Hi! My name is Kelly Mizuno, and I’m a junior double major in Political Science and Public Policy from Malaysia.
Being from far away is definitely a cool thing – it means I’ve gotten to see a completely different part of the world (and it’s a great conversation topic on tours!)
Not taken by me, but isn’t my hometown pretty?
Since I attended high school in Malaysia, I wasn’t actually able to visit any of the colleges I applied to. Instead, I relied solely on websites, online reviews, and opinions from my friends and family when deciding on what school to attend. My first time on campus was when my dad dropped me off about a week before classes began – definitely a nerve-wracking experience.
Being an international student, I was fairly sure that I was going to make friends with other international students -- people that had similar backgrounds and experiences to the ones that I had. However, as I met my roommates and began to get involved on campus, I found that the people that I was meeting were incredibly diverse.
As someone who grew up around diverse people, I loved it. I loved meeting people from different places or who shared opinions that differed from my own. (Extra perks of Hofstra include having friends that will take you in for Thanksgiving/Easter/other holidays if you have nowhere to go).
One of my friends, Gray (left), who took me home for Easter and showed me Philly and Independence Hall for the first time!
Moving to the United States also meant a lot of other things for me, such as getting used to larger portion sizes, learning about American culture and slang, explaining why I speak English, and missing Malaysian food. However, these things are easily overcome. I couldn’t have picked a better place to go to school (I’m talking about both Hofstra and New York) and can’t wait to see what my final year and a half at this university has in store for me!
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