My college experience is different to many others here at Nazareth. Being born and raised in Sydney, Australia, has given me a different perspective of college life in America. I formed my opinion of America from watching TV shows and movies like That 70’s show, Scrubs, Friends, and The Office. The experience of an international student is unlike that of a normal American student; it is very unique, but I hope some of you reading this can relate. I am on the men’s hockey team, the social media team, and also serve as a peer mentor for our freshman Academic College Success class. I have a very busy schedule to say the least… My days consist of classes, workouts, skating, work meetings, work itself, and then studying… a lot of studying!
When I first got to campus, I went to my freshman orientation where I met a bunch of people from different places and different backgrounds. I got the chance to participate in group activities, and interact with my new friends to get to know them a little better. Immediately I felt at home on campus, even though I was over 10,000 miles away from my family. I then met my entire hockey team and instantly had 25 brothers at school that would help me out and be there for me at all times.
My first semester in the Doctorate of Physical Therapy (3+3 program) was intense. I had 18 credits and trying to juggle that with a sport was difficult at times, so I decided to use all the resources that were available to me. I met up with my academic adviser, career coach, and visited both the Center for International Students and the Center for Student Success. All of these resources helped me settle into school, so far away from home, both physically and mentally. They helped me set up a bank account, acquire a social security number, write a resume / cover letter, and also figure out the finer details involved with my F-1 student visa. I found all of these resources extremely useful, and combined with my academic college success (ACS) class, I was able to take control of my learning and be the catalyst of my educational endeavors. All my professors are very understanding of my special circumstances, and are always willing and able to help me understand American terms. The switch from the metric to the imperial system in my science classes was tough, in addition to the switch in English… it took me a little while to stop inserting extra letters in my words like “behaviour” and “colour.”
As an international student, it’s hard to see your family and hard to talk to them with a 15 hour time difference from Eastern Standard Time (EST) to Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). The accessible internet across the entire campus makes it easy for me to keep in touch with them and message them as often as possible. I am recently a first time uncle to a beautiful baby girl named Mia Ivy, so I face-time my sister and her husband often to keep in touch and watch Mia grow! I also am able to call my parents and play video games with my brothers. My parents are coming to visit next May when my brother graduates from Lindenwood University in St. Louis Missouri. They have already been to America once; we went to Pittsburgh together and saw our first NBL game watching the Pirates at Heinz Field, right on the water in the city of Pittsburgh. However, I am beyond excited for them to come to our school and see our beautiful campus! I get to show them where I live, where I eat, where I play hockey, and the city I get to explore daily.