OLD ORCHARD BEACH — On Thursday, town officials welcomed visitors from all around the globe who have come to Old Orchard Beach to work for the summer.

Coastal and tourist communities like Old Orchard Beach rely every summer on J1  students – college students who travel from other countries to the United States on J1 Visas to work seasonal jobs.

This year, the communities of Old Orchard Beach, Saco and Biddeford are expected to have 550 J1 students this summer, with more than half of them slated for Old Orchard Beach. Students here for the summer work with sponsoring agencies to secure housing and work seasonal jobs at hotels, amusement parks, summer food stands, and retail stores. The top 12 countries of citizenship are Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Turkey, Romania, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Jordan, Montenegro, Spain, China, Croatia and Columbia, according to information provided by Kim Verreault.

Verreault is the town’s J1 coordinator. Hired this year for the seasonal position, Verreault brings with her first-hand knowledge of working with J1 students. She and her husband owned and managed local businesses for 19 years and over that time hired more than 250 J1 students.

“She’s a wealth of information,” said Town Manager Diana Asanza.

Verreault organized a J1 orientation and pizza party on Thursday at the Old Orchard Beach Salvation Army. The event was a chance for the foreign workers to meet Verreault and other town officials as well as representatives from local businesses and service providers. The town fire department gave information on home safety, the police department information on bicycle safety as well as helmets provided by the Michael Goulet Foundation, and Amtrak and BSOOB gave information on public transportation. 

Verrault greeted students and fielded a range of requests from how to sign up with social security to help connecting with others from their native country.

 

J1 students mingle Thursday at an orientation session at the Old Orchard Beach Salvation Army. SBN STAFF/Liz Gotthelf

Twenty-year old Ivana Radovic from Montenegro sat at a table and ate pizza and chatted with fellow coworkers from the Sandpiper Motel.

Radovic is studying tourism in college. She had never been to the United States before. She had heard about Old Orchard Beach, and all the pictures she saw of the area looked nice, so she decided to come to the seaside town for the summers. So far, she was not disappointed.

“I really like it – the place, the people, everything,” she said. “It’s a really good experience to make new friends, learn something new about tourism, and practice my English.”

She said she had been in Old Orchard Beach a week and had already made new friends.

“The other J1 students are so nice,” she said.

Denisa Muntean, 22, a biology student who had traveled to the United States 12 days prior, was also enjoying her time in Old Orchard Beach. She liked meeting new people and visiting the local attractions like beach and Palace Playland. Muntean said she was thinking of staying in the United States for a week or so after her job ended in late September so she could do some traveling and sightseeing.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.