Joe Peck
“Being an international student impacts the way you interact with others & the way they interact with you. When you first come here, everything is so new, you're learning so much about America & everyone has an accent different to your own. Then you realize it affects the way people see you, for better or for worse. Some people treat you as something special, while others assume things about you that simply aren't true.
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Mar Giner-Calabuig
“Ever since I was a child, riding scooters with a smile on my face, my family knew I was a free spirit. I'm from Denia, in the Spanish province of Alicante, and the only one from my family to have left home. At 16, I came to the U.S. for a year-long foreign exchange program and fell in love with this country. So I'm not 100% sure where 'home' is.
Max Himpe
“I was born in Belgium & grew up in London since age 3. Weirdly, I can't vote in any of the countries I care for. In Belgium, I have no community other than family, since I left so young. I care so much about the UK & Brexit, but can do nothing about it politically because I wasn't born there. Just when I was becoming a “Londoner” & involved in community work, I left for Yale. I've spent 2 years grappling with American politics, Yale's relationship to New Haven & other issues I had no knowledge of before.
Ellen Toyonaga
“I enjoy being busy, especially when that involves work I truly love. Before coming to the US, I was extremely busy as a physician conducting experiments, and also a mother. When my husband, who is currently an Associate Research Scientist (ARS) at the Yale Medical School, came to the US in 2017, I was simultaneously working as a dermatologist and completing my PhD in dermatology in Japan. Since I was so enthusiastic in my clinical work and research, I did not want to suspend them, and finally joined my family after graduation last year.
Felix Morara
“I was born and raised in Nakuru, Kenya. My family and I have a complicated relationship. Growing up, I was very close to them, especially since I only have 2 brothers. After leaving for boarding school in South Africa, our relationship grew more complicated. I was discovering things about myself that my family wasn't as comfortable learning, so I found myself living almost a double life. The 'me' at school and the 'me' at home were not the same person; at home I would need to cover things up.
Mancy Tong
“I was born in Hong Kong, but my family moved to Auckland when I was 9. My journey to Yale began within the week of my thesis submission in 2017, I packed up everything, came over to America & started my new life. What an amazing journey it has been so far!
Sophia Catsambi
“My favorite part of Yale has been the community the international student body provides. For my first 3 years I was involved in OIS, which was one of the most wonderful & rewarding experiences of my time at Yale. There is something incredibly special about bringing together people from different parts of the world & seeing how quickly they grow close to each other-partly because they have the shared experience of being far away from home. Being part of the OIS team gave me the chance to both witness friendships blossoming & also to feed off the energy personally.
