Before I do my regular post, I just wanted to share that Penn State is ranked 10th in the United States for international student enrollment. Go us! The article was actually sent to me by two students I interviewed.

And now for my last Passion Blog post (I’m surprisingly emotional).

For this week, I am going to be blogging about Jaime. Jaime is a sophomore from Vancouver, Canada and she is majoring in Finance.

Jaime is an only child and has a close-knit extended family, all of whom reside in Canada. Jaime can speak English fluently.

Jaime wanted to go to school in America because she wanted to experience new things. I wanted a change of pace and I have always been the type to travel,” said Jaime. She’s been on various volunteer trips all-over the world. She applied to both Canadian and American schools. She toured all the schools she was accepted into, including Penn State. Jaime ended up choosing Penn State, because of the academics and the atmosphere of the school.

Jaime has really enjoyed her time at Penn State thus far. “I fell in love with Penn State when I toured it and it’s really everything I wanted it to be and more,” said Jaime. Jaime likes the passion and drive of Penn State students and the opportunities provided to her from the Smeal School of Business. She really likes to take part in THON and is a member of a Operations committee. “THON was the highlight of my freshman year by far and I met my closest friends in my org and my committee last year.” said Jaime. Jaime also likes the many opportunities for student volunteer service that Penn State provides, as well as the tolerant and welcoming atmosphere of the school. “My only dislike would have to be the housing process, it’s so stressful!” said Jaime.

Jaime’s does not think being an international student made her transition any harder. She’s very familiar with American life an culture, she has many American friends. For Jaime, college was a more difficult transition. “I just got so home-sick sometimes, in the first semester I honestly thought about transferring all the time.  I was surprised how much I missed my friends and family. It hit me one day and I started to doubt my decision to go so far away from home.” said Jaime. But, Jaime worked through it by throwing herself into her studies. She also credits her roommate Lucie (who is a French international student) with helping her stay focused on her studies and not on her home-sickness.

Jaime says her goals for the upcoming months are to “survive and succeed during finals week. I also want to find something productive to do over the summer.” Jaime is very excited to see her family over winter break!

Thank you to everyone who’s read and commented on the blog! I’m glad I chose to do this for a blog, I’ve met a lot of awesome people and learned more than I could have ever imagined. At first, I mostly interviewed my friends. There are a bunch of international students on my floor. All the other people I have interviewed I met through mutual friends or in my classes. It was nerve-wrecking to talk to people I barely knew and even more nerve-wrecking to get them to agree to let me blog about their personal life story! In the end, I’m happy to say I came out of my own shell and really grew to like writing this blog.

This week, I’m going to be blogging about Nicholas (Nick) Zwerski. Nick is originally from Volgograd, Russia. He is a junior, majoring in IST.

Nick’s family currently resides near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, where they have recently moved. His family consists of his father, his mother, and his two high-school aged sisters. Nick’s father is an American, so he grew up speaking English. He can speak English, Russian, and Polish.

At first, Nick was very confused as to where he wanted to go college. His parents and teachers encouraged him to look at international schools. Eventually, Nick ended up applying to 8 international schools and getting into most of them. “In the end, I chose Penn State and never looked back,” said Nick.

Nick chose Penn State primarily because of its academic excellence. He did not tour the school and had never been to America before his freshman year. Nick has really liked his experiences at Penn State thus far, “I like the atmosphere at Penn State. I feel motivated to be the best I can be, as cliche as that sounds. I like the football games a lot and the spirit here. I think it’s cool how there can be 40,000 students can be so different, yet still come together for events, like THON.” said Nick. His only dislike is the remoteness of State College. “Sometimes I wish we lived closer to cities so that we had more options of things to do on weekends. I have nothing against the town of State College, but I definitely could not live here after college!” said Nick.

Nick describes his transition to American life as a “process.” He says that coming to America his freshman year helped him because in a way everyone around him was as confused as he was. He likes American culture and feels that he’s become well-adapted to the United States. Transitioning to college in general was more of an adjustment, “I was more excited than nervous for my freshman year. I just wanted to go out all the time and I did not focus on my school work as much as I should have. But I pulled myself together and I have better time-management skills now.” said Nick.

Nick’s goals for the upcoming semester are to get an internship and get good grades. Nick is excited for Thanksgiving break, “I’ll actually get to see my family because they live in America now!” said Nick. He is also really looking forward to THON.

This week, I’m going to be blogging about Shu-Chu Lai. She prefers to be called Joy and is originally from Taiwan. She’s a junior and majoring in Economics (College of the Liberal Arts)

Joy’s parents currently live in Taiwan while her younger brother goes to school in Canada, where he is a sophomore. Joy moved around a lot growing up. She lived in Taiwan, then Hong Kong, then Texas, then Taiwan again, and currently lives in State College. Joy, a fluent English speaker, applied to all international schools, with many of them being big American universities (such as Purdue and Boston University). In the end, Joy chose Penn State because it was the best school she was accepted to in terms of academics. Joy had never been to the eastern United States or visited Penn State.

Joy has been very happy with her decision to come to Penn State. She really likes the students and the school pride. “I honestly think that if I saw someone at an airport and they were wearing Penn State clothing, I think I could have a conversation with them about your time at Penn State. No matter the age difference. We just go to that kind of school,” said Joy. Her only dislike has been the sometimes overwhelmingly large size of Penn State, this specifically bothered her as a freshman. “It was hard because sometimes I felt like just a number and it was not easy to a find my niche. But I gave it time and I’m happy to say I have that strong sense of belonging,” said Joy.

The adjustment to college was easy for Joy, because she moved around so often in her youth. She knew a lot of American culture, so there was never any moment of intense culture shock for her. She was able to get used to life at State College rather quickly.

When I ask Joy about her plans for this upcoming school year, she stops for a moment before saying, in a wistful tone, “to really enjoy my second to last year.” It’s difficult for Joy to wrap her head around the idea of graduating, an event that she feels is coming far too soon! She’s really optimistic about this school year and she can’t wait for THON.

For this week’s passion blog, I will be blogging about Chiara Toniolo. Chiara is a freshman from Brazil. Her hometown is Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerias, Brazil. She is going to double major in International Politics and German.

Chiara differs from the other students that I have interviewed in that she lived in America during her youth. “I lived in Chicago when I was little and really wanted to come back to America for college,” said Chaira. Like many students that chose to attend Penn State, Chiara’s decision was influenced by several factors; she wanted to come back to America for college because, “the schools are better than in Brazil and also because I like the college system here and wanted to experience something different.” She liked Penn State because she knew that she wanted to go to a school in the Northeast. “Penn State combined great academics and an amazing environment,” said Chaira

The transition to life in State College and Penn State has not been difficult for Chiara. She says that American culture is not that different from the culture of Brazil, she has not experienced any culture shock. Yet like many freshman, she has had to make some adjustments. “There is a lot more homework and there’s no one telling me what to do, so I definitely have to be more focused,” said Chiara.

Chiara has been enjoying her time at Penn State. “I love the environment and how everybody – including me – loves to be here,” said Chaira. She adds that she does not dislike anything here yet. She’s the first student I’ve spoken to who didn’t mention the weather! She does miss the food of Brazil and her family and friends back home. Fortunately, Chiara will get to go home for Christmas and in the summer.

Chiara has already done some of the things that she was excited for at Penn State! She has attended football games and joined a sorority; she is in Alpha Delta Pi. She is really excited for next semester and the upcoming months, “I definitely can’t wait for the snow and THON”

For this week’s Passion Blog, I spoke with Jonghee Yi. Jonghee prefers to be called Sophia. She is from Soeul, South Korea and is double majoring in Advertising and Psychology. Unlike the other students I’ve spoken to, Sophia is a senior.

Sophia really wanted to attend an American university, “America is one of the top countries in the world. I had always liked the culture and diversity of America.” Coming to study at Penn State was an easy logical choice for her and she’s liked it very much. “Penn State is very big, but I like that. There so many good programs offered here. Pennsylvania is a good location, I think we’re close enough to cities,” said Sophia

Like the other students of spoken to Sophia had to take TOEFL. Sophia describes her English proficiency as “medium” and says that her ability to speak English was a major factor in transitioning to life at Penn State.

Adjusting to life at Penn State was hard for Sophia. “It was hard for me to make friends. I know English, I am just not good at the slang. The English that I learned in school was mostly written, I did not have that much experience in speaking.” She wanted to make international friends when she came to Penn State; but she initially found herself hanging out with fellow Koreans; which was a blessing and a curse. While she appreciates finding people who speak her language, she does not want to feel dependent on her Korean friends.

Sophia also says that getting used to the culture of American teens and their ways of thinking is a transition all by itself. “I consider myself shy and conservative. At parties, I would feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.” Nonetheless, Sophia has been able to find good friends and people who share common interests with her.

Even though she’s enjoying Penn State, she does miss Seoul. “I miss my family and the food in South Korea!” said Sophia. State College is also too small for her taste, having grown up living in such a large and thriving city. She is understandably very excited for this year, her last year at college! “I’m gonna be learning even more English and broadening my horizons. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life.” She is currently busy making plans for life after college and wants to work at an advertising agency.

This week, I will be blogging about Andres Interiano. Andres is a freshman here at Penn State and is originally from San Salvador, El Salvador. Andres is the first student I’m interviewing from North America. Geographically, he is the closest to America out of all the students I have interviewed. Andres is majoring in Industrial Engineering.

Andres’s family consists of his mother, father, little sister, and fraternal twin brother. His brother is also majoring in Industrial Engineering, but attends Georgia Tech. Andres is fortunate in that his family can visit him and he can visit them during holiday breaks.

Andres applied to 6 universities, all of them international. Like the other students I have spoken to, he took the TOEFL and the SAT. He also had to take El Salvador’s national test for high school students, in case things did not work out with the international schools.

Andres chose Penn State because of it’s high-ranked engineering program and the strong academic reputation of the university in general. He also had desire to attend a big school versus a small school. Andres is unique from the other students that I interviewed, he is the only one that got to visit Penn State and look at the school thoroughly. “I came to visit Penn State in the spring with my family and fell in love with the campus,” said Andres. Sports also influenced his decision, he loves playing soccer and wanted a school with a good soccer program. He was planning on playing club soccer this fall, but due to an injury is playing for an intramural team instead.

When I asked him if he likes Penn State so far, Andres said “I really like it here. I like the spirit, campus, and how nice all the people are. It’s so diverse and I’m happy here.” Like many of us, Andres can’t stand the “bi-polar weather.” “It’s so cold in the mornings, then burning hot later in the day! It’s so annoying!” he said.

Transitioning to Penn State was smooth, but challenging for Andres. “It was a really big change from where I grew up. The culture, the laws, and the school systems are so different. Even the way Americans hang out with friends and the American party scene is different.” While he did always want to attend a large university, it took some getting used to a school so much larger than his high school (I think many of us can relate.) “It was strange having so many people around me. I went to a small high school and now I go to a school with 40,000 people,” said Andres. However, once he started getting involved and making friends, Penn State began to feel like a home. He credits his roommate and good friend Francesco with helping him adjust quickly to college. Francesco is also from El Salvador, majoring in the College of Engineering, and an avid soccer player. They bonded quickly and helped each other make friends. Andres has many international friends, mostly from Central America.

While Andres does miss home sometimes, he is very excited and optimistic about the upcoming school year. His goals are “to meet new people and get good grades in school” Andres also hopes to eventually be on the soccer team.

San Salvador

For this week’s Passion Blog, I will be blogging about Kyla Chipman. Kyla is from Hong Kong, Hong Kong, S.A.R (Special Administrative Region). Her family consists of her mother, her father, and her older brother. Kyla speaks fluent English and is planning on double majoring in Marketing and Chinese.

Kyla is different from the two other students I have talked to so far; she’s a girl, a student athlete, and did Summer Session this summer.

Her college application process was similar to domestic students; she took the SAT’s and sent a transcript, she did not take the TOEFL. Kyla applied to all international schools; 4 in Australia, 5 in the United Kingdom, and 4 in the USA!

Kyla chose Penn State primarily because she was recruited by the Women’s Rugby Team and Penn State is a top school for rugby. Kyla has dreams of playing on the U.S.A team in the Olympics.

This summer, Kyla moved to America to live on her own. Transitioning to American college life was “really difficult,” said Kyla. “It was a lot to get used to for many reasons, for example I’m used to living in a big city and all the options that come with it,” said Kyla. Another issue was adjusting to American culture itself as opposed to the English culture found in Hong Kong. “It was surprisingly challenging, the two are more different than you would expect. I notice all these little things! Like the sports are different, the holidays are different, the alcohol culture of the US with it’s binge-drinking, and Monday night football,” she said.

Even though it took some time, Kyla adjusted to life in Penn State and currently loves it.  “I actually like how Penn State is in a college-town, not a city. I love the school spirit, sports, THON, and the many service opportunities” she said. She also credits Penn State for “catering well to the needs of international students”

Kyla does have one lingering complaint: “I really hate the public transportation system or lack thereof,” she said. The transportation system here is so different than what she was used to in Hong Kong. Kyla also hates the distance between her and her family. Luckily, her parents visit relatively often. Her mother has visited several times since the summer

Kyla is looking forward to this school year. “My goals are to maintain a 3.5 gpa and to win two national championships in rugby,” she said. Despite the transportation issues, Kyla’s very content that she attends Penn State.

Here is a picture of Hong Kong:

For my first Passion Blog post, I’m going to be writing about Mirza Rafid Waiz Ahmed. He officially goes by Rafid  and is affectionately called “Fes” by his friends at Penn State (a reference to the character from That 70’s Show). He is a freshman and majoring in Chemical Engineering.

Rafid was born and raised in the capital of Bangladesh, living in a good area of the city. He lived there his whole life, prior to moving to Penn State. His family includes his father, mother, and 11 year old sister. His father works for the army and his mother is a doctor. He went to a high school where all the classes were taught in English, so he can speak English fluently.

When applying to college, he only applied to international schools. His college application process was surprisingly similar to students in the United States, in that it involved a lot of standardized tests. Rafid took A-levels (a standardized test in the British school system), his SAT’s, and the TOEFL exam. He applied to six schools, eventually having to choose between Texas A&M, Purdue, and Penn State. Rafid happily chose Penn State.

Rafid is currently really enjoying his experience at Penn State and in the United States. The diversity and the culture of Penn State are his favorite aspects of college and have helped him adjust to life so far away from home. He also really likes the culture of America and the acceptance he has found here.

Still, life 10 time zones away from home does come with a price. “The hardest thing about going to college here is knowing that I won’t see my family for two years,” – Rafid. Because of the cost of flying, Rafid cannot go home during breaks like domestic students. Instead, he will be staying with extended family in America.

Despite missing his family dearly, Rafid remains very optimistic about his freshman year of college. “I’m looking forward to getting good grades and making good friends,” – Rafid.