| Office of International Students & Scholars

Jemimah Orevaoghene

“The most beautiful things about Yale are all the people you meet. When I arrived on campus for the Orientation for International Students (OIS), I was sad to see my mom leave. It suddenly hit me that I was 2 oceans away from everything I knew to be familiar, and everyone I loved. I was now in a new place where I'm just another face–another student in a class. I started to feel small and invisible. At Yale though, since you have access to all these different spaces, I learned the importance of actively choosing the people you surround yourself with.

Valentina Wakeman

“I was born in London, but spent my childhood in Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, and Miami before coming to Yale. My upbringing was both composed and defined by change. The only constants were the three other people living through it all with me. As a result, I am completed by my family, and am nothing without them. My brother is the centre of my life, my mom is my best friend, and my dad is my hero. Having each other was the only source of solid ground–especially when we felt most alone.

Joseph (Sang Wuk) Lee

“I was born in South Korea, but I grew up in the Philippines. Not really returning to Korea, felt very much like never being “home”. I had to both reimagine and recreate that feeling with the friends and communities I was with.