SHREVEPORT – “Louisiana feels like home.”

That’s the overwhelming feeling Soraya Karimi Sarab Berrios had as she celebrated her graduation from LSU Shreveport with her mother and two sisters outside of the Brookshire Grocery Arena on Dec. 19.

Soraya embraces her fellow graduates clad in purple and black graduation gowns, both from America and from around the world.

Her Japanese-Peruvian mother dances to the Shreveport Second Line Brass Band while younger sister Shahrzad, an LSUS alumna, hugs former classmates and converses in Spanish with LSUS associate professor Dr. Sam Cannon.

This has been the backdrop for Soraya for the past seven-plus years, finishing her master’s degree in computer systems technology with a concentration in business administration after earning her bachelor’s degree in business in 2022.

Maybe she returns to her native Japan with her mother and Persian father to work, maybe she joins her two sisters in Mexico as translators for Japanese manufacturing companies, or maybe she continues to make her home right here in Shreveport.

Whatever her future path, Soraya certainly took the road less traveled to find LSUS.

 

FINDING LSUS

Growing up in the Greater Tokyo Area in populous Kawasaki, Soraya always knew she wanted to study abroad.

The United States and other English-speaking countries feature prominently, so Soraya sharpened her English at the Japan College for Foreign Languages (JCFL) and took classes like U.S. History and Government to begin her college journey.

While most of her classmates dreamed of popular locales like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Hawaii, Soraya wanted to go somewhere completely different.

“We packed a bunch of credits into that one year at JCFL, and it’s a culture shock to take classes in English,” Soraya said. “We talked a lot about Louisiana in U.S. History.

“And LSUS was one of the newest sister schools with JCFL in 2018 when I was looking. I liked the idea of something different, and I kept coming back to LSUS because of its business school, its required high English scores, and the opportunity to get a master’s degree there as well.”

An aunt living in nearby Houston sealed the deal – Soraya was coming to Shreveport.

The start was rough – Soraya struggled to register for classes, finally getting situated after missing more than the first two weeks of class and didn’t know how drop dates worked.

What Soraya was prepared for academically didn’t account for an understanding of the American college education system, and as an international transfer student, she wasn’t guided to a robust orientation process.

Knowing that younger sister Shahrzad would likely join her at LSUS the next year, Soraya was determined to learn more about the system to make her sister’s adjustment easier.

“I had (three Cs and two Fs my first semester) – it was a shock,” Soraya said. “I didn’t know about drop dates or anything like that.

“My sister considered going to Ireland, but she didn’t think she could survive it by herself, so she joined me here. I had to figure it out.”

Soraya did get her bearings both academically and culturally.

She adjusted her English from her mostly British professors in Japan to speakers who use “y’all” and “ma’am.”

International business would have been too cliché for a speaker of three languages, so Soraya pursued concentrations in human resources and later added marketing.

She connected with classmates with the International Students Association, which she helped transform from what she called a “monthly lunch group” to a hearty organization that hosts Thanksgiving gatherings and dance parties including both American and international students.

But a serious car wreck posed another obstacle, one that paused her education to the point where Shahrazad completed her psychology degree one semester before Soraya in 2022.

Soraya left for Japan to recover before returning to finish her bachelor’s degree, which is how she discovered marketing as a second passion.

COMPUTER SCIENCE?

Soraya worked for one year in Shreveport (2023) after graduation on an optional practical training temporary work authorization, but that didn’t materialize into a work visa and she returned to Japan.

The plan always included pursuit of a master’s degree, but because LSUS’s MBA was 100 % online, Soraya couldn’t receive scholarships and stay in the states.

But LSUS did offer a master’s in computer systems technology with a concentration in business administration, a blend of computer science and MBA courses.

LSUS emphasized its international student experience with the creation of an assistant dean position in 2023 solely dedicated to international students, and Soraya credits Anne-Marie Bruner Tracey with the vast improvement for international students as well as her suggestion to pursue this academic route.

“I had never taken computer science courses, and it was really scary, but I also like a challenge,” Soraya said. “But this was crazy.

“I was taking a 100-level, a 300-level, and a 600-level computer science in my first semester. Thankfully some of my professors were the same and understood my situation. I was learning how to code at the same time that I had a class about machine learning.”

Soraya’s connections to the international student community was a huge part of her success in the program as classmates explained concepts to her outside of class.

“I made friends really fast, and we studied and ate together,” Soraya said. “Learning with them was so much better than me going home and doing this by myself.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it in my first semester, and I kept fighting myself every day. Why did I do this?  No, you got it. I was regretting it but not regretting it at the same time.”

Soraya did survive that semester and the next one as well in which she took five master’s-level classes (three computer science and two MBA).

“I definitely don’t recommend that, but it was a challenge in a good way,” Soraya joked.

She worked as a graduate assistant for Bruner Tracey and the Office of International Students in her final full semester this fall, further making LSUS an inviting place for international students.

“Anne-Marie knows how much we go through and pays attention to each one of us – knows our background and our story,” Soraya said. “We have orientation for all international students now, and we help students do things like open bank accounts and understand how credit cards work.”

Soraya, who has served as president of the International Students Association once in her undergrad and again as a graduate student, led the effort to create an international student cord for graduates to wear.

She surprised her sister Shahrzad with the cord of purple, gold and green – a combination of school colors and green for the Earth while also having a Mardi Gras vibe.

“I’m so proud of Soraya because I’ve seen her work so hard,” said Shahrzad, who initially worked in Washington D.C. as a therapist for special needs kids before returning to Japan and eventually joining the oldest sister in Mexico. “Coming back and seeing all these people from LSUS – I feel like I’m back at home.

“It’d be great if she came to Mexico with us, but she’ll be happy wherever she goes.”

 

THE FUTURE

With a blend of computer science and business knowledge combined with speaking three languages, Soraya possesses a unique skillset.

While the immediate plan is to go back to Japan, Soraya said she’ll follow job opportunities – no matter what country or continent from which it calls.

She’d love to eventually start and run a business with her family, especially since her parents sacrificed so much to provide their daughters with opportunities.

But Louisiana is in her heart, and a return one day isn’t out of the cards either.

“The culture is so open here, and people are nice and friendly,” Soraya said. “My sisters and I say we’re from Louisiana, even though my oldest sister (Shaghayegh) never lived here.

“I feel like whatever God wants me to do when I go back home (to Japan) is what will happen.”