Sonja Paulson recently joined the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISSS) team as Assistant Director for International Student Services. Her focus is on advising Visiting Research Fellows and doctoral students in F-1 and J-1 status in areas such as program extensions, leaves and the CPT and OPT application processes. “I enjoy getting to know students and learning what excites them both in and outside the classroom. I especially love arrival season and hearing first impressions,” says Paulson.

Being new to Providence and New England, Paulson shares that she was pleasantly surprised at how nice and welcoming the Brown community has been. She’s enjoyed getting to know Providence’s restaurants and neighborhoods. She even enjoys cold weather and the snow having lived in the Upper Midwest previously.

She stresses that hospitality is important to her and hopes international students feel welcome and at home at Brown.

Most recently Paulson served as director of International Student and Scholar Services at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA and prior to that was the assistant director of Intercultural Affairs at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. She earned her undergraduate degree in English from St. Olaf College and her master’s in comparative international development education from the University of Minnesota.