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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Maryland chapter.

Megan Sayles/Her Campus

Junior information systems and marketing major, Ellen Zhang is an international student at the University of Maryland. Zhang is originally from China and came to the U.S.  in September 2016. Since international students are common at the university, I wanted to look a little deeper into what their lives are like.

  1. Why did you decide to come to the U.S.?

I wanted to learn about the culture in the U.S and the innovation aspect of the education here.

      2. How did you end up picking the University of Maryland?

First, the academics in UMD is good and the location is close to DC may give me more convenience in connecting to other cities.

      3. How have you felt at UMD since getting here?

UMD is a very diverse university and people here are so open-minded and friendly. In addition, I am surprised by the tremendous amount of resources on campus. I believe it is the place where students can rise and shine.

       4. Do you ever miss home?

Sometimes but not too often.

      5. What has been the most interesting thing in coming here?

The most interesting thing in here is joining the Brazilian jiu-jitsu club; before then, I didn’t know such a thing exist in the world. It is the best experience I had so far because the people there are so nice and supportive. It is also a personal journey for me to learn and grow with my friends.

       6. What are your plans for the future?

I am still not sure if I have any plans for the future. I may get an internship and try to apply some of the knowledge I gain in school or choose to get my master’s degree.

       7. What event has marked your experience as an international student?

There are lots of programs on campus that provide opportunities for international students. For example, the ISSS office will hold international students orientation every year and they give us some basic information and tips about the U.S culture and how to adjust to fit in it. In addition, programs like ESOL (English as a Second Language) has oral English tutoring sessions for international students, which are super helpful for students who just get here and may not be 100% fluent in English.

Megan is a sophomore at UMD. She is a multi-platform journalism major, and is hoping to pursue social media managing in that field. Meg loves playing piano and boating. Her favorite quote is, "You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy," by C. JoyBell C.