Surviving the War--And the Peace

This article presents the author's response to "Surviving the War: A College Counselor's Journal" by Philip Clinton. He argues that Clinton's engrossing account of the 1990-91 school year at Cairo American College (CAC) gives individuals wonderful insights into the unusual challenges occasionally encountered by an international counselor. The year did not start well. Saddam Hussein and Iraq had invaded Kuwait, an American ally, and the US was weighing its options, both politically and militarily. Clinton returned to CAC to greet a group of seniors almost twice as big as the previous year, a situation not unusual at an international school where enrollment can fluctuate sharply as companies and governments change their policies. However, Cairo is a long way from Bagdad, as Clinton reminded prospective college visitors worried about venturing into the Middle East at such a volatile time. The first big change at CAC involved admitting students fleeing from schools in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, including 11 seniors, some of who had no school records with them. Clinton worried about these kids and how he could help them find colleges, even as they worried about their homes and parents. CAC agreed that admitting these students was the right thing to do. Over the years, guidance counselors in the US have asked the author about international jobs, usually operating on the assumption that such a job would be an easy way to wind down a counseling career. Clinton's article demonstrates exactly why this is not always the case.