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The World Is at Harvey Mudd The international student population at Harvey Mudd is growing. Now 11 percent of the student body, these students bring with them rich perspectives and experiences, contributing to a vibrant campus community. In the Class of 2018, international students hail from 16 different countries, with the most coming from India, China, Canada and South Korea. For one of its “Voices: Real Life, Real Perspectives” panel discussions, the Office of Institutional Diversity invited international students to convey what it means to them to transition to a new country. Sharing their unique stories were Aman Fatehpuria ’17 (engineering major, India), Ji Su Lee ’15 (engineering, South Korea and Singapore), Christian Modjaiso ’17 (mathematics, Democratic Republic of Congo) and Raunak Pednekar ’17 (chemistry or engineering, India). Here are some excerpts from the discussion. What has been difficult?
Christian: Fellow African students that I know say that one of most confusing experiences is being at a restaurant. If you ask for cheese, they ask if you want American cheese, this kind of cheese, etc.; or if you ask for sauce, there’s ketchup, barbecue sauce. … When you don’t know all the options it becomes very frustrating. Then I developed a strategy: When the person starts talking, I act like I know all the options and ask, what would you recommend? Aman: The relationship between teacher and student here is extremely different. Here there’s a more personal relationship where teachers know you by name and you can interact with them much easier. It took me some time to adjust and communicate on an open level. Back home, we didn’t talk to our teachers outside of class. What do you wish people knew?
Christian: International students are not as boring as they seem. For many, the problem is just language. If you try to translate a joke from your local language, it’s very difficult, especially if you don’t speak English. By the time the joke comes out, it sounds awkward, or you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about. … Things that are exceedingly hilarious back home, if you try to say them here, people here don’t get it, and vice versa.
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HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE
International students Aman Fatehpuria ’17, Ji Su Lee ’15 and Christian Modjaiso ’17 describe their experiences, both amusing and serious, during a community forum.
Raunak: There’s a tendency to homogenize a very large region. … There is a lot more diversity in individual countries than is expected or assumed in the U.S. In what ways has the community made international students feel welcome?
Ji Su: International Place, the 5-C office for international students, has been a huge benefit. I volunteer there and meet a lot of international students from all the campuses. I’m able to ask upper-class students questions about American culture without feeling I am asking something stupid or something I shouldn’t. Christian: Back home, people tend to judge you on your achievements. If you do well, they will treat
you nicely. If you do poorly, they won’t treat you too seriously. When I made mistakes here, I’d think that [mathematics] Prof Jakes would be very angry or lose respect for me. It was surprising that he treated me the same way regardless of what I did. It helped me realize that people are not going to write you off because of a few mistakes. This helps you to feel more a part of the community. What is your advice for new international students?
Aman: Be open to new experiences and people. Don’t limit yourself to your roots. You’ll find it much easier to integrate into this new world. You will get through it.