they can offset the costs of tuition, maybe through scholarships, transfer scholarships, or...

Isaiah Peterson: 3:35

Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, as a private college, we are able to kind of have all the same tuition amounts. So a lot of school yeah, students will ask like, well, in state out of state international students, but let us be, we do just charge a flat amount for each student. For one academic year, right now, the total tuition is just about 37,365.

Evan Franulovich: 3:59

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 4:00

But the thing is, is that most students will never end up actually paying that amount. Basically, the virtue of the fact that we do offer a lot of scholarships on admission. So I'd say like the most common one that we do offer or merit based scholarships. So basically how those work is they'll just take a look at whatever your GPA is. And then within a certain range, wherever it lands on that scaffold will automatically award a yearly amount. So yeah, for first year students that's anywhere between$10,000 per year to $18,000 per year.

Evan Franulovich: 4:31

That's great.

Isaiah Peterson: 4:32

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 4:32

That really brings down the cost.

Isaiah Peterson: 4:33

Yeah, right. Transfer students too, you have it available at the lowest at 7500 per year, up to 14,000 per year.

Evan Franulovich: 4:40

Nice.

Isaiah Peterson: 4:41

Yeah, per year part. You don't just get once you'll keep getting it each year.

Evan Franulovich: 4:46

And you said it's automatic, they don't have to apply.

Isaiah Peterson: 4:49

Right. There's no separate application for it. Just as soon as you send in your application and transcripts, we will just look at the GPA and then automatically will grant that to you, yeah, so that's a really nice way to help to bring down a lot of those costs. That's really great. I'd say the vast majority of students end up receiving a scholarship of some kind.

Evan Franulovich: 5:06

Sure, so that's tuition. Right, that covers tuition and fees, or is fees separate.

Isaiah Peterson: 5:12

That would include the tuition and the fees.

Evan Franulovich: 5:13

And the fees.

Isaiah Peterson: 5:14

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 5:14

Okay. So then they really only have to worry about food and housing.

Isaiah Peterson: 5:17

Yeah, so if they do stay on campus, then we have some meal plans as well. Some on campus living options too.

Evan Franulovich: 5:23

Well, let's talk. Housing is always big on people's mind.

Isaiah Peterson: 5:27

Oh, yeah, absolutely. So here, SPU we have two different residence halls for first year students. And then we also have one that is specifically for transfer students to or those who are beyond their second year or SPU. So that kind of really helps to bring like a more sense of community on the campus. It's really fun events that go on in the residence halls. Each one is decorated for different themes that are chosen by each floor. So it can be really fun to kind of get to meet people that way.

Evan Franulovich: 5:56

For sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 5:57

Yeah. for transfer students too. We also offer campus apartments too. So their apartments are located nearby campus that are operated by SPU.

Evan Franulovich: 6:07

So they apply through SPU for those apartments.

Isaiah Peterson: 6:10

Right. So they would fill out a housing application with as few and they can get access to those apartments. And they're really close to campus. And they offer kind of more, I guess, individualistic kind of things if you want to be more independent.

Evan Franulovich: 6:22

So there's a kitchen.

Isaiah Peterson: 6:24

Yes.

Evan Franulovich: 6:24

The whole yeah, okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 6:25

Yeah, kind of all that. So it's nice if you're kind of more used to more independent style living, right. But I definitely recommend signing up fast for those because they they feel a sought after.

Evan Franulovich: 6:34

Yeah, otherwise. So if you if you end up living in the dorms, they have a meal plan you said, so they just tack that on to the price of the tuition. And then you just go in with like a card or something. And how does that work?

Isaiah Peterson: 6:47

Right. Yeah, so pretty much when you are living on campus, there is a meal plan that is required to purchase kind of alongside of that, as part of the total fees there.

Evan Franulovich: 6:57

Sure, sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 6:58

And basically, the way it works is that depending on what level of the meal plan, you order, you can get anywhere between 100 to 200. We call it swipes on your student card...

Evan Franulovich: 7:08

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 7:09

And that swipe will let you get entrance into our dining hall, which is actually just across from us over there. But it's a pretty large dining hall. It's a buffet style. So there's rotating food that's different every day. So sometimes we have like guest chefs that come over to and have like special cuisines from around the world. So.

Evan Franulovich: 7:28

So let's say you're from somewhere and you're a vegetarian, is it a big deal?

Isaiah Peterson: 7:32

Oh, we have options. Yeah, absolutely. For any dietary restrictions, vegan, vegetarian, so yeah, lots of different options for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 7:38

Can you eat there as a staff member?

Isaiah Peterson: 7:41

Oh, we can. We have to still like get we have to get our own kind of plans. I really wish it was just free. That'd be incredible. Yeah, but I'm really good quality too, most people you know, sometimes on campus, things get a bad rep. But generally...

Evan Franulovich: 7:58

Sure, I personally love eating on campuses. I've been disciplined. Like, I was just at the UofA and they had a great facility for food. Yeah, it's really nice. For sure. Um, so you said that it's a smaller university. Tell us how many students total domestic and international?

Isaiah Peterson: 8:15

Yep. So the total undergraduate is just about 2400. I think a little bit above that.

Evan Franulovich: 8:21

It's bigger than I thought.

Isaiah Peterson: 8:21

Yeah. And then 6% of those students are international students, too. I believe it also of 600-650 or so maybe 700 graduate students, too. So kind of the full picture there. Yeah, international students are about 6%. I believe there's represented about 49 different countries among international population. So kind of from a wide area.

Evan Franulovich: 8:44

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 8:45

Yeah, so definitely, as you mentioned, kind of a smaller size of the school. But yeah, I tend to think of it more as kind of the benefit to the academic side and the community side as well.

Evan Franulovich: 8:54

Sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 8:55

Kind of get more time in the classroom directly talking with your professors.

Evan Franulovich: 8:59

Exactly.

Isaiah Peterson: 9:00

Being in a room of 120 people, you know...

Evan Franulovich: 9:03

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 9:03

Yeah, average faculty staff ratio is, I think, 12-1.

Evan Franulovich: 9:07

Wow, that's really great. Yeah, I think that's better than what we have one of our big selling points, if you want to call it that. For Seattle Colleges is the smaller class sizes you get to interact with your professors. Actually, they know who you are. Yeah. Which is really nice. You did not go to SPU, you told me before we started rolling your Husky. University of Washington.

Isaiah Peterson: 9:26

Yeah that's right.

Evan Franulovich: 9:27

So now that you've been on both a really large campus and a really small campus, what do you think is the major benefit? Is it the small class sizes? Or is there something else that you've saw that was really appealing?

Isaiah Peterson: 9:40

Yeah, that's a really good point. Yeah. U DUB is definitely one of the biggest it's colleges here. Yeah, for sure. So it's massive campus. I'd say yeah, having gone to a school that large and then working at a school that's much smaller. I think, definitely the smaller class sizes are a great benefit. But I really like the sense of community that's created too.

Evan Franulovich: 9:59

Yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 10:00

Yeah, it's kind of hard to walk around, and then not bump into someone that you know, like either teacher or one of your friends from some class, you had writings like that. So I think it's really nice to be able to kind of walk around and feel like, you know, people that are on the campus, but not something I always experienced when I was at U DUB. So...

Evan Franulovich: 10:18

Yeah, yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 10:19

... So that's gonna be some really nice things. I think about going to a smaller school.

Evan Franulovich: 10:22

So just walk it before we started the interview. I was walking around the campus, beautiful little campus, by the way, I was really surprised. And it just is very quiet. There's not a lot of people. I mean, I know it's break, but not people walking in off the street, you know.

Isaiah Peterson: 10:36

Right.

Evan Franulovich: 10:37

Seattle Colleges, we're at either Capitol Hill or North or South. So we get, you know, it's kind of more into the community where people that aren't going to school are around, which isn't a big deal. But here it's a little more controlled. It seems like that's kind of a nice thing.

Isaiah Peterson: 10:51

Yeah, yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 10:51

So people can just kind of work within their own community.

Isaiah Peterson: 10:55

Yeah, Queen Anne, this neighborhood that we're in is definitely more residential.

Evan Franulovich: 11:00

Yeah, yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 11:00

So that kind of makes it. It's kind of like the best of both worlds you kind of get to be on a campus a little safe. It's in a more quiet area. But you still get pretty close access to downtown when you need to get there. So yeah, I think that's it's kind of nice to be in the specific spot. We are.

Evan Franulovich: 11:15

You had said that we're really close to the Space Needle like is it within walking distance? How far?

Isaiah Peterson: 11:20

You certainly could walk there. Yeah, I think I haven't done the walk myself.

Evan Franulovich: 11:27

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 11:27

It take probably about 25-30. That's not too bad.

Evan Franulovich: 11:31

Especially on a day like this.

Isaiah Peterson: 11:32

Yeah, absolutely. It be a lovely walk on a nice day.

Evan Franulovich: 11:36

But I got here on the bus. The buses in Seattle are great. Yeah. 31 just came dropped me off right in front of the campus. Is that the is that the main area to catch buses. It's just right here in front.

Isaiah Peterson: 11:47

That's usually where i see people taking the bus down there. I think it's Third Avenue, that's common, where you're catching it. And that's the most like direct way into downtown. That's probably the easiest way to also if you want to go north or any other area says the usually the most common area.

Evan Franulovich: 12:02

Okay. Well, you know, it's a great little school, but what's it famous for, like program wise, you know, I'm guessing you have all the major usual suspects of classes, English majors, history majors, those kinds of things. But what are you guys most well known for?

Isaiah Peterson: 12:17

I think some of the biggest ones that we're most well known for would be nursing, for sure. That's one of our kind of most competitive programs, and one that has the most name recognition behind it too.

Evan Franulovich: 12:28

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 12:29

Business administration too is one that you're pretty well regarded around here as well. That one also those kinds of tend to be the most competitive majors. Aside from that, most majors are pretty accessible. Computer science too of course.

Evan Franulovich: 12:42

Of course, the Seattle area.

Isaiah Peterson: 12:44

Yeah, definitely. For sure. Those are kind of the top three that I usually hear most questions about, especially from international students. It's probably the biggest one.

Evan Franulovich: 12:52

Right. So we have a lot of students that are interested in nursing, before they even come to Seattle Colleges. So if they want to transfer, let's say they do their first two years, and then they want to transfer her to get into nursing. Is that possible?

Isaiah Peterson: 13:05

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Evan Franulovich: 13:06

It is?

Isaiah Peterson: 13:06

It is possible. Okay. There are definitely a lot of things to keep in mind.

Evan Franulovich: 13:10

Okay. Let's talk about that stuff.

Isaiah Peterson: 13:11

Yeah, definitely. I'd say that's the one I get a lot of questions about.

Evan Franulovich: 13:15

I'm sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 13:15

Yeah, because the process can be a little confusing sometimes.

Evan Franulovich: 13:18

We don't want them to waste time and money. It's out of college. And we want them to come to get their basics out of the way.

Isaiah Peterson: 13:22

Right.

Evan Franulovich: 13:23

But we want to set them up for success. So what's the best way?

Isaiah Peterson: 13:25

Yeah, so definitely the main things that students are want to keep in mind, if they want to transfer to nursing, there is a list of nine total prerequisites to complete. When students apply, they need to have at least finished four of them. So they don't have to have them all done when they send them the application. But they do have to be on track to complete them all by the time. And that's things like statistics, biology, lifetime psychology.

Evan Franulovich: 13:50

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 13:51

Kind of a kind of a basic list there.

Evan Franulovich: 13:53

Sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 13:54

And I think the key thing, though, one of the key things that makes it competitive is that we they're looking for an average GPA in those courses of 3.50.

Evan Franulovich: 14:02

That's really good to know. Yes, that's a pretty high GPA.

Isaiah Peterson: 14:04

For sure. Yeah, so it's definitely a little trickier to get into as a transfer student. But I would say not impossible, because this upcoming winter Cohort Two, we have three international transfer students who got accepted into the cohort. So yeah, each size of the cohort is about 15. So getting three, it's a small cohort for sure. Yeah. They only run cohorts that accept in fall and winter. And...

Evan Franulovich: 14:29

That's good to know.

Isaiah Peterson: 14:30

Yep. And there's one application period to get into that major specifically.

Evan Franulovich: 14:35

So when is that application period?

Isaiah Peterson: 14:37

That would open up in December or November 15.

Evan Franulovich: 14:41

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 14:41

And close on January 15.

Evan Franulovich: 14:43

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 14:44

And that's for the next academic year, fall and winter quarter.

Evan Franulovich: 14:48

So we're just, yeah, we're just finishing that window now.

Isaiah Peterson: 14:51

It's right now. Yep. So now is really the time to arrive. Various students will want to fight for that.

Evan Franulovich: 14:57

Well, by the time you guys hear this podcast, we'll probably The past that so maybe some of you first years that are interested in nursing, be thinking about it for the next and you can always contact Isaiah.

Isaiah Peterson: 15:08

Right.

Evan Franulovich: 15:08

Get more information that way you made all the windows. So you guys on a quarter system or semester system?

Isaiah Peterson: 15:14

Yeah, we're on the quarter system.

Evan Franulovich: 15:15

Okay, so same as us.

Isaiah Peterson: 15:16

Yep, yep.

Evan Franulovich: 15:16

Okay, that's great. So transferring classes that you've taken at colleges, not too big a deal?

Isaiah Peterson: 15:22

No, I wouldn't say it's too difficult, especially because you know, they're so close to pretty strong relationship there. So most of those courses are going to be available. Something else we have, which maybe we'll get into to go the DTA. Yeah, as well. So that's also a special kind of associate's degree that's offered by a lot of colleges in the Washington area.

Evan Franulovich: 15:41

Yes, it's true.

Isaiah Peterson: 15:42

Yeah. And those who get that special DTA, direct transfer agreement, associate's degree will automatically transfer in with at least 90 credits.

Evan Franulovich: 15:51

There you go.

Isaiah Peterson: 15:52

Yeah. And then they'll also have all the general education requirements taken care of right.

Evan Franulovich: 15:57

So we'll get right into the nitty gritty, later. Other stuff.

Isaiah Peterson: 15:59

Exactly. It's, it's really nice. If you just want to get started right away, hit the ground running with sure your actual major study and not spend too much time on like those general education. So pretty nice benefit for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 16:11

So if a student wants to come to Seattle Colleges first knock out their first two years and transfer here. At what point do you recommend them contacting you, like when they first get here, or like, don't worry about it until you're done with your first year, maybe even, you know, six quarters or whatever, when's the best time to talk to you?

Isaiah Peterson: 16:33

Well, it's never too early. For sure. Definitely. For those, I would say, if they've already completed one year, that's probably usually a good time to start thinking about where you want to head to for the next kind of completing it. Sure. Also, to make sure that you're staying on track, if you want to end up doing something like the DTA. Or you have a specific major you're hoping to get into not all majors. In fact, most majors don't have prerequisites they require for those who are transferring. But some do.

Evan Franulovich: 17:01

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 17:02

Business administration, nursing. So if you are thinking of those, it's good to get in touch to make sure you're on track. Definitely by the time you're ready to transfer in.

Evan Franulovich: 17:10

And I took the bus from Capitol Hill, I was at Seattle Central's campus took me 33 minutes to get here. So not too long. Can they just come by and see you in person? Or do they need to email you? Or...?

Isaiah Peterson: 17:22

Oh, yeah, we'll accept drop in appointments, for sure. Yeah, I'm on campus myself on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So those be great times for anyone who just wants to kind of show up. But we do also have an appointment system on our website, too. So we're happy to take any appointments ahead of time, if there's any specific things they want to go over. I also offer virtual appointments to so if anyone's kind of all over the world, just wants to kind of hop on Zoom, definitely happy to do that.

Evan Franulovich: 17:48

You know, I see I talked to a lot of international students, and they kind of think they know or they want to transfer but they haven't made a final decision. And so since you're so close, I recommend Hey, come down, walk around the campus. Talk to some students. It's really convenient. Yeah, how close you are.

Isaiah Peterson: 18:06

I would also say, to kind of add on to that we do have a scholarship for those who have an in person visit.

Evan Franulovich: 18:12

What???

Isaiah Peterson: 18:12

Well, yeah. So we'll actually give you a $1,000 scholarship if you Yeah, if you come on down. For any in person visits. So yeah, so that's amazing. Yeah. So you'll have to make sure that you register online ahead of time, just that you're in our system so that we can know that you were here and should be able to tack on that scholarship. So it's kind of paying you to come visit us.

Evan Franulovich: 18:34

That's amazing.

Isaiah Peterson: 18:35

See the campus...

Evan Franulovich: 18:36

Yeah, so convenient. Yeah. So our listeners probably want to know, where is your website? So can you tell people where to find you?

Isaiah Peterson: 18:42

Absolutely, that's spu.edu.

Evan Franulovich: 18:45

Very good. And is there a special section just for international students or they'll see everything in that spot.

Isaiah Peterson: 18:51

I believe just a spu.edu/international might link it directly, but it will be available there. You'll find the main page and the admissions you should be able to find our tab there for international.

Evan Franulovich: 19:02

Cool. Okay, so when I got here, I saw some volleyball players walking around there carrying their bags. So clearly they were going to practice or they were at a game or something. I get a lot of international students that come to Seattle Colleges because we don't offer athletics. But could they transfer here and then get involved with athletics?

Isaiah Peterson: 19:23

Yeah, so there are some opportunities there for different athletics on campus. So for men, we have soccer, basketball, cross country and track and field.

Evan Franulovich: 19:33

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 19:34

But then for women, we actually have a couple more options too. So yeah, what else? So in addition to just having the same as the men's side to for basketball, soccer, track and field, cross country, we also have a volleyball team. She probably goes, but also a women's rowing team.

Evan Franulovich: 19:50

Oh, that's cool.

Isaiah Peterson: 19:51

Yeah, really convenient because we're right by the canal, too. So that's also something pretty interesting little athletic options maybe If you wouldn't.

Evan Franulovich: 20:00

Absolutely, yeah. Well, I especially get these questions like when I'm in Central and South America, a lot of students have asked about playing soccer. So I don't know what the chances of walking on and playing is. But if you're really good, you know, you could come get your start at Seattle Colleges, play clubs, sports, and then transfer in maybe?

Isaiah Peterson: 20:21

It sounds like it'd be reasonable enough, I might defer to the coaches, their decisions.

Evan Franulovich: 20:27

But they can contact those guys?

Isaiah Peterson: 20:28

Absolutely. Yeah. We're happy to put them in contact too, if you want to email our general inbox, too.

Evan Franulovich: 20:33

Right, right. Oh, that's really cool. Let's talk about support services for international students. I know what we have at Seattle Colleges. We have an International Programs Office, and they can come in and get a lot of different services. What do you guys offer here?

Isaiah Peterson: 20:48

Yeah, so for specifically, international students, we do have a Department for International Student Services.

Evan Franulovich: 20:54

Okay.

Isaiah Peterson: 20:54

So they're like a great resource for any questions about the visa regulations and working on campus and maybe getting authorization to work off campus. Any students want to do OPT or CPT? Right? Those are the kinds of things you'd want to also discuss with them too. And they kind of go over things like what I do for health insurance here in the USA, or just kind of general life things to for that. Yeah, we have a lot of different ways to help support students here, here, on campus, a lot of them also were involved with helping you get your first job out of college, once you actually graduate. That can be something a lot of students...

Evan Franulovich: 21:30

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 21:31

... Stress about is like, Okay, once I get the degree, how do I get the job? Yeah, that's the tricky part. So we do offer a lot of things on campus to help support that. We have something called"the Center for Career and Calling".

Evan Franulovich: 21:43

Oh, that's good to know.

Isaiah Peterson: 21:44

Yeah. So for students who are still thinking about their major, or what exactly they want to do, you can help guide you through it or put you in touch with a mentor, or someone who is already in that field.

Evan Franulovich: 21:54

That's cool.

Isaiah Peterson: 21:55

Yeah, that's a really great program. Actually, I think not enough students take advantage of that. But it's really nice to be able to kind of be put in contact with someone who is in the field that you're interested in.

Evan Franulovich: 22:03

And are these alumni, or are they just all sorts of people?

Isaiah Peterson: 22:05

I think in most cases, they are alumni, but I don't think it's required to necessarily be an alumni to participate in it. But yeah, that's just kind of one of the other things that kind of can help you get ready for getting that first job. There's also resume writing tips. And, of course, I guess classes.

Evan Franulovich: 22:24

Yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 22:25

A lot of different ways, kind of networking opportunities. So different options.

Evan Franulovich: 22:29

So if a student does their computer science, their first two years of computer science at Seattle Colleges, transfers over here to knock out the last two years. Then they want to do OPT, for instance, do you guys have like relationships with certain companies within the Seattle area?

Isaiah Peterson: 22:44

Yeah, so we do have a lot of relationships with a lot of different companies here in Seattle, and Seattle is a great spot, that's great.

Evan Franulovich: 22:51

Great spot, yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 22:52

If you want to be working kind of in that more computer science or tech sort of field, definitely a great spot to be a lot of times internships are a required part of a lot of different majors. So there's a lot of different chances for that too.

Evan Franulovich: 23:06

But then, so they do the internship and they get credit for the internship, too.

Isaiah Peterson: 23:10

If it's part of a completing a class...

Evan Franulovich: 23:12

A degree.

Isaiah Peterson: 23:13

Yeah, then that'll be eligible for CPT. And you'll also be able to get credit for that too.

Evan Franulovich: 23:17

Very cool.

Isaiah Peterson: 23:18

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 23:20

And business, then, you know, we have a great business environment, companies like Starbucks, Boeing, and you were saying one of your top three is Business, Business Administration. So you can help get them connected with those companies as well?

Isaiah Peterson: 23:34

Yeah, so we do have a lot of different companies, we do partnerships here in Seattle, and I believe it's either in the junior or the senior year, there's a requirement to be completing an internship. So they're happy to be able to help you get in contact with them, and they're not just gonna leave you to your own devices, and good luck finding an internship. Yeah, for sure. But, uh, in Business Administration, specifically too, we have a lot of different concentrations within that program. So there's things like, if you want to go more specifically into international business, or finance or management, you can kind of specialize in one of those areas, you'll still be able to have that business administration on your diploma. But the coursework that you'll complete will be more specific to the area that you're interested in. So you hone in on one or more of those areas. So yeah, there's a nine different options there. So that's great to choose from. Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 24:26

And if they want to continue on, let's say, they just love it here. And they're like, I want to stay in Seattle, I want to work on say, my MBA. Do they get a leg up? Like do they have some sort of advantage? If they get their bachelor's degree here and then they apply to your graduate school? Or is there is it pretty? Like is there any advantage in other words to you get special consideration, right?

Isaiah Peterson: 24:51

Definitely would help move the process much faster because as a student here on campus to you might have those connections on campus. You In order to kind of make it a little bit quicker to be able to get those kinds of decisions for you definitely will consider equally anyone who wants to undergraduate programs for sure. But yeah, it definitely helps also to be on already used to the SPU campus...

Evan Franulovich: 25:13

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 25:14

... It works kind of like that. So that'd be my favorite option.

Evan Franulovich: 25:17

You get to know everybody. That's the cool thing about it. The people that are running the MBA program are probably similar faculty and staff that are running some of the classes at the undergraduate level.

Isaiah Peterson: 25:29

I would say for the most part, I myself generally work with undergraduate on the undergraduate side. We do have a separate department there for international graduate students, too. So definitely always happy to put students in contact. Yeah. And I wanted to like Oh, tell him I sent...

Evan Franulovich: 25:45

Yeah, sure. So in your international department? How many? How many people like you are in there?

Isaiah Peterson: 25:53

So for undergraduate it is mostly just me.

Evan Franulovich: 25:55

Yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 25:56

I get to wear a lot of different hats for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 25:58

So talk to Isaiah.

Isaiah Peterson: 25:59

Yes, yes.

Evan Franulovich: 25:59

He's the only the only guy.

Isaiah Peterson: 26:01

We do have a lovely student assistant to help out. She is an international student herself as well.

Evan Franulovich: 26:06

Perfect.

Isaiah Peterson: 26:07

So you know, I guess it also brings up the lots of different job opportunities.

Evan Franulovich: 26:10

Yeah, let's talk about what I mean, in addition to the scholarships, people are always looking to work on campus because it helps offset their costs. So where can they work on campus?

Isaiah Peterson: 26:19

Yeah, we have a ton of different options for students getting jobs on campus. So of course, there's the usual ones, like food services, very stuff, but you know, it kind of goes a lot deeper than that. A lot of different departments are always looking for student workers. Our admissions department has student workers at the front desk and the calling and then also in the enrollment management department, like processing raw transcripts working with the database kind of behind the scenes. So and then yeah, my own assistant International department.

Evan Franulovich: 26:49

Cool.

Isaiah Peterson: 26:49

So it is international students. So definitely, there's a lot of different options there. Something really nice about being in Seattle too, is we have a really high minimum wage.

Evan Franulovich: 26:57

That's true.

Isaiah Peterson: 26:58

So that definitely helps out.

Evan Franulovich: 27:00

Actually, I gotta, I'm blown away at how much the student workers like when I went to university, you know, it was like four bucks an hour, some ridiculous thing now it's like 18 plus an hour. Yeah, now it's 18.69 per hour, and it's gonna go up again next year. Yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 27:15

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 27:15

That's crazy.

Isaiah Peterson: 27:16

So that's a nice, a little benefit there being in Seattle.

Evan Franulovich: 27:19

Yeah, did the math I think if you were like Seattle Colleges, I think they can work up to 16 hours a week. Something that maybe 20 In some cases, but yeah, you know, it's like $1,300 a month, right? Yeah. Yeah. It adds up quite a bit. That helps pay for housing tuition. Good to see a movie.

Isaiah Peterson: 27:34

Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 27:36

What do most of the students do around the campus for like, clubs, activities? I'm guessing there's quite a bit of that kind of stuff with some of the most popular stuff. Yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 27:45

Yeah, there's a lot of different clubs on campus. There's some kind of like off the wall ones, too. There's like a silent disco club.

Evan Franulovich: 27:51

What?!

Isaiah Peterson: 27:52

I don't know if you ever heard of that.

Evan Franulovich: 27:53

No.

Isaiah Peterson: 27:53

Okay. You'll, you'll usually wear these headphones. And you can tune into certain frequencies. And so everyone's kind of listening to a different frequency and like getting it on. But if you don't have the headphones on, it just looks like the quiet room of people just kind of grooving out. And that is one. Yeah. So there's opportunities out on our campus.

Evan Franulovich: 28:12

Silent disco I have never heard of that before.

Isaiah Peterson: 28:14

Yeah, I just saw it on my website the other day, I was like, What is... What even is that but now I kind of want to join it.

Evan Franulovich: 28:20

Yeah, right.

Isaiah Peterson: 28:21

Yeah. So there's a lot of other options too. There's like political action clubs, there's a lot of clubs that are involved with... with getting involved with the community here in Seattle, doing those volunteer opportunities, international students, too. We have a lot of international student clubs, one that's just open to all international students, which is a great place to kind of start, If you wanna not sure how to get involved, but you just kind of want to get started as an international student.

Evan Franulovich: 28:44

Sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 28:45

Good to meet people in a similar situation. But there's also student unions for different countries or parts of the world. African student unit. Yeah. So there's a Vietnamese Student Association, Pacific Islander Association, there's kind of a lot a lot of different options for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 29:01

Cool. Well, that brings up you know, making friends you know, a lot of international students come here, they don't know anybody so they want to make friends quickly. Do you guys I know we do at Seattle Colleges. Every quarter when we start, we have an orientation. Do you guys have something similar to that?

Isaiah Peterson: 29:18

Yes, yeah. So we have orientations for our fall, winter and spring quarters. We admit and all all the three of those, typically not in the summer quarter. But definitely the fall is the really big one. So that one will come along with that we do have an international student orientation that takes place before the usual one. And we kind of just go through, you know how health insurance works, the different rules for your visa, any kind of questions that an incoming student might have regarding just specific things pertinent to them as an international student. So we cover that our international students as a department, we'll put that on each quarter. And then usually I'll also be there as well. So that's usually when students can kind of get, get a get used to what it be like and things they need to know.

Evan Franulovich: 30:06

And that includes the transfer students. So if you're coming from Seattle Colleges, you'll need to come to this orientation.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:12

Yep. Yeah, that one's...

Evan Franulovich: 30:13

A great idea.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:14

Pretty required. So I would definitely recommend yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 30:16

Well, you know, they might think, you know, I've been, I know about visas and stuff I don't need to be in it. But it's a good idea to do another orientation.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:24

Yeah. If anything, as you mentioned, just to meet other students in SPU. For the first time, that's definitely always a good way to kind of meet new people, friends who you might be seeing around campus for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 30:34

For sure. Well, we are the Seattle Central Tigers, the South Seattle Sea Otters, North Seattle Treefrogs. I don't know what your guys's mascot is here.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:44

Yeah. So ours is... we are the Falcons at SPU.

Evan Franulovich: 30:48

SPU Falcons.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:49

Yes. And our mascot is Tallinn, the Falcon.

Evan Franulovich: 30:52

Ah, there you go.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:53

You might get to see him. If you attend one of the games...

Evan Franulovich: 30:55

Come down and see a game.

Isaiah Peterson: 30:57

Come and see. So it's nice, we got a little bit of a bird theme going on. Dogs, Falcon. So yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 31:02

That's right. So if you want to go see a game as a student, is there a cost involved? Or are students free to to be a spectator?

Isaiah Peterson: 31:10

If you're a student there is a discounted cost. For sure. I think it's if you are a staff member as well. So I should probably be taken.

Evan Franulovich: 31:15

You should! yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 31:16

I probably should. Yeah, we have our sports facilities just across the road there.

Evan Franulovich: 31:21

It's nice. I gotta say, yeah, come down and check it out. It's really cool.

Isaiah Peterson: 31:25

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 31:26

In the track, anybody can just go and run on the track for fitness?

Isaiah Peterson: 31:30

If you're a student. not anyone, but...

Evan Franulovich: 31:34

Yeah, yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 31:34

I do believe it is open as part of the facilities there. Might need to check on that though for sure.

Evan Franulovich: 31:39

Rec Center?

Isaiah Peterson: 31:40

Oh, yes.

Evan Franulovich: 31:41

You guys have a Rec Center?

Isaiah Peterson: 31:42

Yes, we do and it has like a full gym in there as well. It's available for students.

Evan Franulovich: 31:46

Cool!

Isaiah Peterson: 31:46

Yeah. For staff It's $6 If you want to be so I'm not sure if it's free.

Evan Franulovich: 31:50

That's it six bucks?

Isaiah Peterson: 31:51

Yeah. So I should probably be doing that as well.

Evan Franulovich: 31:53

For sure, take advantage of that. That's awesome. Wow. All right, cool. Well, I usually, we're getting to the end of the pie. It goes so fast, I've zillion questions but i can't keep you all day. But let's ask, what is the one piece of advice, you'd like to make sure that anyone's listening, especially maybe as it goes for transfer students? Because, you know, we're really talking about these are people that are starting at a community college like ours, and then they're coming to Seattle Pacific. So what's the question you hear most often? And that you want to make sure people are aware, what would the advice be? yeah.

Isaiah Peterson: 32:29

Yeah, definitely. I think planning ahead is for sure. Really helpful. If you're thinking about transferring from one of the Seattle Colleges, or just anywhere around the area into SPU, I would consider the DTA. That's another kind of big thing, you know, not only to scholarship, but just makes your life a lot easier once you do that transfer.

Evan Franulovich: 32:47

Absolutely.

Isaiah Peterson: 32:48

Yeah. So especially for students who are worried about finishing the degree within a certain timeframe. Definitely, that's going to help give you a leg up for sure on that. Those are probably the key things I keep in mind and also is to enjoy the city of Seattle.

Evan Franulovich: 33:00

Yeah, for sure.

Isaiah Peterson: 33:01

Lots of love around here. So if you don't want to not quite ready to leave...

Evan Franulovich: 33:04

Right.

Isaiah Peterson: 33:05

We might be the perfect spot.

Evan Franulovich: 33:06

I mean if you want to be in Seattle, there's only really a few choices. Everything else is kind of outside the city. So there's SPU, Seattle University, University of Washington, and that's pretty much it, isn't it?

Isaiah Peterson: 33:17

Yeah. Those are some of the big ones that are actually around here in downtown area. So definitely, if you're thinking about about this area, and sounds interesting, you'd be in a kind of smaller one.

Evan Franulovich: 33:28

DigiPen. I forget about the kind of the special schools.

Isaiah Peterson: 33:30

Are they around Seattle?

Evan Franulovich: 33:31

I think they are downtown somewhere.

Isaiah Peterson: 33:33

Okay, got it.

Evan Franulovich: 33:33

Yeah. I've never been there. I don't really know. I know they're kind of specialize.

Isaiah Peterson: 33:36

Right, yeah, I think I think so too. Yeah, yeah. So we are one of the four year colleges here. So if you are looking for a bachelor's degree.

Evan Franulovich: 33:44

Right, right. Yeah. Speaking of DigiPen or the arts? Do you guys have an arts program here? Like theater? Music, that kind of stuff?

Isaiah Peterson: 33:52

Oh, yeah. So we definitely have degrees for music. Actually, we also have one for music therapy to, which is the first and the only one that's in Washington State.

Evan Franulovich: 34:03

What?!

Isaiah Peterson: 34:03

Yeah, so..

Evan Franulovich: 34:04

There you go. Music therapy.

Isaiah Peterson: 34:05

So if you're looking for music therapy...

Evan Franulovich: 34:07

Wow, that's really great.

Isaiah Peterson: 34:08

The only option, but the best option, I would say.

Evan Franulovich: 34:11

That's really cool.

Isaiah Peterson: 34:12

Yeah. So we just had a student start that last quarter an international student.

Evan Franulovich: 34:16

Oh, wow.

Isaiah Peterson: 34:16

Yeah, this is really great, too. So there's definitely a options for that as well.

Evan Franulovich: 34:20

There you go. Yeah, very nice. Well, we sometimes have students that are interested in like dance or theater, and we do offer arts, you know, for the associate's degree, but I'm not really sure where they go after they come to us. I don't know where their pathways take them. It's good to know you guys have a way. So if you want to do a pathway where you start with us, and then come to SPU to do your junior and senior year in the arts, that's definitely a possibility.

Isaiah Peterson: 34:45

Yeah, yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 34:46

But I'm with you. I think planning for just about anything in life is a really good idea. But for your education, definitely do your research. Explore while you're in the city, come down to the campus, talk to them in person, but if you Don't come down and talk to them in person. We, of course, have our transfer advisors at Seattle Colleges, you can talk to them, they'll connect you guys at least via email. And then he does come to the transfer fairs at Seattle Colleges. So if you don't have the opportunity to come down here, you can always catch him in the fall. Is there a spring as well?

Isaiah Peterson: 35:19

I think it's just in the fall in the winter. Oh, in the winter, because of the main two. Yeah, so definitely come and say hello, and see me.

Evan Franulovich: 35:26

So if you miss the fall one which has already passed, check it out. Look for the announcements for winter, because then you come down and talk in person. And honestly, we'd like to see a lot more students at those transfer fairs, it's a really great opportunity.

Isaiah Peterson: 35:39

Yeah, definitely.

Evan Franulovich: 35:39

The last few have been a little quiet. Like, come on guys.

Isaiah Peterson: 35:43

Around lunchtime. It definitely picks up the lesson.

Evan Franulovich: 35:45

Yeah. that's true. Students get out of class or whatever.

Isaiah Peterson: 35:47

Yeah, yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 35:48

That's great. Well, we want to make sure you have lots of people to talk to. And I think it's a great place to consider. You get a lot of options in the northwest part of the United States and staying in Seattle. This is a really good option. So, so thankful for your time.

Isaiah Peterson: 36:03

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 36:03

It's really good to come and meet you and see the campus myself.

Isaiah Peterson: 36:06

Yeah. Thanks for coming down. avid listener podcast, but I never go beyond one. So this is pretty fun for me to.

Evan Franulovich: 36:13

Right on. Yeah. And if you if you get any, you know, if you can think of Seattle College students that have transferred here, let them know that I'd love to talk to them again. Because, you know, we want to get the alumni experience too, which is another way for Seattle College people to connect to SPU so if you have any alumni you want to send my way that did go to Seattle Colleges, we'd love to see them. We try to keep in touch with them. But some of them you know, slip away and we don't know where they go.

Isaiah Peterson: 36:41

I think we got a couple applications rolling in from some of the Seattle Colleges. So...

Evan Franulovich: 36:45

Well, there you go. So keep me informed, that'd be great.

Isaiah Peterson: 36:48

Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 36:48

All right. Thanks again, so much. Checkout SPU guys. What's the web address one more time before we go?

Isaiah Peterson: 36:53

It's SPU.edu.

Evan Franulovich: 36:55

There you go, super simple. All right, have a great holiday. This would be the last time i see you for Christmas.

Isaiah Peterson: 37:01

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Evan Franulovich: 37:02

Merry Christmas, you guys."Conversations with" is painstakingly crafted for you by the Seattle Colleges International Programs department and supported by the lovely folks here on our campus. This show is produced and edited by me Evan Franulovich. We welcome your emails and questions about coming to Seattle Colleges. Please reach out to us via our website or just give us a rating and a review on Apple podcasts as this helps others discover the show. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or YouTube at SeattleCollegesIntl that's Seattle Colleges I-N-T-L and be sure to check out all of the shows here on "Conversations with". Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.