J-1 international student workers heading to OBX

By Maggie Miles | Outer Banks Voice on May 18, 2024

J-1 students on last year’s sunset cruise hosted by Outreach Ministries OBX. (Photo courtesy of Pastor David Daniels)

‘We want to make them feel like they’re our family’ says Pastor David Daniels

By Maggie Miles | Outer Banks Voice

One sure sign of summer is the start of Pastor David Daniels’ weekly dinners for the J-1 International Students, a tradition that is more than 20 years old. His non-profit, Outreach Ministries OBX, will hold its first dinner this season on June 11—and then every Tuesday throughout the summer until Aug. 20, when the final dinner will be on a sunset cruise.

The J-1 Visa program gives college and university students enrolled full time and pursuing studies at post-secondary institutions outside the United States the opportunity to live and work here during summer vacation. It not only provides a cultural exchange, but also plays a crucial role in supporting the local economy by helping employers fill crucial roles during the busy summer months.

The students are starting to arrive on the Outer Banks from around the world. And while officials can’t yet provide a definitive number expected this summer, Pastor Daniels predicts that there should be around 1,200 to 1,500 J-1 students in total—indicating a gradual return to pre-Covid-19 numbers which were around 2,000 students each summer.

Other than the dinners, Outreach Ministries offers a range of services for the J-1 students, from providing vans for transportation to helping eligible students enroll in the College of the Albemarle (COA).

“We believe it’s part of our ministry to welcome these students and help them have a good summer. They’re not used to our culture. We have different food, a different language. You know, and some of them have had some bad experiences here,” says Pastor Daniels.

Jamie Banjak, the founder and chair of the OBX International Student Outreach Program (ISOP), says these students are invited here and fill key roles, and it’s the community’s responsibility to look out for them. “The reality is most of these students work two to three jobs. They pay to come and work here. You know, without them, there’s a lot of businesses that would be absolutely crippled.”

But this summer, ISOP will be on hiatus while Banjak undergoes treatment out of state for cancer after a diagnosis in November. For the last decade, ISOP’s mission was to provide a safe and successful experience for the students. Each summer, it offered bicycle lights, reflective gear and orientations to educate them about safety and cultural opportunities in the area.

According to Banjak, ISOP was founded in 2012 to deal with issues specific to the Outer Banks that the international students were confronted with—including hurricane preparation and evacuation plans, lack of public transportation, the dangers of biking and walking on the dangerous roads, etc. She has done the work out of her house on a volunteer basis.

Before COVID, ISOP had visa sponsors, employers, local organizations and the State Department gather together for regular committee meetings where they organized projects and initiatives.

Given her current circumstances, Banjak had no choice but to disband the group. But she will be back visiting on Memorial Day weekend and is hoping to have a meeting to revive and reinvigorate the group. Updates can be found at the OBX ISOP Facebook page or by emailing obxisop@gmail.com.

“The Outer Banks Community Support Group [ISOP]…has enhanced our exchange programming in the region,” said a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department, which oversees the J-1 program. “We hope they are able to resume their participation in the near future. Community Support Groups like the one in the Outer Banks are volunteer-led organizations.”

According to the State Department, there are 20 businesses that will employ J-1 students on the Outer Banks this summer.  Lana Volodina, HR generalist at Dairy Queen, told the Voice that Dairy Queen provides housing for its six yearly J-1 students—housing that is within walking distance from Dairy Queen.

 Volodina also sends an email to the students before they arrive in the U.S. that shares safety information and information on how to get an Uber from the airport to the Outer Banks. Typically they take their students to the OBX ISOP event for their Social Security cards, so this year they will have to figure out a way to get them to the Social Security office in Elizabeth City.

A representative from Food Lion corporate headquarters shared with the Voice that the company provides housing and bikes for its students and tries to communicate with and support their students as much as possible on a local level.

Mark Ballog, owner of Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head, told the Voice he provides housing for his six summer students, as well as bikes, bike lights, and transportation to Elizabeth City for their Social Security numbers.

The Voice reached out to Harris Teeter to ask about the J-1 students they employ but did not receive a response.

And then there’s the “grandpa” of the international students, Pastor Daniels. In addition to the Outreach Ministries OBX dinner, it is also a game night and an opportunity for the students to get advice and support. All of the meals are homecooked and any leftovers are sent home in boxes with the students. 

Outreach Ministries also has two vans and will help the international students with transportation. The group has also used the vans to take the students on trips if they show interest in visiting certain places—and trips have been organized to locales as close as Jockey’s Ridge State Park and as far as Williamsburg, VA.

The non-profit also helps send eligible international students to the COA. Pastor Daniels says currently there are 200 international students at COA, and his organization has helped pay the tuition for many of them. He also helps J-1 students network with businesses in their potential fields.

“They’ve touched us,” he says. “There’s something special about the international students. In their countries, they have strong family ties. We want to make them feel like they’re our family.”