Your Expert Panel for VOA's International Student Town Hall

More than 1 million international students attend college or university in the U.S., more than any other country.

Today’s international student town hall -- Education Destination: USA -- features panelists from some of the best schools in the country – brought together to answer questions from students around the world about studying in the United States.

Questions will be submitted both by the studio audience at George Washington University and online by VOA’s worldwide audience of 236 million. The discussion is being live streamed on Facebook.com/VoiceofAmerica. #studyinusa



“Studying abroad and learning about new cultures is not only exciting, it also opens a window to a world of new opportunities," said Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett.

"Voice of America shares this passion for informing and connecting global audiences. Our experience shows that knowledge inspires and empowers—resulting in better decisions and stronger democratic institutions.”



The town hall discussion will be moderated by Sarah Zaman, an award-winning television host and producer with VOA’s Urdu Service. Sarah came to America as an international student and obtained her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, and a master’s degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Our guest panelists are gold for you to mine during this discussion. We invite you to follow our Facebook livestream at www.facebook.com/voiceofamerica or www.facebook.com/voastudentu, and ask your questions from wherever you live. You will not see this amount of knowledge about admissions, application,

Here are the seven experts who have deep knowledge and experience about international students and programs in the U.S.:



Paul T. White
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine | Baltimore, Maryland
Paul White is the Assistant Dean for Admissions at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He has evaluated and admitted students at the University of Minnesota, Hamilton College and Colgate University in New York. He has spent more than a decade at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where the Class of 2018 admitted 120 applicants from thousands of applicants. White
received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and juris doctorate degree from Georgetown University.

Bianca Schonberg
Houston Community College | Houston, Texas



Bianca Schonberg is the manager for the Office of International Student Services and Study Abroad at Houston Community College (HCC), which has the largest international student community-college population in the United States. Her efforts in creating an environment for growth and development have resulted in vast number of students and scholars attaining their academic and professional goals in the U.S. and internationally.



Douglas B. Shaw
George Washington University | Washington, D.C.



Douglas Shaw serves as Senior Associate Provost for International Strategy at the George Washington University and Assistant Professor of International Affairs. He was formerly the Associate Dean supporting the Elliott School’s research enterprise, as well as Director of Policy Planning for Georgetown University, where he built a staff to develop strategic initiatives to advance
Georgetown as a leading student-centered international research university.

Karen Zuffante Pabon
Wellesley College | Wellesley, Massachusetts

Karen Pabon has been the director of the Slater International Center at Wellesley College for the past 10 years.At Wellesley, Pabon directs the vision and mission of the center, advises international students and scholars on immigration, employment authorization and cultural adjustment, and coordinates the MasterCard Foundation Scholars program and the United World College program. She served as a member of the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Region XI team. Pabon holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature from Colby College and a master’s degree in Latin American Development from Georgetown University. She has studied abroad and worked in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Japan and the Philippines.

James Dorsett
Michigan State University | East Lansing, Michigan



James Dorsett is the director at the Office for International Students and Scholars at Michigan State University since 2015. He previously served at Iowa State University as director of the International Students and Scholars Office, as well as ISU’s interim dean of students. Dr. Dorsett also worked in international education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, and Wayne State University. Dorsett has held regional and national leadership positions in NAFSA: Association of International Educators, including serving as the chair of the Knowledge Community for International Student and Scholar Services. Dorsett has lived and worked in the Netherlands, Germany and Russia.

Raj K. Bhargava
Stanford University | Stanford, California



Raj K. Bhargava teaches entrepreneurship and design thinking for the Stanford University Pre-Collegiate Program. He was a fellow with Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute, studying design thinking, leadership, social ventures, sustainability, and preventive health care. He is an advisor to several for-profit and social ventures. He started his career at Hewlett Packard and held several leadership positions in California and Germany. Raj was an international student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he received his master’s of business administration; and at Pennsylvania
State University at State College where he received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He earned his bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from IIT, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.

Sam Brown
Brigham Young University | Provo, Utah



Sam Brown is the Director of International Student and Scholar Services at Brigham Young University (BYU). He spent several years with BYU’s Multicultural Office on campus, as well. Dr. Brown received his doctoral degree from BYU in educational leadership and administration. He also earned a bachelor’s and master’s in public administration, and is finishing a master’s degree in academic advisement from Kansas State University. Dr. Brown has lived overseas and loves working with students and scholars from all backgrounds. He has served as a regional liaison for NAFSA: Association ofInternational Educators and serves as the national chair of the International Student and Scholar Services Knowledge Community for NAFSA.

Voice of America | Washington, D.C.
voanews.com | insidevoa.com | publicrelations@voanews.com

Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 236.6 million people. VOA produces content for digital, television, and radio platforms. It is easily accessed via your mobile phone and on social media at Facebook.com/VoiceofAmerica. It is also distributed by satellite, cable, FM and MW, and is carried on a network of more than 2,500 affiliate stations.

Since its creation in 1942, Voice of America has been committed to providing
comprehensive coverage of the news and telling audiences the truth. Through World War II, the Cold War, the fight against global terrorism, and the struggle for freedom around the globe today, VOA exemplifies the principles of a free press. VOA is part of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the government agency that oversees all non-military, U.S. international broadcasting. It is funded by the U.S. Congress.

The George Washington University | Washington, D.C.
In the heart of our nation’s capital with additional programs in Virginia, the George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. The university offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study, as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate and professional students from across the country and around the world.