Many Countries, One Campus

  One of my favorite things about attending UCSB is the presence of a campus with the presence of people from many different kinds of cultures. This is truly an unique experience to me as it is something  that I had never experienced before going to college. After a stressful week with midterms and a lot of homework, I decided to call my parents via facetime to chat about life. I realized that around me, I could hear people speaking different languages and that was something I had not paid too much attention to. Being here for the past years, I took for granted the ease that it is to find and meet people very different from me and to learn from them. However, this experience has led me to think back on the reasons why I wanted to get my bachelors degree at an American institution, and I remembered that a big reason was that many american universities had people very different from me and that i was curious to get to know them. 

Being part of ISAB has also allowed me to work with people from different countries; people who I never would have imagined of having the pleasure of meeting 4 years ago. It is such a unique experience to be able to work directly with people who grew up in an entirely different country as you and have followed different customs and lifestyles as you. I now see even more clearly how valuable this diversity of cultures is to not only campus life but to our development as human beings and professionals. It allows us to learn how to work and communicate with people very different from us, learn from their unique experiences and cultural knowledge, and to have friends and connections all around the world. I believe that this is why advocating for a more international and inclusive campus is important. Many people may not realize how fortunate they are to have access to bright people from different backgrounds and countries when working with international students in group projects, campus organizations or even when socializing. 

Therefore, I am writing this as a reminder for international and domestic students at UCSB to be grateful for the opportunity and easy access to people and cultures of different parts of the world all in one place. I know it is easy to forget and take it for granted. However, if there is something that I must say is one of the best things about going to college in the US, it would be how enriching we can make our college experiences be by just talking to the person next to you in your class lectures, asking questions, and learning about their traditions and beliefs.