An International Student's Self-Discovery at Barnard

Name: Fangdai Chen
Year: 2015 (Junior)
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Major: Comparative Literature (Chinese, English & French)
Clubs/Organizations/Jobs: International Admissions Intern, Housing Advisory Board, Barnard Student Government Association (SGA)

I thought that coming to the U.S. on my own at the age of 15 was the biggest challenge that I could ever have in my life. I thought that after having attended a boarding school in a surburb of Boston for three years, going to college wouldn't be so different from attending another boarding school. I thought that I would just write a few more papers and meet a few more people. But I was wrong. Barnard has surprised me and gone beyond all of my expectations for this stage of life called college.

In high school, I was always the student answering questions and expressing my opinions in class. I thought that it would all be the same in college. However, on the first of class at Barnard, I walked into my first-year English seminar and realized that everyone else in the class was just as confident as I was. The professor was not there to walk us step by step through reading the text, but to inspire us to discuss and study the text with each other. This was a competely different academic dynamic from my high school experience and yet an exciting challenge and adventure. I pushed myself to work harder, to learn from my classmates and to make them learn from me. I also made full use of the professor's office hours whenever I need extra help. By the end of the semester, the professor invited us to tea time in her appartment and we were all happy that we had struggled and learned together.

This leads to another reason why I love Barnard. Having attended a small boarding school with only 300 students, I was worried that I would never have the same kind of close relationships with teachers in college. But not only did my first-year English professor invite us to have tea in her apartment, we continue to stay in touch. She introduced me to the Comparative Literature program and various academic opportunities outside Barnard. We meet regularly to discuss my progress. We even went to an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts together!

Throughout my time at Barnard, I have been well challenged and supported at the same time. I never expected myself to grow so much. But this is Barnard: it challenges you to take adventures that you would not be able to take elsewhere, it inspires you to discover what you did not know about yourself, and it helps you to become a better you.