The COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis all over the world challenging traditional methods of business practices, teaching, and administration in the educational sphere. International education has been particularly affected; many individuals working in different areas of the profession had to enact emergency triage to aid the more than one million international students in the United States. This dissertation explores one profession within international education, that of Primary Designated School Official (PDSO) and Designated School Officials (DSO), who work directly with international students. Specifically, this research will examine the factors that influence P/DSOs agency at metropolitan community colleges and their lived experience during COVID-19. Using mixed methods, this dissertation was a mixed method exploratory sequential design. First, a quantitative survey of a purposive network sample of community college P/DSOs in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) was conducted followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews informed by the survey. This enriched the objective and subjective data using Bourdieu's theory of practice around the concepts of habitus, field, and capital with the lens of global imaginaries and power relations. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]