My First Year at Oxy

Hi! My name is Aung Myat Htet. I am a first-year international student from Myanmar. As I move through my first year at Oxy, I have encountered several challenges that I was able to successfully overcome. These challenges related to finding work on campus, dealing with culture shock, and academic performance.

One of the experiences in college I was hoping to pursue was working a part-time job, and I applied to several positions at the start of September. I got interviews for two jobs, but I didn’t get either. For the first time, I doubted my ability to do things. But soon, I realized that this is part of the plan: facing challenges in a new environment. I accepted the challenge and started focusing on a strategy to overcome it. I revived my confidence by writing articles in The Occidental student newspaper. Getting into the newspaper was easy. I only needed the guts to write. I also took pictures to earn extra money. At the end of the fall, I had written five articles and taken pictures for more than 10. But the main highlight was meeting and interacting with the inspiring groups of students from different class years who all have passions and ambitions for different things. I got to listen to their stories and experiences at Oxy, which I used as inspiration to try different things. Things worked out naturally in the end. By the time I am writing this piece in April, I have worked across four different jobs on campus.

I experienced my first foreign culture when I did my IB program for two years in Singapore and didn’t have any trouble with it. I believed that the U.S. would be the same. However, I encountered a completely different culture of interactions between people. The cultural differences range from dating to socializing, and for a while, I felt disconnected from the community. So, I started seeking the roots of my culture in Oxy. I went to international student events. I had conversations with fellow international students about their experiences, which resonated with me. I tried to understand my host culture by joining student clubs. The more I interacted with different people, the more I understood how people perceive their culture here. I started going to the Oxy gym at the end of the fall because I enjoyed working out alongside fellow students in the same place at the same time. I felt as if we were making a journey together. 

I am a man who always tries to figure things out by myself. But there are downsides to this approach. The first downside is that I was unable to maximize the use of Oxy’s resources. I put a lot of unnecessary effort into understanding new materials on my own, and as a result, I missed more important points in class and my performance was not where I wanted it to be. Then I abandoned my strategy and started going to professors’ office hours. I always thought that seeking their help would be quite uncomfortable because I would be annoying them by repeating questions they received from other students. However, I felt comfortable during these meetings because I learned that professors are always willing to answer any of my questions and actively follow up with me to provide extra support. I stopped spending too much time just writing a paragraph and instead sought help from writing advisors at the Writing Center. Since I no longer needed to spend all my time for academic purposes, I enjoyed doing extracurricular activities like going to the gym, joining club meetings, or just observing my surroundings—because the Oxy campus is the true definition of California’s beauty. As a result, my academic and social life was well-balanced and my performance gradually improved. 

I am glad that I chose Oxy because it has a good community that is supportive and inclusive of international students.

Students experience college differently depending on how they self-reflect and take advantage of opportunities. What I see as the most important thing is the existence of a good environment and plenty of opportunities offered on campus. Oxy didn’t fail in this regard. I have met many good people, talented and passionate. I think it’s natural for international students to face challenges and difficulties when they are first introduced to the host culture of the U.S. But I am glad that I chose Oxy because it has a good community that is supportive and inclusive of international students.