When Kiora Joseph began attending Wichita State University in the spring of 2020 for her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, she quickly ran into a problem.
“Everything was fine at the beginning of the year, prior to COVID, and then as soon as spring break hit, the university was like, ‘Everybody needs to leave,’” Joseph said. “(So I was like,) ‘What do you mean everybody needs to leave? Where am I supposed to go?’ And then they’re like, ‘No, it’s OK. International students can stay for the rest of the semester.’”
Joseph, who had just moved to Wichita from her home country of Zimbabwe, said the COVID-19 pandemic complicated an already difficult transition.
“(It) made school really hard, especially as an international, you’re already in a foreign place,” Joseph said. “… I know we speak English back in Zimbabwe, … but it’s just different English. And the food is not the same, the people are not the same, and then all of a sudden you just have to be completely isolated and by yourself. And so that was really difficult.”
But, as Joseph said, “It turned out OK.”
Adjusting to life abroad
Much of Joseph’s transition from Zimbabwe to Wichita began with Fai Tai, the associate director of finance and marketing at WSU’s international education office.
In her role, Tai travels internationally to recruit students. Joseph said Tai, who is from Hong Kong, helped get Joseph situated when she first came to the States.
“When I got here, … she was like, ‘Oh, you can stay with me for like two weeks prior to the semester start,’” Joseph said.
Tai said much of the transition involved reassuring Joseph’s mother that she was doing well.
“Her mom was so worried about her,” Tai said. “She would just text me all the time just to make sure that she’s OK.”
Family is huge for Joseph. She currently lives with her sister Caitlyn Joseph, who transferred from a university in Pennsylvania to WSU because of her.
“I noticed how (Kiora) was getting opportunities to do research and basically just gain more from the college experience,” Caitlyn, a biomedical engineering major, said. “… So I wanted to come here because I saw sort of how she was benefiting from all the resources that were made available to her and, also, she’s my sister.”
From job loss to research
Joseph began studying aerospace engineering because, while she’s interested in science, she’s not “too keen on bio and chemistry.”
“So I was looking for something that still deals with lots of math and lots of science,” Joseph said. “… A lot of people tried to convince me to go into mechanical engineering because mechanical engineering and aerospace are very similar … but I wanted to be different, and I thought airplanes are cool and rockets are also cool, and so that’s why I decided to go into aerospace.”
Joseph wrapped up her bachelor’s degree last spring. Last fall, she began studying for a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering at WSU.
Deciding to pursue another degree, though, wasn’t a linear process.
“As an international student, especially in the aerospace industry, getting a job is really, really difficult because of the (U.S.) Department of Defense,” Joseph said. “So a lot of things are ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restricted.”
Joseph found herself continuously meeting roadblocks when trying to gain work experience.
“I’d go up to professors all the time, and I’d be like, ‘Hey, I’m interested in doing research,’” she said.
Being an international student, though, Joseph was often unable to participate in programs faculty would recommend, such as the NASA Jump Start Program, which helps new students become acquainted with NASA projects.
“And then I would go back (to professors), and I’d be like ‘Is there anything else?’ And they’d be like, ‘No, I’m sorry,’” Joseph said.
“… By the time, junior year came around, towards the end of sophomore year too, I was starting to freak out because to get a job, you need to have experience.”
Eventually, Joseph landed a position at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). She worked there for a couple of years and hoped to continue to do so post-graduation.
“And in the spring of my senior year, they let me go,” Joseph said. “And it came out of nowhere because it was a regular day at work.”
Joseph soon found out that her home country, Zimbabwe, had been added to a list of countries prohibited from working on foreign data at NIAR.
Joseph said the opportunity — especially in her final semester — felt like it was “ripped out from under” her.
Joseph, noting her precarious position, considered seeking additional education.
“I was like, ‘Okay, well, now what?’” Joseph said, laughing.
That led her to assistant aerospace engineering professor Nadia Kianvashrad, who describes Joseph as someone who can find “something interesting in everything.”
Joseph began working with Kianvashrad in the final semester of her bachelor’s degree.
Under Kianvashrad, she’s focused on research around high speed aerodynamics. She’s even been able to present her research at an AIAA SciTech conference, which is the largest aerospace research, development, and technology event worldwide.
“She’s (made) so (much) progress in her research in a short time that I’m sure that what she’s doing will not last for the entire four years (of the Ph.D.),” Kianvashrad said. “I’m starting to add more and more things for her research because she’s so quick in finding answers.”
Joseph describes aerodynamics as something that comes naturally to her.
“Aerodynamics … is like a love language; I love it,” she said.
