Kazi Anisha

While I was preparing to come to Hong Kong to commence my undergraduate studies, I gave a lot of thought to whether I considered myself lucky for the fact that I went to only one school in my entire life, or unlucky that I did. I also thought about how I had lived in only one house for the past nineteen years. I had only known and grown up with a handful of friends for sixteen years and I wondered whether I would be able to make a completely new set of friends or be the weird, loner kid in a completely foreign land.

Despite all these fears bubbling inside me, I travelled alone from Dhaka to Hong Kong and then to HKUST. I had no idea of the roller coaster ride ahead that would be my first year at college. From settling into the dorm to registration to exploring a new city, I managed to do it all with the wonderful people I met here. There were numerous orientation activities in the beginning which helped greatly in ice breaking and getting to know the people I would go to school with for the next four years. Not only that, but there were senior Peer Mentors who knew exactly the kind of mindset we were in and thus guided us throughout my first year. I learnt that HKUST is a place where there are endless opportunities to explore with people who are standing on their toes to help. With that being said, if you are reading this, please never hesitate to reach out to us if you are scared, distressed or just plain confused. No one said you must do college alone!