Last spring, I tried to apply for a research apprenticeship at the Lincoln Park Zoo. After spending months preparing, I submitted my essays and moved to the final page of the application, some simple demographic information. It was then that I first met a phrase that would grow to haunt me, a phrase that would soon lock me out of dozens of opportunities: “Enter nine-digit Social Security number.”

In 2024, 1,582,808 international students made up 6% of the American student population. Colleges and graduate schools are often aware of these students, and design programs with them in mind so that all students can gain essential experience.

Of those international students, 3.94% are currently in K-12 schools, and the systems they take part in are far less prepared for them. K-12 programs should strive to be more aware of international students and actively provide them with processes to ensure they have the same essential opportunities as their peers.

This is particularly a problem when it comes to high school students. Earlier universal experiences, like field trips and youth sports, are available to international students and give them a solid foundation into the culture of American education, but later experiences like part-time jobs and political participation require citizenship. This puts international students in a position where they are behind their peers in life experience. 

The United States has long been known as a culturally diverse country, but with recent changes in visa rules and general sentiment toward international students, America is already starting to lose this diversity. The least we can do to preserve diversity is to ensure that the students who are already here by necessity feel welcomed, willing and able to continue living in the United States. 

As far as international high school students go, I’ve been pretty lucky. This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the Science Summer Link program as a lab volunteer, not because that was the standard for international students, but because there was no standard. Simply working the same hours without pay allowed me to finally gain the same experience my peers did. If that’s all it takes to take a step toward preserving diversity, it seems worthwhile to me.