Introducing Natasha Cheng

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natasha Cheng - Hong Kong

 

Hi! My name is Natasha Cheng and I am a sophomore at Pitzer. I am born and raised in Hong Kong but this is my fifth year studying in the United States. I went to boarding school in the rural areas of New England for 3 years and absolutely loved it but I was also ready to get a whole new experience.

 

I was so nervous coming into college; I thought I was going to have a hard time adapting. I was worried I wasn’t going to make friends. Something about going to college was not right but I could not put my finger to it. It made me contemplate if Pitzer was even the right school for me.

I was proved wrong the moment I stepped onto the Pitzer’s campus on move-in day. The minute I stepped out of the car, I was greeted by three mentors offering to help me move although I had only two suitcases. There were welcoming signs everywhere. I was also greeted by a tunnel of energetic Orientation Leaders, Mentors and RAs as I enter to check-in area. They were screaming, shouting and cheering for every single new student who walked through. To be honest, I was slightly intimidated and overwhelmed. I got to my door and found my door filled with welcome notes. They were all handwritten by my mentors, sponsors and RAs. I felt so special that day.

Once I got to my room, I thought I was free at last to do my thing, unpack my room but I was wrong again. There were knocks on my door, they had come for me! Just kidding, my sponsors had a goodie bag for me, my RA gave me a big sweaty hug and my mentors gave me a life emergency kit, which was this little pouch of dental floss, safety pins and a pack of tissue. I guess that’s what you need when you are in an emergency crisis at Pitzer? Well, I have yet to experience one but I’ll keep you posted if I do.

What International Students Should Know About Pitzer...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natasha Cheng – Hong Kong

Coming from another country, you will always have some sort of a culture shock. You might get overwhelmed for the first few weeks. Don’t worry though, here are some tips:

 Go to the International Place orientation before school starts. International Place is a 7C resource center especially for International students. It’s a great way to meet other international students, you might find someone that is from your country too! They will be hosting a bunch of other events that are awesome throughout the year, especially those that are food related! (yumm!!) On school holidays, they organize trips to areas around us. For example, last spring, they did a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona! They are just fabulous people.

There are a lot more people that are here to help and support you through your transition into college. Your mentors and RAs are especially here to help you. They are trained to be there for you. Utilize them! Also, go to your professor’s office hours. They love it when you go to them and talk to them!

Go to events, get yourself out of your room. There will be events going on every day, especially the first few weeks of school. Pick the ones you are interested in and pick some that you may not know anything about. You might discover new interests and you will definitely learn something new.

Introduce yourself to every person you see. You will not remember their name and they might forget yours too but just do it. Remind your name every time you see them and it won’t be long until a lot of people know your name.

Set challenges and goals for yourself. Step out of your comfort zone. College is the time to try new things, just go for it.

If you don’t understand the slang language that some students use here and you are too afraid to ask, look it up on urbandictionary.com, and you will be cool and hip just like us! Lol.

Remember, ASK if you don’t understand something. There is never harm asking. A lot of things here are different from what you may be use to at home so it’s better for you to ask before you embarrass yourself.

That’s all for now. Peace.