Finding a best fit
One April night, while I was scrolling down my Facebook feed and anxiously looking over the posts about the admitted student bodies from colleges that I applied and jealously skipping those posts, St. Norbert College Facebook page appeared in my suggestion list in a mysterious way. I never heard about SNC before no matter how many hours I spent in front of a computer searching for colleges/universities that best fit my interests. Undoubtedly, St. Norbert College turned out to be a small liberal arts college, with small class size, offering Biology and Psychology majors for undergraduates with undergraduate research opportunities and financial aid opportunities to international students. Great news, St. Norbert College looked to be the best fit and I applied for admission after few days.
As soon as I heard about my acceptance from SNC, I asked for contact address of any international student from Nepal to know more about what SNC looks like to make my decision whether to enroll at St.Norbert or not. The response from SNC of my question made me feel excited and nervous at the same time. I was told that I would be the very first international student from Nepal in SNC history.
I was born and raised as Hindu in a very small village of a very small country. However, deciding to volunteer as an elementary school teacher at one of the most remote parts of Nepal, Dolpa was a great opportunity to insight my personal strengths. Being far away from whatever I was used to enriched my knowledge of diversity in many ways; geographically, religiously, and most importantly personally. The meaning of diversity was one of the most important things that I learned from that voluntourism trip. And that was the reason why I was looking for liberal arts colleges for higher education. Hence, I decided to attend SNC which was really strange for me and for St.Norbert College Community.
Most often, expectations do not meet reality. It was obvious in my case too. Adapting to a completely new environment was one of the biggest challenges I faced in my first semester of college. Being a first-generation student, I was responsible for an icebreaker of a new life chasing a dream of a big future. Homesickness, a feeling of loneliness in a new environment with completely new experiences and college level lectures were raising thousands of questions in my decision to attend SNC. Realizing how students, especially international students, feel during the first semester of college, St. Norbert College Community and especially, the Center for Global Engagement made me feel home in every possible aspect. I was tracked weekly on how I was doing in my classes. I was introduced to all the resources available on campus to foster my academics. In fact, I was asked how they could help me feel at home at SNC every time I visited the Center for Global Engagement team.
Furthermore, small classes were a great opportunity to make new friends from different backgrounds and interests. There was an absolute possibility to talk to professors in class and during their office hours or even through emails about classes. That all made it easier to face challenges that I was having during the very first college experience. I believe these very brief experiences of new college life in many ways will help me face future challenges.
Beginning from my second semester of college, I started utilizing all the resources on campus and focusing on my interests. I showed my interests to work on biology professors labs and luckily, I got a chance to experience research activities going on in one of my professor’s lab as a volunteer Research Assistant. I spent good hours in front of microscope counting macro-invertebrates and species of zooplankton. Majoring in Natural Science and minoring in Psychology allow me to take classes from different aspects of Science, Mathematics, and Psychology. In addition, classes of liberal arts electives allow me to be open-minded and experience the diverse knowledge in a holistic approach.
Outside of classes, I got an opportunity to serve as a Student Office Assistant at the Center for Global Engagement which allows me to meet domestic as well as international students and personalities. Engaging with them helps me experience the diversity of the world very closely. I also serve as an academic tutor for basic statistics on campus. Tutoring has enriched my understanding of the importance of being a student. I’m getting an opportunity to experience the perspective of education from students of different backgrounds by being a tutor.
In a nutshell, an ambiguity about feelings of being an extreme stranger in a totally different world turned out to be plentiful opportunities to grow. People’s reaction with smiley faces every time I walk around campus makes sure that I feel welcomed to the adventure of my growth. Communio at SNC has never let me close my fist on my decision to take challenges as an opportunity. No doubt, St. Norbert College is my best fit in all of the aspects.