S3E22: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Alumni Balsam Jridi of Tunisia

In this our twenty-second (22nd) episode of Season 3, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student alumni Balsam Jridi of Tunisia about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States. 

1:19 - Meet Balsam!

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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.seattlecolleges.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.seattlecolleges.edu.

Evan Franulovich  1:04  
Hey everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!' I'm really excited today our first guest and alumni from Tunisia. Welcome! Please introduce yourself to the crowd and tell them, you know, when you were here maybe, what you studied while you were here, and, yeah, we'll just go from there. 

Balsam Jridi  1:29  
Hi. My name is Balsam Jridi. I came here on April 2020. First, I did IT Network and Design. And after that, I noticed that I am a big fan of programming, so I added another year, and I did all the prerequisites for computer science, and I graduated in June, 2023.

Evan Franulovich  1:50  
Wow. So you did three years? 

Balsam Jridi  1:53  
Three years, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  1:53  
That's really cool. 2020 so that would have been during COVID? 

Balsam Jridi  1:59  
Yes, but that didn't influence my experience at Seattle Central at all. 

Evan Franulovich  2:04  
It didn't? 

Balsam Jridi  2:05  
It was online for the first year. The second year, it was hybrid. We started getting back in person, and then the third year it was in person.

Evan Franulovich  2:14  
Like, normal, yeah, yeah. So when you graduated, you graduated in the spring?

Balsam Jridi  2:19  
I graduated in the summer. 

Evan Franulovich  2:21  
Oh, you did. 

Balsam Jridi  2:21  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  2:22  
You didn't have a chance to walk during graduation? 

Balsam Jridi  2:25  
I did. 

Evan Franulovich  2:25  
You did? 

Balsam Jridi  2:26  
Yeah, we were allowed to.

Evan Franulovich  2:29  
Awesome. That's great. How was that experience? 

Balsam Jridi  2:32  
It was, it was really nice. Nothing compares to it. Honestly, the stadium was so big. All my friends were there. Some of my family actually flew there. 

Evan Franulovich  2:42  
Oh, they did?

Balsam Jridi  2:42  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  2:43  
Wow, that's really cool. 

Balsam Jridi  2:44  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  2:46  
When you say you some of your family, how many people came? 

Balsam Jridi  2:50  
It's just about two. 

Evan Franulovich  2:51  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  2:52  
It was amazing for me. My brother was here. 

Evan Franulovich  2:57  
Oh, that's so cool. And where does your brother live? 

Balsam Jridi  3:01  
Right now, he's in Seattle. 

Evan Franulovich  3:02  
Oh, he's in Seattle as well. Oh, cool. Well, you're not in Seattle, as it turns out, you've moved on, right? 

Balsam Jridi  3:08  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  3:09  
And we're going to talk about that in just a second, but I want to go before we talk about your transfer and what you're doing now, kind of back, even before you came to Seattle Colleges, you went to school in what city in Tunisia? Did you go to school in Tunisia? 

Balsam Jridi  3:24  
I did for two years, I went for engineering. 

Evan Franulovich  3:27  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  3:28  
And so I was born in El Kef, Tunis. 

Evan Franulovich  3:31  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  3:32  
And then I moved to Mahdia. And then I attended two years, that's like, included in the engineering cycle. And then I started applying on my second year, when I got accepted, I came right away. 

Evan Franulovich  3:47  
Okay, well, how did you hear...I mean, Tunis is a long ways away from Seattle. 

Balsam Jridi  3:52  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  3:53  
So how did you hear about us? 

Balsam Jridi  3:54  
So my brother got a year scholarship in here. 

Evan Franulovich  3:58  
Oh, he did?

Balsam Jridi  3:59  
Thomas Jefferson scholarship. But then he went back, but he kept talking about Seattle Central and everything, so that's why I applied to come here. 

Evan Franulovich  4:10  
So your brother came before you. He did only one year, why did he go back after only a year? 

Balsam Jridi  4:15  
Oh, that's that's how the scholarship is in the program. 

Evan Franulovich  4:18  
Yeah, right. Did you receive the same kind of scholarship before you came?

Balsam Jridi  4:22  
 No, when I attended here it was my parents money. 

Evan Franulovich  4:26  
Okay, so did you get inspired by what your brother did? Or did you always know, even before he came, that you were gonna go overseas and study? 

Balsam Jridi  4:37  
Since high school, I really wanted to come to US. 

Evan Franulovich  4:40  
Yeah? 

Balsam Jridi  4:41  
And then I knew I wanted to do something in tech, so Seattle was my best option. And then my brother kept talking about Seattle Central and the experience that he had here, and I saw all the pictures and everything. So just like, okay, that's the place for me. 

Evan Franulovich  4:54  
That sounds good. And did you visit him before you actually came as a student? 

Balsam Jridi  4:59  
No, I didn't, because I was in school. 

Evan Franulovich  5:01  
So that was your first time. 

Balsam Jridi  5:02  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  5:02  
And did he meet you at the airport? Did he pick you up? 

Balsam Jridi  5:04  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  5:05  
Oh, how cool is that. So you didn't have to worry about finding your way around. 

Balsam Jridi  5:09  
Yeah, it was amazing. Even though it was COVID, but I still got the most experience out of it. 

Evan Franulovich  5:16  
Yeah, so let's talk about people in your region are always interested in the visa process. So you applied, you got accepted, and then they gave you an I-20. How long from the time you got your I-20 to the time you got your visa interview? Do you remember how long it was?

Balsam Jridi  5:33  
I do remember, the problem at that period of time, there were not a lot of available interviews, visa interviews. But as soon as I got one, which is like three months, I think as soon as I got one, I got accepted. The process for me was easy. If there were more appointments available, I think my brother got all of you these papers in like one month. 

Evan Franulovich  6:01  
Oh, that was great. 

Balsam Jridi  6:02  
It depends on your chance, your luck. 

Evan Franulovich  6:05  
Did you have a in person...? Because that was COVID time, did you actually go to the embassy and do an in person interview?

Balsam Jridi  6:12  
I did, but that was before COVID, because I came to the US. And then a week after it, was the lockdown. 

Evan Franulovich  6:22  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  6:22  
So it's still not that serious at that time. 

Evan Franulovich  6:24  
Right, right. So you went, you did your interview in person. Do you remember how long it was? How many minutes the interview? 

Balsam Jridi  6:30  
Yeah, it was maximum 15 minutes. 

Evan Franulovich  6:33  
Oh, it was really fast.

Balsam Jridi  6:34  
 I just gave her the documents. She asked me, 'Why do you want to go to US?' And I told her, I came for school. She said, ' Why Seattle Central?' I explained my reasons, and then she was just like, 'Okay, come back tomorrow for your passport'. 

Evan Franulovich  6:49  
Wow, that's great. 

Balsam Jridi  6:50  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  6:50  
Super easy. Well, obviously your parents were supportive. They were like, yeah, go to the US. Have a good time. 

Balsam Jridi  6:56  
Yeah, I've been bugging them about the US since high school, so they were expecting it. 

Evan Franulovich  7:01  
Had they been international students?

Balsam Jridi  7:04  
My dad traveled a lot. 

Evan Franulovich  7:05  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  7:05  
But no, they finished their school back home. My dad's an engineer, my mom is a teacher. 

Evan Franulovich  7:09  
Nice. 

Balsam Jridi  7:10  
But my dad traveled a lot before, and he wanted that experience for us also. 

Evan Franulovich  7:13  
That's very cool. So what kind of an engineer? Is he computer engineer as well? 

Balsam Jridi  7:19  
No, he's a agricultural engineer. 

Evan Franulovich  7:21  
Oh, okay, great. And what's your mom teach? 

Balsam Jridi  7:24  
Arabic. 

Evan Franulovich  7:26  
Very cool. Shout out to the parents! Okay, so you came to Seattle Colleges when you first arrived in Seattle. Was it what you expected it would be? I mean, you'd already talked to your brother, so maybe you already were tuned in, or was it way different than you were expecting? 

Balsam Jridi  7:44  
Well, a lot of people get shocked by the weather, but for me, the weather is not as much different than my home city that I grew up in. Yes, also snows, it rains a lot. The only difference is, I think our summer is too hot, and here, I think Seattle has the best summer ever, and I traveled in a lot of states. I think Seattle has the best summer because it's not that hot. We have like, three days that's really hot, but then the rest is amazing. 

Evan Franulovich  8:14  
Yeah, summer is the best time, for sure. 

Balsam Jridi  8:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  8:18  
Um, I'm kind of surprised, because when I think of Tunisia, I don't think of snow and mountains and rain. 

Balsam Jridi  8:23  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  8:23  
I always think of the desert. 

Balsam Jridi  8:25  
It depends where you go. We have the desert, and we have, like, the North, and then we have everything. 

Evan Franulovich  8:32  
Do you have enough snow to ski? 

Balsam Jridi  8:34  
Yes, we do. Yeah, in the mountains, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  8:38  
Wow! That's really amazing. Is this a continuation of the Atlas Mountains that started Morocco, or is this a whole different mountain?

Balsam Jridi  8:45  
I'm not really sure. 

Evan Franulovich  8:48  
Well, that's really cool. I can't wait to go and find out for myself. Okay, so you got here...do you just live with your brother? 

Balsam Jridi  8:58  
He was here for a little bit, and then he went back home. 

Evan Franulovich  9:01  
He went back. 

Balsam Jridi  9:02  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  9:02  
What did you do for housing then?

Balsam Jridi  9:04  
Well, at first I was renting a room, but then a small studio. But then I was living with my friends. I got to know people here, and then we were living together. 

Evan Franulovich  9:13  
Cool. You did three years here. So you did your first two years, did you actually finish your associate's degree after those two years? Or did it take you the full three? Because you said you added on, can you kind of explain? 

Balsam Jridi  9:28  
Yes. So at first I wanted to do computer science, but then I decided that I want to go for more technical degree. So I did IT Network and Design, and I actually changed. This is why the advisors these are so amazing, because I kept changing, and they were like, 'Okay, whatever you want to do, we will help you out.' And then I changed to IT Network and Design, and then I took a programming class, Python, and I did very well. I loved that class, I loved coding, I loved programming. And I'm like, maybe I like this more now I'm here, and then because I invested a lot in the degree, so I was just like, instead of graduating after two years, let me just do all the prerequisites for computer science and then graduate.

Evan Franulovich  10:16  
So did you actually get two associates degrees? Or did you just kind of changed degrees? 

Balsam Jridi  10:20  
No, I got one. 

Evan Franulovich  10:21  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  10:22  
I have all the prerequisites. So now, even when I transfer to another school, all the prerequisites that I have, like all the IT classes that I have are considered to be electives. 

Evan Franulovich  10:32  
Gotcha.

Balsam Jridi  10:32  
So, typically, I didn't lose anything. 

Evan Franulovich  10:35  
So you probably had a lot more credits that you needed. Usually there's a cap on the number of credits that transfer. 

Balsam Jridi  10:41  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  10:41  
Did they cap it at all? They took everything you did? 

Balsam Jridi  10:45  
Yes, they did. Some of the credits are not there, like they're not gonna show the final transcript and everything, but I can still talk about them in the interview. 

Evan Franulovich  10:55  
Sure. 

Balsam Jridi  10:55  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  10:57  
We'll get to it again. But tell everybody where you went from Seattle Colleges. 

Balsam Jridi  11:02  
Yes. So after graduating from here, I had a year of OPT, which where I worked in a non profit organization, the Somali community service of Seattle. 

Evan Franulovich  11:13  
Cool. 

Balsam Jridi  11:14  
And then after my OPT, I transferred to USM, which is in Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi. I got a scholarship that covered practically 80% of my tuition and expenses. 

Evan Franulovich  11:27  
That's awesome. Did you know they were going to cover 80% before you left? 

Balsam Jridi  11:33  
Yeah, I was talking to them. So, during the year when I was doing OPT, I was applying to a lot of schools to transfer, and I was seeing all my offers. 

Evan Franulovich  11:42  
Right. But you know, University of Southern Mississippi is like kind of a... I mean, it's out there. So did you meet them at a transfer fair? Or how did you even hear about them? 

Balsam Jridi  11:53  
So while I was in Seattle Central, I was a member of Phi Theta Kappa for a year, and then I applied for an officer position, and I was Vice President of Public Relations. And then if you are a member, or you worked as an officer, you qualify to a lot of scholarships in a lot of universities. And that's how I found out about this university. We have our own portal, and then you can search like you can even get a full ride. 

Evan Franulovich  12:23  
Right, right. Wow. Okay, I want to talk about Phi Theta Kappa and bouncing way around here. But I really want to talk about Phi Theta Kappa because when students visit with us, they're thinking about coming here. They always ask, 'Do you guys have scholarships?' And we definitely have the foundation scholarship. Did you apply for the foundation scholarship as well? 

Balsam Jridi  12:25  
I didn't while I was here, because, like, the tuition was okay for my parents and everything, so I honestly didn't search really well. But universities are really expensive, so that's why I started digging. 

Evan Franulovich  12:54  
Yes, but you did get into Phi Theta Kappa. Can you just give everybody that's listening, what is Phi Theta Kappa? 

Balsam Jridi  13:03  
Phi Theta Kappa is an honor society that we do events. If you're an officer, we have a conference, It's a national conference. At the year that was working, we went to Colorado, Denver. We got to see the city and everything. And it was amazing to connect with other people and network. You can find universities there. We have, like a job fair, like a transfer fair. It was amazing. 

Evan Franulovich  13:34  
That's really cool. 

Balsam Jridi  13:35  
Yeah, and we stayed for like a resort hotel for four days. And everything was paid for. 

Evan Franulovich  13:41  
By who? By Phi Theta Kappa? 

Balsam Jridi  13:44  
Yeah, everything was covered. 

Evan Franulovich  13:46  
That's crazy. 

Balsam Jridi  13:48  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  13:49  
I think people are going to be like, 'Well, how do I get into Phi Theta Kappa?'

Balsam Jridi  13:53  
So it's an application, if you have three GPA, then you apply for it. It's $60 the fees, but you get a lot more than that. 

Evan Franulovich  14:07  
For sure. 

Balsam Jridi  14:07  
And if you want to be an officer, you have to apply for the position, get into an interview and show your leadership skills. It's really good, and the people there are always friendly. It's another community for you, or for the new people. 

Evan Franulovich  14:25  
I think that rate's gone up. I think now it's in the 70, maybe 75 bucks to join. But it's really small, and they have scholarships available. You applied for the scholarships? 

Balsam Jridi  14:35  
Yes. Also what I remember when I used to be an officer, you can apply to waive that fees. 

Evan Franulovich  14:45  
Oh, you can? 

Balsam Jridi  14:46  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  14:46  
Oh, okay. Oh, is it an annual fee?

Balsam Jridi  14:49  
No, it's one time fee. But if you cannot afford it, also you can apply to waive it. 

Evan Franulovich  14:55  
There you go. 

Balsam Jridi  14:55  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  14:56  
And so the scholarship, what is required to apply for the Phi Theta Kappa scholarship? Is there an application plus a personal statement and transcripts? 

Balsam Jridi  15:07  
No, it was really easy. You go through the portal, each application has different requirements, but the application that I applied to, you just need to show that you are a member, and you are an officer, you can have that through the portal. You can just literally print the paper through your portal, because you're gonna have a portal with your name and your academic history and everything, your advisor that used to be here, mine was Nathan, I think. And you just submit it, and that's it, you got the scholarship. They answered in like two weeks. 

Evan Franulovich  15:41  
You'll 100% get the scholarship? or you just considered for the scholarship? 

Balsam Jridi  15:45  
100%

Evan Franulovich  15:46  
100% 

Balsam Jridi  15:47  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  15:47  
And how much is the scholarship for? 

Balsam Jridi  15:50  
Until you graduate. 

Evan Franulovich  15:52  
But, I mean, what's the award about? Is it like, $1,000? $5,000? 

Balsam Jridi  15:57  
No, so mine, because I have a lot of fees added up, so it's about 15k.

Evan Franulovich  16:07  
15,000 or 1500?

Balsam Jridi  16:10  
15,000.

Evan Franulovich  16:12  
So you got that twice? 

Balsam Jridi  16:15  
For the two years that I'm in, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  16:18  
What? Okay, so this is different information than I got. So I've heard that the Phi Theta Kappa is only about $1,500.

Balsam Jridi  16:26  
No, that's if you went to, for example, Seattle University. That's the scholarship that they have. 

Evan Franulovich  16:33  
Gotcha. Interesting. Well, definitely, if you're out there and you're listening, whether you're a current student or future student, keep your grades up, join Phi Theta Kappa, because there is good money to be had. 

Balsam Jridi  16:45  
I just remembered another officer, she got 50k for another university, like a full ride. But she decided to go to UW, and that's why she changed her mind, because UW was her dream school. But she got 50k we were so happy for her. 

Evan Franulovich  17:03  
So is it only for international students, or is it for both domestic and international students? 

Balsam Jridi  17:09  
It's for both. 

Evan Franulovich  17:09  
It's for both. 

Balsam Jridi  17:10  
Yeah, you can see the requirements. You can see everything, and it's in a lot of states, so most of the universities, at least 1000. 

Evan Franulovich  17:21  
Phi Theta Kappa is kind of for community colleges, right? You wouldn't have Phi Theta Kappa in a university. 

Balsam Jridi  17:28  
No. 

Evan Franulovich  17:29  
Gotcha. 

Balsam Jridi  17:30  
But you still can apply for other honor societies there.

Evan Franulovich  17:34  
Really cool. Check out Phi Theta Kappa, I know they have a website. Really great information. Become an officer, improve your odds of getting scholarship money. That's really great. Good for you. Did you have any other scholarships while you were while you were at Seattle Central? 

Balsam Jridi  17:51  
At Seattle Central, I did not have. But I always worked in the leadership. It's my problem because I didn't apply. 

Evan Franulovich  17:58  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  17:59  
Because I was honestly enjoying the process here, but I have friends who did. 

Evan Franulovich  18:03  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  18:03  
But for me, I didn't think about it. 

Evan Franulovich  18:07  
So did you do student leadership as well as you were an officer with Phi Theta Kappa, you were a student leader. 

Balsam Jridi  18:14  
I volunteered. 

Evan Franulovich  18:15  
Oh, you volunteered. 

Balsam Jridi  18:16  
Yes.

Evan Franulovich  18:16  
Gotcha. 

Balsam Jridi  18:16  
When you were an officer at PTK, you get paid. 

Evan Franulovich  18:20  
You do? 

Balsam Jridi  18:20  
And a lot of schools you don't. If you go to North Seattle College, you don't get paid for it. In Seattle Central, you get paid for the position. 

Evan Franulovich  18:32  
That's really interesting. 

Balsam Jridi  18:33  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  18:34  
Great information. Thanks for sharing. Okay, so when you applied for...I mean, was University of Southern Mississippi the only school you applied for? Or did you apply for others as well? 

Balsam Jridi  18:40  
I applied for Seattle University, I applied for the Alfie scholarship. I applied Portland State University. I applied for a university in Dallas, Texas. I applied for USM. Yeah, these are the schools that I did apply for. 

Evan Franulovich  19:08  
Okay. And then they awarded you an 80% of your tuition scholarship. Does that include, food, housing, tuition fees? 

Balsam Jridi  19:18  
No, it doesn't include the housing. Tuition Fees are covered 100%. But they always   insurance and other fees that are not included in the tuition. So that's why I always say 80% because I still have to pay those. 

Evan Franulovich  19:33  
Sure. 

Balsam Jridi  19:34  
But it's still like a good deal, especially for a university. 

Evan Franulovich  19:39  
It's an amazing deal. 

Balsam Jridi  19:40  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  19:41  
So let's go back to see your Seattle Central experience. You had a lot of great classes. Which of those would have been your favorite of all the classes that you took?

Balsam Jridi  19:54  
I liked my first class, Python class. I loved that class. I remember by the end, we were making turtles and like, they were moving, and we were making, like designs. And it was, it was nice. It was really good. Even though I remember that class was online because that at that time, I think it was still in the hybrid phase, and I needed to take that for my IT degree. That's how I discovered my passion for programming, and even though I really had fun, and the professor was giving us one on one, you know, like she will do meetings with us, zoom meetings with us, and I had fun playing with the turtle, that's what I remember. 

Evan Franulovich  20:37  
That's so cool. I've tried to...Well, I haven't really spent too much time with Python, but it is pretty fun to play around with that. 

Balsam Jridi  20:44  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  20:45  
And now that you have gone on to University of Southern Mississippi, do you feel like the education you got here at the community college level really prepared you well for that? 

Balsam Jridi  20:57  
Yes, because the classes were maximum 30 people. That's why, for me, like having that, it's important for me to have a one on one experience with a professor. I need them to know me. I need them to see like, where should I fix myself? Like, where should I improve? Also, I had a Java class with this professor, and I was fasting because I'm a Muslim, and it was an in person class, and I had a final, and in that day, because he knew I was fasting, he told me it's okay, you can do it online. 

Evan Franulovich  21:35  
What?! That's great. That's really nice. 

Balsam Jridi  21:37  
And it was amazing for me, because just coming to school and having to sit there. And when I'm fasting, it's a lot, but I could still do it, but for him to think about that, and he's the one who proposed it, I didn't even mention it. 

Evan Franulovich  21:51  
Is he Muslim? 

Balsam Jridi  21:52  
He's not. 

Evan Franulovich  21:52  
That's so great. 

Balsam Jridi  21:53  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  21:54  
Wow. Now I know just to focus on that area for a second. I know we do have, like a prayer room or a reflective room. I don't know what they call it. 

Balsam Jridi  22:04  
Reflection? 

Evan Franulovich  22:04  
Did you ever take advantage of that? 

Balsam Jridi  22:06  
I did. 

Evan Franulovich  22:07  
Oh, good. Also, when I was an officer, we worked in the building across. Yeah, you mean, like the district office? 

Balsam Jridi  22:16  
I think so. We used to have a customer reflection room there. It was really fun. That's great.

Evan Franulovich  22:27  
Did you ever visit the local mosques? I know we have one in the north up by Northgate, and there's one south down by the airport. 

Balsam Jridi  22:37  
I used to go to MAPS in downtown. 

Evan Franulovich  22:39  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  22:40  
And there's one in Redmond. But the MAPS in downtown have like a homie vibe. Especially in Ramadan. 

Evan Franulovich  22:48  
Okay, well, there you go guys. Check that out. Okay, so anything else you want to share about your Seattle Central experience? I mean, had you even heard of community colleges before you got to the US? I mean, other than your brother. But do people talk about community colleges back home? or do they just think 'University, university, university? 

Balsam Jridi  23:12  
I was so confused, because for us, it's all one thing. College equals University, It's all four year degree. I was confused between like, community college and university. Also, even though my parents can afford my education as like here in a community college, I was afraid of going to a university. How situation gonna be like and everything. But I think my international advisor made everything easy. They were explaining a lot. Even when applying for OPT, they took care of everything. I just needed to show up, sign some papers, send it to them, and you know, everything was good. Even in the transfer process, they didn't delay anything. That's what made everything smooth. I was so worried, I'm just like, this cannot be this easy before I go. I was just like, I'm just afraid something gonna happen, I'm afraid of my status. I just finished my first semester there. And I'm like, wow, it is actually easy. 

Evan Franulovich  24:20  
Well, you said something to me before we rolled the tape, and I want to make sure we hear it again, because you said that our International Programs department is really strong, even compared to what you're getting at the university level. Can you elaborate on that at all? Just so we can get it out there.

Balsam Jridi  24:36  
The advisors here are really friendly, and you have a great one on one experience with them, because they get personal with you, and you're away from home, and you don't need someone that you know just like, strict and 'This is how you do this, just show me respect.' No, they were so nice, they always talk to you, ask about you. They share emails, if things not working out, if they see something is not good, they keep asking. I remember my advisor, just like, oh, come see me, because it's been a long time I didn't go to see her. She was like, oh, probably you need some help. So just like, oh, come see me whenever you have time, and I came and we discussed about that. And I changed my mind a lot because I was not sure what I want, because in Tunisia you go for like engineering, but you're not allowed to pick a specialty until after two years, and that depends on your score and the national exam. 

Evan Franulovich  25:37  
Right, right. 

Balsam Jridi  25:38  
So when I came here, I really have no idea what I want to do, and they tolerated me a lot, because first I was computer science, then IT and then I'm like, no, actually, I like computer science. And I did that one year, and it was easy. I think in other schools, the process will not be even this easy, and they don't judge you. 

Evan Franulovich  26:02  
It's kind of unique to the US. I think in a lot of countries I've lived in or been in, once you get kind of locked into a course of study, that's what you're going to be doing. But in the US, it's like, if you want to change your mind, change your mind, do whatever you want. Understand however, if you're out there listening that sometimes it adds time to your studies, which costs money, and you know, so if you're in a hurry to graduate, changing often is maybe not super good idea, but, you know, do what you want to do. I think that's really great that you spent that extra year doing that. That's really cool. 

Balsam Jridi  26:38  
Yeah, and I can still talk about it in the interviews, because in the tech field right now, it's competitive. The more you know, and you show that at the interview phase, that's good for you. 

Evan Franulovich  26:51  
Right. Well, I'm really interested in OPT as well. We have a lot of students that ask about OPT. So I want to get into your experience. First of all, can you kind of explain what is OPT? And I'm wondering you went to the Somali community center. Did you have that job before you even got through the OPT process? Or did you find it after you were approved for OPT? 

Balsam Jridi  27:17  
So in order to graduate in the IT degree, you have to have a CPT, you have to have an internship to show your skills. 

Evan Franulovich  27:26  
Sure. 

Balsam Jridi  27:27  
That's where I did a three months internship with them. 

Evan Franulovich  27:31  
Oh, great. 

Balsam Jridi  27:32  
Yes. And after that, I still looked for other opportunities, but then it was my best option, and I kind of start applying late for the internships, but it's kind of worked out with them, and I had fun working with them, so I did that also. 

Evan Franulovich  27:48  
That's cool. 

Balsam Jridi  27:49  
My OPT was more into IT. I was a tech lab. 

Evan Franulovich  27:56  
So what did you do specifically for the Somali center? What did you do? 

Balsam Jridi  28:00  
I took care of the computer lab. Yeah, I updated the softwares. If anything happened, I just check it. Also, I helped with programming languages, because there was teenagers there, and there were kids who are into that. So, I taught small classes, I helped elders navigate if they're trying to use a computer for something or they're learning. So I will help them to write emails, things like that. Yeah, just small tasks. 

Evan Franulovich  28:29  
That's really cool. So the CPT just so you guys are listening. CPT is a class, right? It's an internship class that you get credit for, just like if you just took introduction to Python. The same kind of thing, except you're out working. Is it working a couple times per week for those three months? Or how many hours? 

Balsam Jridi  28:49  
You have to have 48 hours, If I remember correctly.

Evan Franulovich  28:52  
Okay, yes. So really, great opportunity to meet people, to get some experience, and then OPT is after you graduate, yeah? 

Balsam Jridi  29:00  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  29:00  
Okay, stands for Optical Practical Training. So can you walk us through the process of applying for OPT? Because I just learned recently that you actually pay quite a bit in order to apply. Is that true? Just tell us what you went through to do get into OPT. 

Balsam Jridi  29:21  
You start a quarter before you graduate. 

Evan Franulovich  29:26  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  29:26  
And my memory is gonna sound bad, because the international department, honestly, my advisor, took care of everything. 

Evan Franulovich  29:34  
Oh, he helped out.

Balsam Jridi  29:34  
Yeah, like, I just needed to sign paper, bring this, bring that. And I waited for my card to arrive... 

Evan Franulovich  29:45  
You mean, like your social security card? 

Balsam Jridi  29:46  
Yeah, I had my social security card from before. 

Evan Franulovich  29:49  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  29:49  
Because I worked at the school. 

Evan Franulovich  29:51  
Sure. Yeah, okay. 

Balsam Jridi  29:52  
That's how I got my social. Yeah, that's how things were for me. 

Evan Franulovich  29:59  
Pretty good.

Balsam Jridi  29:59  
Yeah, I don't even remember the fees. I think it was like maximum $300, It was not a lot. 

Evan Franulovich  30:04  
Okay, I think it's gone up quite a bit since then. So check with your advisor. If you're already a student with Seattle Colleges and you want to do OPT definitely talk to your advisor as soon as you start, so that you have a really good idea of the entire process and they can walk you through it. 

Balsam Jridi  30:20  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  30:21  
But it's a really great opportunity. Was the OPT full time, 40 hours a week? 

Balsam Jridi  30:27  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  30:27  
Wow. 

Balsam Jridi  30:27  
You can even work more than full time, but I was just working full time. You're allowed to even to have more than just one job, If you can. It's more flexible, that's what my advisor told me. 

Evan Franulovich  30:38  
Do you did you pick up any Somali? Do you speak any Somali? 

Balsam Jridi  30:42  
They were trying to teach me. I was remembering a few things, but if you ask me now, totally forgot it. 

Evan Franulovich  30:49  
Yeah. 

Balsam Jridi  30:49  
I was keeping notes. But, yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  30:52  
We have a pretty good size Somali community in Seattle, right? 

Balsam Jridi  30:55  
Yeah, one of my best friends that I met here in Seattle Central, is Somali. 

Evan Franulovich  31:00  
Oh, cool. 

Balsam Jridi  31:00  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  31:01  
Do you guys keep in touch? Did she go to the same school? 

Balsam Jridi  31:04  
Yeah, she went to Seattle U. 

Evan Franulovich  31:05  
Oh, she went to Seattle U. 

Balsam Jridi  31:05  
Yes, but we still in touch. 

Evan Franulovich  31:06  
That's cool. So you're seeing her while you're in town? 

Balsam Jridi  31:08  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  31:09  
Right on. That's really cool. Okay, so let's get into...so you did OPT, and after OPT, you transferred, you flew off to Mississippi. 

Balsam Jridi  31:25  
Yes.

Evan Franulovich  31:26  
Is Mississippi at all like Seattle? 

Balsam Jridi  31:29  
No.

Evan Franulovich  31:30  
No, it's not.

Balsam Jridi  31:31  
It's not. 

Evan Franulovich  31:32  
Yeah, yeah. 

Balsam Jridi  31:33  
It's really hot there. It's more like a town more than a city. 

Evan Franulovich  31:40  
Oh, it's like a small town. 

Balsam Jridi  31:42  
Yes, that was the difference. 

Evan Franulovich  31:46  
Which towns is it in? 

Balsam Jridi  31:47  
Hattiesburg. 

Evan Franulovich  31:48  
Okay, you may have said that, yeah. 

Balsam Jridi  31:50  
Yeah. So it's totally a different experience. But I'm there for my bachelor degree and after that I'm moving. I was like, okay, should be fine for a year. 

Evan Franulovich  32:00  
All right, so it's only another year and you'll be done. 

Balsam Jridi  32:03  
Yeah, next December, I'm done. 

Evan Franulovich  32:04  
That's awesome. And then you said you're moving. 

Balsam Jridi  32:07  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  32:07  
Where are you going? 

Balsam Jridi  32:08  
I'm going to Dallas, Texas. 

Evan Franulovich  32:10  
Ah, yeah, Dallas, Texas. To do what? 

Balsam Jridi  32:13  
So I'm not quite sure yet I'm applying for...currently, I'm in the process of applying for internships in the summer, and after that, I'm thinking to work full time after I graduate, or gonna do my Masters, but to do your masters, I'm thinking for graduate assistant, because I have the requirements. I'm gonna start a research next semester, it's about AI. My GPA is 3.8. It's always above 3.5. That's what I recommend everyone GPA have to be always above 3.5... 

Evan Franulovich  32:59  
Study hard, guys. 

Balsam Jridi  33:00  
...to get the most opportunities that you can get. So I'm qualified for that. I'm thinking, either way depends.

Evan Franulovich  33:08  
So someday, do you ever plan to go back to Tunisia? Is that the plan eventually? Is there a market for your skills? Are there jobs to be had? Or do you want to start your own company maybe one day? 

Balsam Jridi  33:22  
For computer science there's always a market for you. 

Evan Franulovich  33:25  
No matter where you go. 

Balsam Jridi  33:27  
I'm still not quite sure, because sometimes I think I want to go all the way and get my PhD. Oh, wow, yeah. Especially right now, I'm so interested about AI, so that's why I'm doing the research, and let's see how things gonna go from there. But for now, I think I want to get some experience here and probably do masters and then think where. 

Evan Franulovich  33:52  
So by the time you're done with all that, don't you think that the robots will be taking over the world, and we won't have any jobs left anyway, because AI is going to kill us all. 

Balsam Jridi  34:01  
I don't think that's the case. 

Evan Franulovich  34:03  
Don't worry. 

Balsam Jridi  34:05  
AI is gonna create more jobs that we can ever think about. 

Evan Franulovich  34:08  
You think so? 

Balsam Jridi  34:09  
Yeah, the market's gonna be even bigger. 

Evan Franulovich  34:11  
Wow. 

Balsam Jridi  34:12  
We're not gonna be stuck doing all the boring jobs, because that's what AI gonna do. 

Evan Franulovich  34:16  
Well, thank goodness for that. 

Balsam Jridi  34:17  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  34:18  
I'm worried that my job will just go to some robots. 

Balsam Jridi  34:21  
No, we need some human. 

Evan Franulovich  34:23  
We need humans out there. 

Balsam Jridi  34:24  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  34:25  
That's really cool. Well, what do you do for fun in Mississippi? You were so involved with, like student leadership here, and Phi Theta Kappa. Are you also involved in student life there? 

Balsam Jridi  34:37  
Yes, I am an ambassador. 

Evan Franulovich  34:39  
Oh. 

Balsam Jridi  34:40  
And I am actually in the robotic club 'Girls who Code.' Also I'm in structure for yoga. 

Evan Franulovich  34:51  
What? 

Balsam Jridi  34:51  
Yeah, I do spin classes, yoga got classes. 

Evan Franulovich  34:55  
Have you been through your 200 hour yoga instructor training? 

Balsam Jridi  35:00  
In here or there? 

Evan Franulovich  35:01  
I mean, just in life. I mean, have you done that training?

Balsam Jridi  35:03  
Yes, I did it there. 

Evan Franulovich  35:06  
That's so great. 

Balsam Jridi  35:07  
But I got into yoga here, honestly. 

Evan Franulovich  35:09  
Oh, in Seattle? 

Balsam Jridi  35:10  
Yeah, because Seattle is kind of famous for that. And I never tried yoga before. And also they used to have, they used to have yoga classes, especially in the finals, in meditation classes. Yeah, I remember in the finals they even had, like, one hour massage. Oh, I used to come to those, it was so relaxing. 

Evan Franulovich  35:32  
I wish. I haven't seen that, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I just haven't seen it. I would love to see that. 

Balsam Jridi  35:39  
It's sponsored by the student leadership. 

Evan Franulovich  35:41  
Oh, cool. 

Balsam Jridi  35:42  
Yeah. 

Evan Franulovich  35:42  
Well, the Mac Center across the street, the Mitchell Activity Center, our gym, you can go, I think they have yoga classes fairly regularly. 

Balsam Jridi  35:52  
They had the massage there also. 

Evan Franulovich  35:54  
That's great. Did you have to pay for it over there? 

Balsam Jridi  35:57  
No, it was free... 

Evan Franulovich  35:58  
What? 

Balsam Jridi  35:58  
..for all students. 

Evan Franulovich  36:00  
I gotta go check this out, because I would like to see that. Wow.

Balsam Jridi  36:04  
They usually do it at the finals because students are stressed, so they do meditation and that. Also I recommend the counseling here. I mean, when I was here, I was involved in everything, and I tried everything. And I was always asking, and I was always seeing what does the school offer. So, yeah, the counseling here is good also. 

Evan Franulovich  36:04  
So clearly, you're not shy. Do you feel like you were shy before you came to the US? Or have you always been outgoing? 

Balsam Jridi  36:33  
No, I'm an introvert.

Evan Franulovich  36:37  
You are? You seem like you're so extroverted. 

Balsam Jridi  36:39  
I'm a extroverted introvert. I started to be that when I first arrived to the US, because you have to always ask, you have to know what, what you want to do, nothing gonna get to you unless you put a foot there, and ask for it. 

Evan Franulovich  36:56  
Right. 

Balsam Jridi  36:57  
So I had my skills and also the leadership change you. 

Evan Franulovich  37:01  
That's true. 

Balsam Jridi  37:01  
Yeah, I had to do speeches in front of everyone. 

Evan Franulovich  37:06  
In a second language?

Balsam Jridi  37:07  
Yeah, third language. 

Evan Franulovich  37:08  
Third language, yeah. So before you came to the US, was your English pretty good? Or did you have to spend any time in the Intensive English Program? 

Balsam Jridi  37:17  
I spend one quarter. 

Evan Franulovich  37:19  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  37:19  
And then I was supposed to spend three quarters, but my professors thought that my English is really good. 

Evan Franulovich  37:27  
Oh, great. 

Balsam Jridi  37:27  
So they skipped me, and then I started after one quarter, take classes. 

Evan Franulovich  37:32  
No problem. Wow, that's really cool. 

Balsam Jridi  37:34  
They usually only skip like one quarter, but because my English was really good, they made an exception. 

Evan Franulovich  37:40  
And did you feel pretty confident? 

Balsam Jridi  37:42  
I did. 

Evan Franulovich  37:43  
Okay. Were you nervous about your English when you got here? 

Balsam Jridi  37:48  
I was, because I was better in writing than speaking, because even though you take classes in Tunisia, but you don't get to practice it with people, because we're speaking just our dialects in French. Now it's better, now they're speaking English more. But when I grew up like it's mostly French. 

Evan Franulovich  38:07  
Was the school you went to private or public school? 

Balsam Jridi  38:12  
Public. In Tunisia, public is better. 

Evan Franulovich  38:15  
Oh, okay. 

Balsam Jridi  38:15  
Yeah, private is basically paying money to get your degree. It's totally opposite of here. 

Evan Franulovich  38:20  
Interesting. Oh, wow. 

Balsam Jridi  38:23  
Because public are competitive. 

Evan Franulovich  38:24  
And which public school did you go to in Tunisia? 

Balsam Jridi  38:26  
ESAP that's the name. 

Evan Franulovich  38:28  
Shout out to ESAP. Maybe someone out there will see this, that'll be great. Your esteemed alumni has made it and is doing great. Well, we're coming to the end of our...I could go on and ask about a bzillion questions, because your story is so interesting. Anything else you want to share before we get into the final questions, anything else you really feel is like important that maybe someone who out there, who's thinking about community college or thinking about Seattle or just the United States in general should know? 

Balsam Jridi  38:58  
I think just email everyone, ask a lot. Talk to your advisors, they're there to help you, that's their job, they want the best for you. And just don't be shy and like, put yourself out there, challenge yourself. Involve in the leadership it will help you more than you think. 

Evan Franulovich  39:19  
Right. 

Balsam Jridi  39:19  
 I volunteered first, because you have to build a network, and then I start applying for jobs at the school, so you have to put yourself there and network.

Evan Franulovich  39:32  
Well, this is great wisdom. Usually I say, what's your final thing of wisdom? But that's pretty much your wisdom. So very good. And then I always ask if you'll say a few words in your first language, and you have French and Arabic, and you have a local version of your language. So this should be really cool to hear. 

Balsam Jridi  39:50  
So Tunisian dialect is a mix between Arabic, English, French, Spanish, a little bit Amazigh, which is the authentic North African... 

Evan Franulovich  40:02  
It's like Berber? 

Balsam Jridi  40:03  
Yes. 

Evan Franulovich  40:03  
Okay. 

Balsam Jridi  40:08  
(Balsam's advice in Tunisian)

Evan Franulovich  40:13  
Cool. Thanks so much! It was so great to meet you. And she's here on her vacation, so she came in just for this interview. We really appreciate it. We hope you guys found this really interesting. We would love to see more students from Tunisia, Algeria, anywhere in the North African region. We would love to see more students from there. Come check us out. Don't forget to listen to this podcast every Wednesday, every week, at this place and time. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Thanks again. So nice to meet you. All right, have a good time while you're here. 

Balsam Jridi  40:46  
Thank you. 

Evan Franulovich  40:47  
Bye, Bye!

Balsam Jridi  40:50  
Bye!

Evan Franulovich  40:50  
'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 Seattle Colleges Intl, that's Seattle Colleges Intl. And be sure to check out all of the shows here on 'Conversations with!' Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.