#CaltechTogether: Laura Flower Kim
“When the pandemic hit, the priority became to keep up our communication, keep up our advocacy, and to support students in their struggles to either travel to get home or travel to get back to the U.S. This spring, we were excited to hear that the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program was going to be up and running again and that Caltech was going to be able to support students on campus for that. But right as we were starting to process documents for our international SURF students, who would normally start the program in June, we learned that COVID cases were increasing in India, and, as a result, flights were no longer going to be running from India to the U.S. and that the border was essentially closing, with visa operations being suspended. We had students who needed to get out of India and into the U.S. immediately—as in within 48 hours of the conversation we were having. We knew that they had the documents ready. We just needed to adjust their SURF program dates to facilitate their earlier arrival into the U.S. So, we acted fast, and we were in touch with them throughout the weekend, making sure they got on their flights, that they actually arrived and got through customs, and then were able to start their quarantine time. It was the students, though, who had to talk to their families, book a flight, and leave when they weren’t expecting to do that for another month. They had to make that decision so quickly and in such a difficult period of time for them, and I found that really impressive.”
Laura Flower Kim is associate director of International Student Programs (ISP). She and her co-workers provide support for Caltech’s international students who need help with visas or immigration status. They work with degree students—bachelor's, master's, PhD—but also with nondegree students, including summer researchers and visiting graduate student researchers, as well as alumni. ISP also offers advising and intercultural programming.
#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.