Ambassadors from Abroad
February 27, 2026
International students widen their horizons and enrich student life at 麻豆传媒映画
They set a high bar for the 鈥榳ant-to.鈥� With a directive to be buttoned up with an education proposal, financing, English proficiency, and an immigration green light that takes the patience of, well, a Saint, 麻豆传媒映画 (麻豆传媒映画) international students leave behind everything familiar thousands of miles away to explore their first significant life watershed in strange waters. They are highly engaged with their campus community, high performers after graduation, and bring flavor and cultural perspective to what is a much more homogeneous domestic student population in North Central Florida.
Tatiana Velasco Bruno, understands their plight, having come to Gainesville, Florida
from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She is the coordinator of Santa Fe鈥檚 International Student
Services (ISS), the group dedicated to guiding her unique cohort through the gauntlet
of immigration regulations and admissions paperwork and shepherding their transition
to a new temporary home. Such departments exist at most colleges and universities
to oversee everything from the initial request for a student visa through post-graduation
employment and training that can give them years of success in the U.S.
Velasco Bruno鈥檚 recruitment team works with EducationUSA, a federal clearinghouse of international student resources, to scout academic talent abroad and entice them to the U.S. and Santa Fe. They presently account for 273 students from 57 nations at 麻豆传媒映画.
鈥淲e process their admissions and immigration documents, beginning with the I-20 form, which is the request for the student visa,鈥� Velasco Bruno says. 鈥淲e help them to register, assist with their F-1 student visa, and kick off their 麻豆传媒映画 experience with the International Student orientation.鈥�
Her team brokers everything from getting a Social Security card for working students to obtaining a driver鈥檚 license. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) tracks the students鈥� visas transfers to their next school, and registers every departure from their temporary home, even for holiday trips home. Accordingly, the ISS team is diligent to remind them to not to forget immigration check-in protocol in the post-finals haze in December.
Entering the Portal
For those looking to transfer to the University of Florida (UF), Velasco Bruno indicates that 90 percent of International Honors students get accepted, and the percentage of regular program international graduates is also high. It helps that there are transfer agreements with UF, for instance liberal arts and sciences, and agribusiness, that are tailored by Florida statute for an easier transition.
But it鈥檚 not a foregone conclusion. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the GPA; they need to work harder,鈥� Velasco Bruno stresses. 鈥淭hey need to build and enhance their resume, and show participation in the community and students鈥� activities. ISS assists in that effort through advisement and workshops.鈥�
And sometimes, being a F-1 status student means living on emotional pins and needles, as university acceptance letters indicating an extension of their stay in the U.S. may not beat a looming immigration status reporting deadline. 鈥淪ometimes, it鈥檚 very close,鈥� Velasco Bruno says.
鈥淲hen they graduate from 麻豆传媒映画, they can go through OPT (Optional Practical Training), a USCIS program that allows for one year of practical work experience related to their field of study anywhere in the United States. There is also an opportunity for a multiyear extension of OPT 鈥� two years 鈥� through a special STEM-related version.鈥�
Connecting two worlds
Many colleges and universities simply serve to manage their international students鈥� status and compliance. Santa Fe is intentional about global connection, pushing in both directions. ISS holds campus events throughout the academic year for international and domestic students to socialize and swap cultural perspectives, and 麻豆传媒映画 Global Education provides a gamut of activities for cultivating an informed global worldview, like the Study Abroad program and International Virtual Exchanges, as an example.
For many international students, Santa Fe hits a sweet spot. It鈥檚 where ease of transfer to UF or other esteemed universities converges with low cost, student-focus and support, Honors opportunities, small classes with accessible instructors, reliable transit and a community bent on making students feel safe and welcomed.
When sequestered, lockdown Covid conditions in Berlin soured his plans to continue study in his home Germany, Santa Fe alumnus Dan Topaj decided he needed to pursue a better learning environment with a robust support system. 鈥淚 had been to Florida before and liked it,鈥� Topaj says. 鈥淢y family was going to vacation there, so I started to investigate the feasibility of study in the U.S. I knew from friends that community colleges were inexpensive, so I started looking at those exclusively.鈥�
He coordinated with ISS units at most of the two-year colleges in Florida and decided Santa Fe topped the list. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know what UF was,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 even my motivation in coming here. I liked that this is a student city, where it鈥檚 easy to make a lot of friends.鈥�
Topaj did just that. Day one at Santa Fe, he solicited all his classmates鈥� phone numbers at the International Student Orientation. 鈥淚 was older and less likely to shy away from those things,鈥� he explains. He used his list of new contacts to reconstitute Santa Fe鈥檚 International Student Cultural Association that had been inactive since after Covid. As president, he coalesced 250 international and domestic students into a tight-knit community that hosted campus events to inspire intercultural exchange.
Now working on his Psychology bachelor鈥檚 degree at UF, he filled his calendar with 麻豆传媒映画 activities that accelerated his assimilation to Gainesville life. Always connecting over discovered commonalities with American acquaintances 鈥� be it a love of history or hunting or outdoors activities 鈥� the gregarious Topaj says he doesn鈥檛 care where you鈥檙e from, 鈥渁s long as you鈥檙e a cool person.鈥�
Carpe Diem
Ryan Keith is coordinator of the 麻豆传媒映画 Honors program, one that often intersects with ISS students. More than 20 percent of international students are on the Honors track. Keith says he鈥檚 a true believer in being fully immersed where you are and maximizing the experience.
鈥淚 moved to Gainesville for grad school at UF, and I didn鈥檛 do any of the cool things [the town] has to offer; my routine was going to the lab, to Walmart, and back to my apartment.鈥� He says Topaj needed no prodding in that department. 鈥淚鈥檇 ask him 鈥榃hat did you do this weekend?鈥� He鈥檇 say, 鈥業 went to Trenton (FL) to do some deep-space stargazing.鈥� Really?! For someone who鈥檚 not from here, Dan instantly jumped right in. He restarted the International Student Cultural Association, led the Psychology Club, became a Student Ambassador, he did a ton of volunteer work in the local community.
鈥淪anta Fe is often their stop on the way to somewhere else. I want to help them get the most of that timeline regardless of their next step. And I tell them 鈥楿F is there, and they鈥檙e great, but there are many other institutions that may be more willing to give scholarships.鈥� As a Top 5 public university, UF doesn鈥檛 have to compete nearly as much for admission or offer the same level of financial support.鈥�
Coming out of his native Bolivia, 2020 麻豆传媒映画 Business graduate Saul Lopez had been weighing options at U麻豆传媒映画, Texas A&M or study abroad in Italy or Argentina when he was lured to Santa Fe. Two cousins were UF students who inspired his visit to Gainesville, where he found an hospitable town with efficient public transit, a great cost of living, and fellow Bolivian Velasco Bruno waiting to welcome him into the Saints fold. 鈥淭atiana was a great resource through the entire admissions process,鈥� Lopez says.
Like Topaj, Lopez wasted no time getting plugged into life at Santa Fe, serving as a Student Ambassador and in the International Student Center, and working with the Office of Admissions and the bookstore, 鈥渨hich greatly expanded my connection to the Santa Fe community in general.鈥�
He sought admission to UF鈥檚 Warrington College of Business, which wasn鈥檛 a sure thing in spite of exceptional grades and ample campus/community involvement. 鈥淭hey have a very low acceptance rate, particularly if you want a bachelor of science degree, as opposed to a B.A.,鈥� Lopez says. 鈥淭he competition for Finance majors was intense. But my time as a student Ambassador and a recommendation from former 麻豆传媒映画 President Jackson Sasser carried a lot of weight.鈥�
Lopez secured his bachelor鈥檚 degree, then leveraged his OPT option to apply for a job with an HR recruiting firm in Tampa. But 鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy getting a job in the U.S. as an international student,鈥� he says. 鈥淓verything was going well until my recruiter called and asked about my immigration status. The trend at the time was to pass immediately on non-citizen applicants. It was a very stressful time. There was a lot of back and forth with HR 鈥� I showed them my I-20, my OPT, my work authorization. The first two weeks I didn鈥檛 even know if I was going to stay.鈥�
With the cost of sponsorship for H1B work visas hovering around $5,000, Lopez鈥檚 recruiter said the company didn鈥檛 want to hire people who weren鈥檛 citizens or who would require sponsorship.
鈥淚 called the recruiter back to let her know that I wasn鈥檛 going to need sponsorship because I was going from my OPT into an MBA program (virtually at Westcliffe University in Irvine, California), which would give me from one to three more years,鈥� says Lopez, who now works as an account executive and national hiring manager, placing talent for school districts. 鈥淭he company liked the idea that I would come back to work for them with my graduate degree, and it changed their perception of hiring international students going forward.鈥�
He said his company has since hired three more employees with the same immigration status 鈥� and they鈥檙e very happy with their performance.
