International students at Brown now have access to Interstride, an online portal to assist in their career search.
The portal serves to help with job-searching and includes a collection of educational resources, including checklists, webinars and information regarding work authorization. Interstride has also recently launched an admissions portal for prospective international students.
“We know studying as an international student in the U.S. isn't easy — it’s a big financial and emotional commitment,” Interstride’s CEO and co-founder Nitin Agrawal wrote in an email to The Herald.
“Our mission is to transform the international student experience, making it as smooth and transparent as possible,” Agrawal explained.
Agrawal was inspired to start Interstride after moving to the U.S. to pursue higher education. He met co-founder Christian Eder in his graduate program at UC Berkeley and, after a 2017 dinner with his classmate, the idea of Interstride was born.
In addition to Interstride, Brown’s Center for Career Exploration supports international students through the International Student Advising team and Brown’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services. The advising teams also advertise networking platforms open to all students at Brown, including Handshake and the BrownConnect+ program.
“We know students are using other platforms, and they should,” Interstride’s Partnerships Manager Judy Chen said. The portal is “supplementing that experience.”
In the past three years, Chen noted that the number of schools participating in Interstride has almost doubled — with over 180 schools currently offering the platform. Interstride typically targets larger campuses since community colleges and smaller colleges don’t have as large of an international student population, she explained.
“We partner directly with universities to extend the career portal so international students, alumni and domestic students can access the account,” Chen said.
Interstride is currently looking to increase engagement with students, especially with undergraduate seniors. According to Chen, the group represents Intertride’s most active users.
As a senior, Ivy Zhuang ’25 is still looking for jobs in a “very limited pool.” International students can apply for temporary employment authorization post-graduation, known as Optional Practical Training. But humanities students like Zhuang only receive one year of OPT — as opposed to three years for STEM majors. She said that she hadn’t heard of the Interstride Portal.
Zhuang noted that the BrownConnect+ program has been “very helpful” in connecting her with other international alumni. Interstride hopes to offer a similar experience with its networking resources.
So far, Zhuang has found all her internships through information sessions held on Brown’s campus. Because of visa restrictions, international students are often limited in their ability to accept employment off-campus, especially after graduation. One of the obstacles she faced when searching for a job was finding opportunities that sponsor international students.
When applying for a student visa, students must prove that they can afford tuition and living expenses in the U.S. While international students don’t require sponsorship to work during breaks — only an authorization from the school — they must secure sponsorship from a company to keep working in the country past their studies.
Last year, Interstride added a Chrome extension to make it easier for students to find “international-friendly” employers.
This is part of Interstride’s larger strategy to support international students from the moment they arrive on campus through their job search after graduation, Chen said.
“We’re trying to build that vision of supporting students from beginning to end,” she added.
Hadley Carr is a senior staff writer at The Herald.
