In the face of a global refugee crisis that has uprooted millions, Washington State University formed a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to help support displaced families in 2022. Since then, the partnership has not only provided vital aid to refugees but has also offered invaluable learning experiences to WSU students.
“At WSU we have a strong history of involving students in hands-on experiences that allow them to grow and apply their knowledge in transferable ways,” said Paul Whitney, WSU associate vice president of International Programs. “Our graduates will work in a globally connected world. This effort will provide students with mentored experiences that stretch their ability to see the world from different perspectives and to apply their knowledge toward concrete, meaningful goals.”
For nursing students, the partnership with Spokane’s IRC, one of 29 offices in the United States, has offered an opportunity to engage in direct clinical service while fulfilling their academic requirements. Under the guidance of Kay Olson, associate professor in the College of Nursing, students have participated in community health practicums at the IRC, providing invaluable assistance to refugee families in navigating the intricacies of the U.S. health care system. In many cases, the students and their clients did not speak the same language but got by with gestures, grace, and Google Translate.
“Service learning like this helps students gain a new perspective on how difficult it can be to navigate health care for people from different cultures and backgrounds,” Olson said. “They learn empathy, which makes them better able to provide care to their patients.”
Whitney initiated the collaboration in 2022 when he worked with IRC Development Manager Kimmie Curry and a team of WSU volunteers to help settle two refugee families in Pullman. One of the lessons of that experience was that integrating refugees into the U.S. health care system — often confusing and complex — is a major challenge.
Nevertheless, WSU is working to expand the initiative in fall 2024 by extending opportunities for student involvement in refugee resettlement across the university system. This could have a major impact on the large number of refugees and humanitarian immigrants coming to Washington state. In Spokane alone, the IRC has resettled approximately 450 individuals since its inception in April 2022.
