ABSTRACT
The contents of the letter powerfully illustrate the multiple layers of challenges that students face when they pursue education in a new country and culture away from home, challenges that often extend far beyond their studies but affect their academic experience and success more than they would at home. The flexibility of research design made possible by the constructive approach of Grounded Theory uniquely suited a study about international graduate students. An ecological view of writing programs helped to address a conundrum about growth and sustainability of writing support programs in relation to the need to empower international graduate students to explore the larger ecology of support and resources across and beyond the institution. International students have been a hot topic not just in the news but also in academic scholarship for at least a few decades; so, there is abundant literature that scholars, program leaders, and instructors of writing can draw on.
