91����

Why 91����?

I’m from Kolkata, India, where I went to Jesuit missionary school. My school had nearly 3,000 students, and the average class size was 50 or 60 students. 

In high school, I was really into debate. We have a serious debating culture , and I enjoyed doing that. I also used to play a sport called lawn bowls, which you don’t really find in the U.S. I used to play for the national team. During my last few years of school, I started playing internationally and leading my state’s under-21 team.  

But mostly, I was studying. Back home, students normally study 12 to 14 hours a day, even when there are no exams. It’s quite intense academically.

A lot of people from my school come to 91����, one every two or three years. One of the two prominent academic counselors for U.S. colleges in my city happens to be quite close to Jon Edwards, who works in international admission here at 91����. The other adviser is a 91���� alum. So, 91����’s kind of everywhere when you’re talking about coming to the U.S., particularly if you’re looking at liberal arts colleges. Many people from my school have come to 91���� before me. Currently, two of my high school classmates are also at 91����.

I wanted a liberal arts college primarily because of the academic flexibility, and I liked the idea of small classes and the opportunity to discover what I really wanted to study. 

My College Decision

I heard stories about how at 91����, you would bump into your professor when you’re getting a morning coffee. And I thought that was interesting, that you can know your professors, not just as teachers, but as people within the community. 

As an international student, you’re kind of making your decision based on college websites. So, I spoke to Ahon Gooptu ’21, who was a senior here at the time. He gave me a candid review of the College — the good, the bad, everything. He talked about the small classes and knowing your professors well. I came here, and that’s exactly the way it is.

I also had an online interview with Jon Edwards, the director of international admission at 91����. It was the most fun conversation I’ve had in an interview context. We started talking about music, and it was really relaxed and fun. 

I thought, if the director of international admission can be such a nice and fun person, 91���� must be a relaxed, casual place. For me, 91���� was no longer just a website at that point – I got to meet the people who shape the community here and get a sense of what it feels like to be a 91����ian.

After high school, I took a gap year, working full time for a tech startup. I ran a small team of my own before I left to come to 91����. I was also teaching English to Afghan students through the nonprofit I co-founded when I was in ninth grade. 

First-Year Experiences

When I was coming to 91����, it was just a couple of pictures on a website to me. I think each year, you just realize how special 91���� is. I love the fact that everyone’s so accessible to students — you can go talk to President Harris and just have a chat at Saints Rest Coffee House. That’s not something I thought would be possible. 

There is so much access. There are so many resources. There are so many wonderful people who’ve done amazing things. It’s a question of seeking it out. Everyone is committed to your well-being and to what you are doing, which is truly special. I came from a large space with massive hierarchy — you had to navigate really complex structures to get things. But when you’re in 91���� and you have such an ethos of access, you can really materialize them into something that’s meaningful. I didn’t know that when I came.

My Journey to 91����

When I arrived at 91���� as a new student, it was my first time coming to the U.S. I took a straight flight from New Delhi to Chicago. That’s a long, 16-, 17-hour flight. After my first year, I never took a nonstop flight like that again because I realized it was a bad idea.

Then I went to downtown Chicago to catch the Trailways bus to 91����, which was another seven hours. Now I know that 91���� provides shuttle services for students from the Des Moines International Airport at the beginning and end of each academic year and school break. 

My journey was quite exhausting but also exhilarating at the same time — I still remember the nervous excitement I felt throughout the journey, making my way from Kolkata to 91����. However, I have never done it straight through like that since because I realized it was a bad idea. 

There were six other 91���� students on the bus, all international students. We all found ourselves in the Trailways Bus station, looked at each other, and went, “There is no way this many people are on this bus who all kind of look my age.” So, we started talking to each other and realized we were all going to 91����. Many of us are still really close friends and we keep talking about that — there’s an interesting sense of solidarity over starting our 91���� journey together on that Trailways bus. 

We arrived in 91���� at 10 p.m. I got off the bus with my luggage — I had just brought one suitcase because I wasn’t sure how I’d manage to move with more than that throughout the journey. 

I didn’t know how to get to the where I was staying that night. But then a Campus Safety officer came by and looked at this lost kid standing in front of the Noyce Science Center with a suitcase. I guess that’s a common thing to see right before the International Pre-Orientation Program (IPOP). With typical dry Iowa humor, he said, “Okay, fine. I’ll give you a ride to Hotel 91����.”

The IPOP Experience

The next day, IPOP began, and it was the most fun experience I’ve had in my four years. Many international students say that IPOP is the most fun time they’ve had. You’re kind of navigating this complicated immigration setup in a fun way and meeting people from all around the world for the first time in your life. 

I remember sitting around a dining hall table and realizing there are 10 people speaking 10 different languages at the table. But we still have something in common: being at 91����. And I think it is genuinely the most fun thing that you can do. 

When I worked as an IPOP mentor last year, I was struck by how complex all of these things are, but you kind of forget because it’s so new, fun, and fantastic. That was my big first impression of 91����.

First-Year Classes

My first year in college was academically pretty easy because I was coming from a difficult academic setup already. That adjustment was relatively easy. I was looking for more challenges to take on. That’s also a function of me having taken a gap year and done some professional work. I think that helped. During my first year, I was looking for a lot of opportunities. My first year was fun. I was really exploring. In the back of my head, I knew I wanted to major in economics, but I refused to take an econ class my first year so I could push myself out of my comfort zone. 

I had some fun classes in my first semester. I was surprised by how many possibilities 91���� has. I was also surprised to find that I was sitting in a classroom as a first-year student with a senior with me in the class. I’m like, what’s happening? This classroom has all sorts of people from all around the world, but also all levels of experience within the College? I think that was interesting to see.

One of my courses was Digital History. I thought, this looks interesting. What is digital history? 

International students can be matched with a host in town. It’s called the Friends of International Students program. My host, Sarah Purcell ’92 was also the professor teaching the class. Great. That was my first semester. Fantastic.

Discovering Global Development Studies

Seminar as a First-Year Student

Normally, first-year students don't take upper-level seminars, but when I learned about a seminar on fragile and conflict-affected countries, I was intrigued. I spoke to professor Leif Brottem, who was teaching the class. I shared my interest and experience working in the Afghan context and asked if I could sit in on the class. He was like, “If your adviser says it’s fine, then I’m fine with it.’”

So, I was doing First-Year Tutorial (a class all first-year students take) and a seminar at the same time. I was initially pretty scared, but Professor Brottem backed me up, helped me, and gave me a lot of feedback. I spent a lot of time in the Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center, and it was a massive amount of effort, but it was totally worth it. It was a fascinating experience.

Declaring a Concentration

That was a very good experience. I ended up declaring a global development studies concentration after that class. I was like, this is fantastic. I sat down with Professor Brottem and asked if he was willing to be my concentration adviser. He said yes!

A Funded Field Research

In the summer after my first year, I got funding from the College to go back to India and do field research in global development. That’s a requirement of the concentration, to get some practical experience. I got funding from the Rosenfield Program to research rehabilitation programs for displaced communities in India. Usually that’s something that people do in their third-year or second-year summer. But because I had done my seminar and I was thinking about the concentration, I decided to do it as early as I could.

Internships and Research

With help from the advisers at the (CLS), I was able to be part of the internships cohort in my second year. I think there were seven of us. I absolutely love London. We were matched with companies across all sorts of work in London. That was an entirely 91����-funded program — funded by a donor who was an international student. It was fun to know that international students gave back to the College in that way. 

We worked in London where a third-party provider helped us find internships. I was working in the market data space, which was interesting because I had almost no quantitative skills at the time. I have a little bit more now, but at the time I was like, I’m just going there to learn. It was really good work. Also, London was great fun.

The summer after my third year, I ended up going to London again (again with CLS help) and working for the donor, whom I had met the previous summer. It was wonderful. I’m actually continuing to work for him part-time even now. I am working as an analyst in the company, which focuses on energy and finance.

It was a small office doing very amazing work, and I think the exposure that I got was incredible. It seemed like my contribution mattered. Everyday matters. Every second counts. And you really like that because that means your work comes with responsibility. You are actively contributing and you see that contribution every day.

I think that is fantastic, which is also why I am continuing working for them as a senior. That joy of doing things that matter in a context where you can see that come to fruition is absolutely wonderful. That was quite foundational for me.

I didn’t feel the need to have a non-91���� academic experience because I was going abroad every summer. I didn't feel the need to study abroad for a semester. I wanted to stay in 91���� because I really liked the curriculum here, and I really wanted to make the most of 91����. I think that worked out well because I kind of got the best of both.

Jobs and Activities

A lot my campus jobs ended up being fantastic. I started working for the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership in my second year. I was working for their new program at the time called the Catalyst. It’s a business incubator, but it’s not your traditional incubator. It’s designed for 91���� and the kind of things that 91����ians care about. I was part of a small team of students tasked with putting the program together. The idea was that it should be completely student led. It’s one of the only, if not the only student-led, student-operated incubators in the country. 

That mattered to us because 91���� is a special place with special ideas, and we didn’t want to make a traditional setup up that would not serve us. And so, I spent about two years trying to do that, and a lot of my time went there during my second and third years. 

International Student Organization

During my second year, I also served on the cabinet of the International Student Organization, which we call ISO. I had found such an amazing community in the international student space and I wanted to be more actively involved. I ran in the ISO election, got in, and served as the social coordinator. I got to organize some of 91����’s most popular institutions of events and culture. For instance, I got to organize Food Bazaar, which is a behemoth of a task. And as a second year, that kind of organizing experience is wonderful. You’re traveling around, trying to find ingredients that you’ve never heard of, and you don’t know what these things are. It is challenging. Food Bazaar has been going on for decades now, and each year it just becomes bigger. That was one of many things I did for the International Student Organization. 

Student Government Association

In my third year, I also ended up working for the Student Government Association, known familiarly as SGA. I served as the chair for diversity, equity, and inclusion. The reason I picked that role specifically was that after working for the ISO, I was thinking — is my contribution best served by staying within the organization or going to student government and doing that more broadly? I think I just wanted to take a stab at it. That was also a great experience because I got to directly work with student organizations. 

I also joined the Debate Union in my first year at 91����. Our team went to NYU for a debate tournament, which was a great experience. I didn’t continue with debate because I had done it for seven solid years at that point, and I wanted to try something new.

I’ve been very busy. I’m trying not to be too busy this year, but I’m still busy. 91���� has so many cool things to do. You’re always looking for the next cool thing you can do before you leave. It’s a lot of work sometimes but it’s great fun. 

Friends and Fun

For me and my friends, the most fun stuff always happens at 3 a.m. in the Humanities and Social Studies Center, which we call the HSSC. Everyone’s tired, but everyone’s also just chatting after a point because you’re too tired to work. You still think you should be continuing to work, and nobody does. 

And then there’s the conversation where there are 10 people from 10 countries. That’s always fascinating and it’s something that I look forward to. If I see a large table in the dining hall with people I know, they often tend to be international students. When I see this, I always wonder what they’re talking about. I really want to be part of that table. So many things are happening there. That’s something I look forward to every time.

I also love going to the Middle of Everywhere presentations where international students make presentations about their home countries, the food, the culture — and anything on their minds, really. I think those are fun. You get to learn about different parts of the world while sitting in the Global Living Room in the HSSC. You get to taste different parts of the world, because there’s always a little snack from the Global Kitchen. The staff at the Office of International Student Affairs (OISA) and the Global Kitchen both work tirelessly to host these on a weekly basis, and I always look forward to the presentations.

Coffee!

But otherwise, I just go to the Saints Rest Coffee House downtown. I think in four years, I have not ordered anything there that is not a medium cold brew. When Sam at Saints Rest often sees me coming, she knows right away that I’ll order a medium cold brew. Other times, when I’m trying to find something fun to do, I go hang out at Saints Rest because you can always find a friend there. You’ll find someone who wants to chat. 

It’s a good study spot, in that it’s fun and nice and relaxed. It’s also bad study spot, in that there are always friends there, and you will always chat with them. It’s the perfect place to enjoy yourself.

I see my host mom, Professor Sarah Purcell, Class of ’92, quite often in Saints Rest. With Sarah, it’s a beautiful mix of having a host who’s also faculty here. We can also talk about the department, about the College. Sarah’s also a 91���� alum. There are so many wonderful overlapping aspects to our relationship.

91���� is a friendly place. I think that’s true across the College. It’s true for the Office of International Student Affairs (OISA). I just stop by to chat three to four times a week. It’s fun because, as someone who’s kind of come halfway across the world, you have to commit to making your own community. 

Home is far away. It’s something that you create within 91����. And I think that fosters a beautiful bond with the people here. For instance, at Thanksgiving, professors and host families might invite you to their own homes, and the same for Christmas. 

When Diwali comes around, we celebrate with South Asian Student Organization (SASO) and Nepali Student Organization (NEPSO), but also with the many South Asian professors at the College. You cook food and share a meal. You commit to building a community here because it matters. And you want to be friends with the people who live here because you’ve got four years here. I think it’s quite special that way.

Hopes and Plans for the Future

As a senior, there are so many things 91���� has to offer, and I want to spend the last year closing the loop on these. I am looking forward to cooking for my last Food Bazaar and attending my last Drag Show and Cultural Evening — these are hallmarks of a 91���� experience, and I will dearly miss them. 

I am also doing the absolute best set of campus jobs I could do as a senior — working as a senior interviewer for admission to help bring together the next class, working as a peer mentor in our Global Kitchen (an absolute dream of a job!), and teaching my native language of Bengali in the ALSO program. My last year is about finishing up on the things I have been working on for these four years, and I am excited to bring it to completion.

What I thought would happen at 91���� was nothing like how it turned out — however, that’s exactly what I expected and wished for. I was committed to the liberal arts experience because of the possibilities it has in store for its students. I wanted to explore from the very beginning and committed to that exploration from day one. 

I knew that there were so many things out there that I didn’t know about, and I wanted to engage with them and see if I could see myself in it. There are so many things that I did at 91���� that I never saw myself doing — learning to swim, doing field research in the mining communities of India, studying my own traditions academically, interning in London (twice), teaching a language and learning one (for credit) from a friend, learning how to cook in the Global Kitchen and then becoming a peer mentor, doing actual research with professors (my Mentored Advanced Projects, or MAPs), reading ancient Mesopotamian poetry, and simply being exposed to ideas and people that I never knew I was missing out on. There is so much, and I wouldn’t be who I am without these experiences. 

Of course, my plans have changed, and that’s entirely what I was looking for.