University of Cincinnati is making impact real for international students

We sat down with Rebecca Hale, Assistant Director in the Bearcat Promise Career Studio at the University of Cincinnati (UC), to learn how her institution is elevating career support for international students. With over a decade of experience at UC, including roles in ESL, co-op advising, academic advising, and immigration services, Rebecca now leads career coaching specifically tailored for students of international backgrounds.

In this conversation, she shares how UC is leveraging Interstride to meet students where they are with tools that truly resonate, and how cross-campus collaboration is being driven by data and storytelling.

1. How does your career studio currently support international students in their career development?

Through UC’s Bearcat Promise Career Studio, I work closely with our International Services team to support students through orientation, CPT/OPT info sessions, professional development workshops, and targeted career coaching. Many UC students have an assigned career or co-op advisor, and through our centralized career studio, I serve as an extra layer of support for those and many other students. 

There’s been a growing recognition across campus of the unique career challenges this student population faces, and the need for dedicated tools to help them navigate systems not originally designed with their career pathways in mind. I was excited when UC adopted Interstride. It signaled an institutional investment in student-centered solutions and has quickly become a core part of how my colleagues and I support international students in their career journeys.

2. What kind of impact has the platform had and how have students responded?

Adopting Interstride is a reflection of UC’s deeper commitment to supporting international students, and our students have noticed.

It hasn’t just uplifted day-to-day career coaching; it’s changed how students feel about their future. The feedback I hear most often is a mix of relief, hope, and renewed confidence. Students frequently tell me:

• “I was starting to lose hope, but Interstride gave me direction.”
• “This is going to save me so much time.”
• “These job search filters are doing the research for me. I can finally focus my energy in my job search.”

Students feel seen, supported, and better equipped to navigate what can often be a stressful and overwhelming job search process.

3. How has Interstride changed the way your career studio supports international students?

Interstride has become central to how I support international students in their job search and career development. It helps me guide students to approach the process more strategically and make informed decisions. Rather than applying to jobs blindly, students can now narrow in on opportunities that align with their career goals and work authorization requirements. Ultimately, it helps students to save time, reduce anxiety, and build confidence.

As a career coach, I’ve found it just as empowering. I’m able to offer targeted tools and resources that directly address the unique challenges international students face, including resources that students can share with potential employers to demystify the process of hiring international talent. Interstride brings hope and inspiration, through access to key information, to career coaching sessions and workshops.

4. What specific features do students find most helpful?

There’s honestly so much students love about the platform, whether they’re focused on the US job market or exploring opportunities globally. These are just some of the tools I find myself highlighting all the time in coaching sessions:

• Tailored job search filters (sponsorship available and cap-exempt options) – These filters make it so much easier for students to focus their search on roles that match their visa needs. The “cap-exempt” filter has been especially helpful for those looking to stay in academia or work at nonprofits.
• Built-in resource library –The Learn section is a favorite. It’s packed with videos, articles, and on-demand webinars covering everything from job search strategy to immigration topics. 
• Country Insights tool – This is a go-to for students thinking about options outside the US. It’s great for parallel planning, especially when immigration feels uncertain. I also recommend it to American students who are interested in studying or working abroad.
• CPT/OPT Employment Data Hub – This allows students to explore CPT, OPT and STEM OPT data from international students and recent alumni, both at UC and across all Interstride partner schools. Students can easily see which employers have hired students of similar backgrounds for co-ops and full-time positions in the US and zero in on companies that have a strong track record of hiring international talent.
• Visa Insights sponsorship history – Students can see which companies have submitted H-1B petitions and for which types of roles, and how much experience was required for those roles. It gives them a much clearer picture of where to focus their search and which employers are most likely to sponsor early-stage international talent.
• H-1B Sponsorship Finder Chrome Extension – I love showing students this one—and the best part is, it’s free for anyone to use, not just Interstride partners. It provides instant insights into whether a company on LinkedIn or Handshake has sponsored before. For students, it’s a real time-saver and takes a lot of the guesswork out of the job search.

5. How has the platform improved cross-campus collaboration and data sharing?

One of the most impactful features we started using this year is the Employment Data Hub. It’s not only been helpful for students exploring job opportunities and career pathways; it’s also made it easier for us as a university to track, manage, and share employment data across departments.

A great example of this in action: Keya Nandi, a Peer Career Coach in our Career Studio, took the lead on a project to organize and upload thousands of data points on where UC students have recently been working on CPT, and OPT and STEM OPT, for our first upload into the Employment Data Hub. We worked closely with our International Services team to export the data, and she cleaned and formatted the data so it was ready to upload and be accessed by others across campus. Her work has brought broader visibility to the platform and contributed to her application portfolio for the prestigious Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence. She was the only international student at UC to receive it this year!

Since then, the Employment Data Hub has helped us:

• Strengthen collaboration between career services and international student services
• Spot employment trends by academic program and employer
• Provide better data to inform coaching/advising, teaching, programming, and decision-making

It’s made our work more connected and data-informed. Most importantly, it’s helping us support students in a meaningful, strategic way.

6. How does the platform support students beyond the international population?

While the platform was built with international students in mind, many of Interstride’s tools are just as valuable for domestic students, especially those with global interests.

I’ve worked with American students who are planning to study abroad, pursue international internships or co-ops, or simply want to explore cross-cultural career paths. Interstride helps them expand their awareness and think more globally about their options.

Interstride is also great for students interested in industries that intersect with international work, like technology, energy, healthcare, international business, or education. Their resources and webinars, networking features, and job search tools encourage all students to look beyond borders and consider what’s possible, whether they simply want to pursue an international co-op or internship, or want to build a career in the US or abroad.

7. What advice would you give to another institution that is considering adopting Interstride?

My advice is simple: Interstride is absolutely worth the investment for international students, globally minded students, and the staff and faculty who support them. It’s one of those tools that provides easy access to a wealth of information to help students feel informed and inspired as they map out potential career pathways.

If you’re considering Interstride, I say go for it. There’s something in it for every student, no matter their background, career goal, or global interest.