I went into IA Scholars without any idea what International Affairs really consisted of. I just knew that I was interested in current events and traveling. However, throughout this year, I have really more about issues not only surrounding American society, but other countries as well and I do not regret choosing to be apart of IA. Since it is an area of expertise that is very different from my own major, I really enjoyed connecting with other people that have different passions than I do and broadening my mind. A really cool event that I went for points was the Jewish documentary that followed around 5 Jewish women that lived in Poland and their struggles. I did not grow up with a lot of Jewish people and did not know a ton about Jewish culture and that movie was really interesting. It was really eye-opening to see people’s struggles that were so different from my own, halfway across the world. I also applied to be an IA mentor and have hopes that next year I can help the future fellow IAers really grow through the IA program as I did. I also have a slightly clearer idea of what I want to do for my second-year project. I took inspiration from the Symposium and decided to join Buckeye Food Alliance which essentially a food bank for Undergrad students. I never knew that this club existed before and it just sounded like a really cool, helpful organization to get involved in.

On April 7-9, I was at the University of Michigan for a conference that was dedicated to talking about Asian-American issues in the United States. The conference was called MAASU, which stands for Midwest Asian-American Student Union and a bunch of schools in the Midwest were invited to participate. Recently, and this year especially, I have been really getting interested in social current events that have a lot to do with race or gender. I follow a lot of those kind of news accounts on social media so I try to stay up to date of what happening in society. I heard of this conference at the last minute and immediately signed up because it sounded right up my alley. It was pitched to me as a way of networking a lot of other Midwestern Asian-Americans and talking about the issues we as a community face. It was a super informing and fun experience and it really opened my eyes to other Asian-Americans that are as interested as I was in social and racial justice. I learned a lot through my workshops and I loved hearing about other people’s perspectives and thoughts, as well as contributing my own. One of my workshops was about the need for minority representation in literature, which is something that I never really thought about. The workshop focused on children’s books especially and how kids of different races and backgrounds don’t really see themselves being represented. Overall, it was a super cool learning experience and it will be held at OSU next year so I’m counting down the days to the next conference!

This is a picture of my friends and I, posing at the Gateway, while out on a girls’ night. These people have impacted my first semester at OSU by helping me get used to campus, inviting me out to explore the city, answering my “typical freshman” questions, etc. I have met them all through AAIV, Asian-American Intervarsity, and they have changed my life for the better. Going into college, I was very nervous to be out on my own, with 60,000 other students and not knowing a single one. It definitely has brought me out of my comfort zone and helped me become more independent. However, I was – and am- still anxious about meeting strangers and having to make friends all over again. The girls pictured below have become my sisters and make my college experience ten times more fun. 

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