Dina El Kadi, MCM Candidate, Class of 2015
Welcome to the world of new cities, new friends, a new home, new everything! The life of an international student is a tough one (to say the least). Born to Egyptian parents, in Alberta, I began my life as what many like to call a “Third Culture Kid.” Once my parents hopped us over to Montreal then a few years later over to Dubai, I often felt like a more of a six-culture kid. This felt especially true with all the different people I interacted with in Dubai. There was an unbelievable number of cultures I was bumping shoulders with on a daily basis in Dubai. Being so central, it was incredibly easy to hop around the Middle East, Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa. Now, besides having an ability to jump between accents, I acquired a talent at calculating time differences and I also having a hard time answering the question “where are you from?” I found that being in an expat community for so long has made it incredibly hard to move back to North America. Being away from home is hard enough as it is, which I’m sure a huge number of international students at USC would agree with. While coming to USC was one of the best decisions I ever made, it’s been a bumpy transition.
From what I understand, this is a pretty common struggle. I’ve met quite a few global kids who have stumbled their way through a semester here or there. It’s been very hard being away from my friends in Dubai, Canada, and Egypt, it’s been tough coming to a new place and having to start all over. I must say, the one thing that has truly kept me grounded is the USC community and the fact that despite the tough times, it’s all worth it! I’ve pushed myself to attend events and whenever I feel the nerves creeping in, I try and hit the gym! I know, I know, you’ve probably heard these things before, but being at USC gives you the opportunity to slowly integrate yourself into a new place. Luckily, USC is a haven for international students, with almost 10,000 international students admitted in Fall 2014 alone, there’s definitely a huge network to rely on. Plus, all the events at USC make it easy to reach out to those probably feeling very much like you do. One thing I have found every time I have moved somewhere new is that you can’t take for granted the experience you gain from throwing yourself into a new environment. And finally, one thing to really understand is that you’re not alone!