Lion VoicesSeptember 30, 2025

Noah Schmidt Creates a Home Across the Globe

Written By: Ian Silvester

From El Salvador to Nepal, students from across the globe from every continent except Antarctica find a home at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, and at the heart of their journey is Noah Schmidt, the international student programs and services administrator.

Before stepping into his role in 2023, Schmidt had poured more than a decade of passion for cross-cultural connection into helping students feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

Schmidt graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2002 with a degree in creative writing and returned to earn his master’s degree in English language in 2009, focusing on English literature and linguistics. During his graduate program, Schmidt served as co-manager of the school’s international office, where he met his wife, Dr. Ann Gee Lee, a UAFS professor for the department of English, rhetoric and writing, and media communication.

Between his job at Bowling Green State, instructing as an adjunct professor at UAFS, and teaching English as a second language, Schmidt said the experiences have prepared him for the work he does today.

“In the classroom, you need to build an environment that destigmatizes mistake making, and in doing that, you can’t help but build this sort of empathy for your students,” he said. “That empathy and all the practice I got with my own making mistakes in the classroom and learning how to communicate cross-culturally in a productive way is central to my job now.”

UAFS, under Schmidt’s charge, serves students from more than 25 countries. That comes with a lot of work behind the scenes.

Schmidt helps them navigate the laws and protocols for entering the country as a student. He also outlines the financial requirements involved with committing to UAFS as an international student.

“International students need to show that they have one year of tuition and fees before they can even qualify for a visa. Oftentimes, for our students, that one year of tuition and fees might represent the life savings of their parents,” he said.

As a result, Schmidt explained that many of the international students at UAFS work on campus as resident assistants in the Lion’s Den or Sebastian Commons or with Chartwells.

“We love it when departments across campus are interested in hiring international students,” he beamed.

Working with international students also means working with their parents in preparation to send their students away from home for years at a time.

“As you might imagine, parents are nervous about sending their kids across the world, somewhere where they might not have family and friends,” he said. “When I’m talking to parents, it’s … showing that there’s someone who’s willing to spend time to reassure them and that there’s somebody who’s going to be here to look out for their son or daughter.”

Schmidt must juggle much to keep all the aspects of his position organized, but he said it’s all worth it to help each student find a home at UAFS. He adds that UAFS benefits from having international students.

“They help to diversify the campus in different ways. One of the most important things about a university experience is learning how to interact, communicate, and solve conflicts with people who are different from you and might not have the same cultural values and assumptions that you do,” he said.

Schmidt’s work also means helping current UAFS students study abroad.

From formal exchange programs in Japan and South Korea to informal partnerships in Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Belize, France, and beyond, Schmidt said there are few corners of the world where he can’t help a student go.

“It’s just a matter of having the conversation and figuring out what’s plausible,” he said.

Schmidt said UAFS does a good job of building financially accessible programs to keep costs down for interested students. This ensures that the idea of traveling doesn’t end when students think about cost, he said.

On campus, Schmidt works with cultural registered student organizations to make the customs and experiences of international students accessible to everyone with programs like International Education Week and Culture Fest, which takes place on November 17.

---

Watch Noah's Story:

• Tags:
• Study Abroad
• Lion Voices
• International Students