Home: Penang, Malaysia
Major: interdisciplinary studies, hotel and restaurant management minor '07
Why did you choose MU?
I was looking into communication programs and applied to good journalism schools across the U.S. I have a lot of relatives in the U.S., but they all live in big cities, and the cost of living there is high. I settled on Mizzou because it was a good value for the money.
What do you think of Columbia?
It’s not too big, not too small, and everyone is really friendly. I came from a bigger city, and I like the small town atmosphere. You can find everything you want here and the international community is pretty big.
Were there any programs or services that you found particularly helpful?
My first language is English, so language wasn’t really a barrier for me, but the culture was a bit shocking. I contacted some Malaysians that were here, and someone actually came and picked me up from the airport in St. Louis. The Association of Malaysian Students helped me a lot and brought me around campus for orientation. They helped me figure out things like the exchange rate.
Are you involved with any activities or clubs?
After my first year, I joined the Missouri International Students Council and was their public relations and advertising manager. I’m also president of the Mizzou Tiger Golf Club, a recreational sports club.
With the Missouri International Students Council, I helped start an e-mail partnering program with the International Center, where prospective international students could email an international student at Mizzou. We also printed out survival guides, which is a booklet that has campus maps and gives international students important information like how to get your driver’s license.
I’m also doing two internships for my senior capstone projects. This semester, I’m working at the downtown Regency Hotel for my hotel and restaurant management capstone. It’s been a really great experience for me. Next semester, I’ll be working on a service learning project for my communication capstone. | 
