Adrian

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Academic area
Microbiology, College of Arts and Sciences

My field of study is Microbiology. I decided to go into Microbiology because I saw a practical relationship between the research studies and human health. I have always been interested in infectious diseases and disease study, although my interest was less about the treatment of these diseases but more the disease itself.

Undergraduate Institution
Alcorn State University

Hometown
Lexington, Mississippi

What I like best about Bloomington
My favorite thing about Bloomington is the lively college atmosphere and the variety of people that you have the opportunity to interact with. Because of the large student population the city always seems to be buzzing with energy and zeal. Also there is a constant influx of new people from different areas and totally different backgrounds that replenishes itself every year. I always enjoy meeting and interacting with new people and having a chance to learn more about them.

What surprised me about Bloomington
One thing that surprised me about IU was the amount of individual interaction time that I was able to have with my Professors. One of my major concerns when coming to IU was making an adjustment from a small school to one of the larger universities in the country was the drastic change in student population and how that would affect the way I functioned as a student. But during my time here it has never been a problem. Although the instructor/student ratio is clearly different than my previous institution I’ve never had a professor that was inaccessible.

My biggest surprise about the city of Bloomington was the restaurants. My expectations were greatly exceeded. Bloomington offers a wide variety of restaurants, including most mainstream chains, a huge selection of ethnic establishments, or places that offer a more formal dining experience.

What took some getting used to about Bloomington
One adjustment that I had to make was not having a built in support system upon my arrival. The campus is so large, with so many people its easy to just blend into your program without making any real connection to anyone or anything. You have to make the effort to go outside of your classrooms, your building, or all of campus to meet people and interact with them individually and build that relationship. My previous university was just a community all of its own and everyone basically knew everyone, even if you rarely talked to them because you would see them everyday. But I was able to make that adjustment early on has been greatly beneficial.

Desiree

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Academic area
Higher Education and Student Affairs, School of Education

I study higher education. I started my education wanting to be a high school math teacher, and along the way discovered the community college and the role it plays in access, equality, and social progress. I’ve always wanted to help people. Research through my field enables me to help people on a broader level, and make lasting change.

Undergraduate Institution
University of Florida

Hometown
Miami, Florida

What I like best about Bloomington
I really like the energy of a college town. There’s a constant buzz that comes from a quarter of the town being barely old enough to vote. People here are also really friendly, and I witness random acts of kindness all of the time. The area is beautiful through all of the seasons, but especially late Spring and early Fall when the town is colorful. It’s also nice to go to bed at night and feel safe enough to not check the door multiple times to make sure I locked it.

What surprised me about Bloomington
What surprised me about IU the most, at least within my program, was the amount of student diversity. There are students of different backgrounds, with different experiences, and whose voices are validated in the classroom.

What took some getting used to about Bloomington
Besides winter and the cold, as a Cubana I am a part of an extreme minority within the Latino community.  Exploring my own identity within that context, and learning more about the broader Latino experience in the United States from my peers, has been both challenging and enlightening.

Lewis

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Academic area
Cultural Anthropology and Historical Archaeology, College of Arts and Sciences

I am a graduate student in Anthropology studying cultural anthropology and historical archaeology. I chose these areas of study based on my interests in history, archaeology and anthropology and the interdisciplinary nature of Historical Archaeology.

Undergraduate Institution
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Hometown
Chester, Pennsylvania; have lived in Indiana for 9 years and in Indianapolis for 6.

What I like best about Bloomington
I love the availability of close nature areas for camping and hiking.

What surprised me about Bloomington
I was surprised by the size and complexity of the university.

What took some getting used to about Bloomington
The commute from Indianapolis to campus.

Dani

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Academic area
Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences

My fields of study are comparative political behavior and political psychology, within the Department of Political Science. I became interested in politics during the 2001 parliamentary election in Bulgaria, when I was fifteen. My interest grew stronger when I moved to the United States and witnessed 9/11 and the debates surrounding the US invasion of Iraq. In my own research, I ask how citizens respond to periods of great political and social change.

Undergraduate Institution
Mississippi Univeristy for Women and Three Rivers Community College

Hometown
I was born in Ruse, Bulgaria, but I also consider Van Buren, Missouri my hometown. I spent a year there as an exchange student and two years as a college student, and I visit my host family every year for Christmas.

What I like best about Bloomington
After living in small towns in Missouri and Mississippi for about five years, I loved Bloomington! In many ways, Bloomington has the feel of a small town; people are friendly, there are plenty of outdoor activities, and one can bike almost anywhere in town. At the same time, there is plenty one can do for entertainment; there are lots of restaurants and bars, concerts and plays, and Indianapolis is a short drive away. As an international student, I appreciate the variety of ethnic restaurants and grocery stores around town.

What surprised me about Bloomington
IU has an outstanding academic reputation, but I am still a bit surprised when I meet world-renowned professors at talks around campus and in class.

What took some getting used to about Bloomington
As I mentioned above, I transitioned easily to life in Bloomington. With regard to IU, perhaps the greatest transition was the large class size for the undergraduate courses, which I assisted. Coming from a small liberal arts college, I had never been in a class of 80, let alone 200 or 300 students! I was overwhelmed on my first day of classes, but I soon became accustomed to the large class size. There are good ways to get to know students personally, including holding office hours and coming to class 10-15 minutes before class starts to give students an opportunity to speak to you.

I do remember that some of my colleagues were having similar issues about getting used to the small class size of graduate seminars after having attended large universities. I didn't think twice about this because my own upper-level undergraduate courses regularly consisted of 5-10 students and required student participation and discussion.

Carlos

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Academic area
Cognitive Science, College of Arts and Sciences

I am a graduate student in Cognitive Science--where philosophy and computer science meet psychology. I naturally gravitated to this field from my undergraduate majors (Computer Science & Philosophy), and was inspired by an undergraduate class in the subject.

Undergraduate Institution
Cornell University

Hometown
I grew up in Vienna, Austria, but am really a mutt who moves around quite a bit.

What I like best about Bloomington
The opportunities for biking: road, mountain, and commuting. I also enjoy the overall low cost of living..

What surprised me about Bloomington
The natural setting: hilly and wooded, with a number of lakes and state parks in the area. Quite unlike the stereotype of the average Indiana town.

What took some getting used to about Bloomington
The difficulty of getting out of town without a car.

Michael

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Academic area
Curriculum and Instruction (Secondary Education), School of Education

I am specializing in curriculum studies in secondary education. My main reason for choosing this program was to contribute in the ongoing research to curb high school dropout through a more specialized but intensive high school curricula. The doctoral programs in the School of Education in Indiana University are structured in a way that meets my interests.

Undergraduate Institution
University of Yaounde

Hometown
Cameroon, West Africa

What I like best about Bloomington
I like living in Bloomington because it is a small peaceful university town with people of different races, countries, and walks of life living together. It is quite safe in Bloomington. I allow my kids to play outside unlike in our previous city where they remained indoors due to crime. In fact, I count myself very fortunate to be in such a renowned research university working with highly admired and recognized professors in the field of education.

What surprised me about Bloomington
What surprised me most at Indiana University is the professors’ outstanding interpersonal skills and abilities to empathize with both national and international students experiencing cross-cultural and transitional problems. The professors are ready to help hard-working students succeed. I thought I was going to meet professors who care little about students as that is the case in my own country. It is, however, worth noting that, the professors will sometimes not know whether you need help until you request for it.

Fileve

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Academic area
Anthropology, minoring in Comparative Education, College of Arts and Sciences

I study Anthropology, which is the study of culture and people. I chose it as an undergraduate at City College and always had a love of learning about cultures. After getting my Master’s of Arts in teaching Social Studies and teaching for four years I decided I wanted to go back to pursue a career that would allow me to do research that had to do with schools but didn’t put me in the role of teacher. I miss teaching but I am happy to be able to investigate things that are more focused on what I am interested in while simultaneously having the opportunity to teach.

Undergraduate Institution
City College of New York

Hometown
I am from New York City, New York, on the north side of Central Park.

What I like best about Bloomington
Bloomington is very different from the big city, but it is a great place for a change. I like that it has a lot of activities that revolve around the arts because of Indiana University. The campus itself is beautiful; the landscapers really know their flowers! The surrounding area is beautiful as well, when spring hits you really understand why the town is called Bloomington. Bloomington is a very safe town and there are a lot of things that you can do to give you a feel of the Midwest that don’t involve the University. All-in-all, Bloomington attracts a variety of people, it may not seem like it as first but with an open mind the treasures come out.

What surprised me about Bloomington
I was really surprised at the variety of things to do here. When I first came here I thought that it would be a great place to go to graduate school because there seemed to be little to do, so few distractions. After being here the first week, I realized there was tons of stuff to do and that it really takes discipline to not get distracted by the amount of events happening.

What took some getting used to about Bloomington
Being from New York one thing that took a lot of getting used to was the public transportation. Back home, buses and or trains come every 10 – 20 minutes and they are 24/7. Here you can wait up to an hour on the weekends and the busses stop at 11 pm.

Another thing that took getting used to was the different ethnicities I encountered. The neighborhood I come from is predominantly Black and Hispanic. Bloomington, the majority of the people are White, so that took getting used to.