After exploring Chicago for 2 weeks, looking for an apartment, shifting and settling, I was excited to attend the International Student Orientation, which would be my first orientation at the school. I was curious to know about other students, meet students from different parts of the world, and share my experiences. The orientation was on 21st of August 2009. We had to reach at 9:30 in the morning. When I entered the reception counter I was pleased to meet Beth Tinkham, the international student advisor--a great support system for international students. I got to know her closely during the admission process and subsequent emails about visa procedures. She is amazingly empathetic, enchanting, and an exuberant person. She takes effort to understand students’ problem, will do her best to help students; and is extremely patient and approachable. And, she looked exactly the way I had thought she would--amicable, serene and pleasant person.
The orientation started with nice breakfast of pastries and hot coffee. After checking and breakfast, we went through an introductory round. I was thrilled to know that there were students from all over, and I was glad to meet couple of students from India too. The orientation was very informative. It covered all important-to-know topics for international students like: immigration rules, visa status, work opportunities and work rules for international students. I was very excited to interact with other students (second and third year students who were helping with orientation) and learn about their experiences in dealing with immigration issues.
I loved the presentation done my one of the senior students. She spoke about cultural differences between countries and how such differences can make it challenging in adjusting to life in the U.S. Overall, I found the orientation very interactive. It was a good experience as other students were warm and social. I made couple of friends too that very day. We were also taken for a tour of the campus, which was great since I hadn’t previously had a chance to tour the school.
At the end of the day, students had the option of going on a Chicago River/Lake Boat Cruise. What a great way to end the day and see the city. I was mega-thrilled by the sky-line view from the cruise. It was one of the most wonderful days of my life. I could not have asked for a better start to my experience at the school.
The orientation started with nice breakfast of pastries and hot coffee. After checking and breakfast, we went through an introductory round. I was thrilled to know that there were students from all over, and I was glad to meet couple of students from India too. The orientation was very informative. It covered all important-to-know topics for international students like: immigration rules, visa status, work opportunities and work rules for international students. I was very excited to interact with other students (second and third year students who were helping with orientation) and learn about their experiences in dealing with immigration issues.
I loved the presentation done my one of the senior students. She spoke about cultural differences between countries and how such differences can make it challenging in adjusting to life in the U.S. Overall, I found the orientation very interactive. It was a good experience as other students were warm and social. I made couple of friends too that very day. We were also taken for a tour of the campus, which was great since I hadn’t previously had a chance to tour the school.
At the end of the day, students had the option of going on a Chicago River/Lake Boat Cruise. What a great way to end the day and see the city. I was mega-thrilled by the sky-line view from the cruise. It was one of the most wonderful days of my life. I could not have asked for a better start to my experience at the school.
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