Exchange at Yale-NUS: a season of new connections and personal growth

For many, a semester abroad is a chance to immerse oneself into another culture and venture out of one’s comfort zone. Even as many of our students take that step out into the world, Yale-NUS College played host to 51 exchange students this semester. In this article, we spotlight the experiences of three exchange students: Grace Chen from Wellesley College, Jani Kaitosalmi from Aalto University, and Do Thi Minh Han from Fulbright University Vietnam.

Grace at the Flower Dome during the Chinese New Year festivities. Image provided by Grace Chen.

Grace Chen is a third-year student majoring in Computer Science, with her home institution being  Wellesley College, a private women’s liberal arts College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, the United States.  Although Grace is a Singapore citizen, she has never been to Singapore, and she grew up hearing amazing stories about the country. Since she wanted to learn more about this part of her identity, she chose Yale-NUS College for her exchange.

During her time at the College, Grace most enjoyed taking computer science classes in a co-ed environment, and loved the experience of living and learning in a small, tight-knit community.

Aside from computer science classes, two other modules that Grace took this semester were The Chinese Economy and Urban Singapore. Over the course of the semester, Grace was able to deep-dive into the evolution of China’s economy and the development of Singapore as a city-state respectively. Grace expressed that the opportunity to learn about Asia alongside people who are from the region was particularly meaningful for her, as she was able to have “conversations [she] would not be able to have in America”.

Grace was also able to increase her understanding of various cultures outside Asia, due to the diversity of the student population. At Yale-NUS students hail from different areas of the world, including Europe, Africa and the Americas. She shared, “I’m surprised that I not only learned a lot from the locals, but the other exchange students as well. Overall, I have really enjoyed all the conversations on race, ethnicity, and nationality, and discovering more about what these topics mean to me personally.”

Jani (left) and other Yale-NUS exchange students on a trip to Bintan. Image provided by Jani Kaitosalmi.

Echoing similar sentiments, Jani Kaitosalmi from Aalto University in Finland expressed how he appreciated being able develop valuable bonds with peers at Yale-NUS College. He explained how the small class sizes at Yale-NUS differ greatly from the mass lectures he is used to attending at his home university. Due to the small class sizes here, he had the opportunity to “have a different kind of connection with [his] classmates and professors through meaningful discussions in small groups”.

Jani shared that a main take away from his semester at Yale-NUS was “learning how to venture out of [his] comfort zone.” Although Jani is a final year master’s student studying Information Networks and finishing a second bachelor’s degree in Economics at his home institution, he decided to take classes with a focus on the Humanities this semester.

One of the modules he took this semester was Reality, a Philosophy module. Although these classes were notably different from Jani’s data and engineering background, he found the content engaging and exposed him to different lenses of thinking.

Other than time spent in the classroom, Jani was intentional about forming meaningful connections with locals and exploring different parts of the island. For instance, he joined a tour of the Geylang neighbourhood organised by Yale-NUS where he learned more about the unique region and the workings of the Singapore’s public health system.

Do Thi Minh Han (center) and fellow exchange students at Orchard Road. Image provided by Do Thi Minh Han.

Do Thi Minh Han (Han Do) also found herself exploring Singapore through the various field trips she went on this semester. Han Do is a third-year psychology major from Fulbright University Vietnam.

As part of her Urban Singapore class, she visited the Singapore City Gallery at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and My Nice Home Gallery at the Housing Development Board, which allowed her to “foster [an] understanding of urban Singapore and explore [its] political, social and economic dimensions.”

Other than being exposed to Singapore through different critical discourses and lenses, Han Do found that these field trips also provided her with “insights and perspectives on youth identity and global citizenship”, particularly through discussions with her course mates.

Overall, Han Do appreciated how her academic experiences at Yale-NUS exposed her to the “core values of a liberal arts education, including freedom of thought and expression, respect, and diversity.”

During her semester at the College, Han Do also immersed herself in the campus community by  joining the Yale-NUS Ultimate Frisbee team. Through club activities, she was able to hear about other students’ stories and connect with them by sharing some of her own. She describes her time with Yale-NUS Frisbee as full of “laughter, comfort, and shared connections.”

Reflecting on her semester, Han Do’s shared that her time at Yale-NUS has driven her to challenge herself. She said, “My experiences at Yale-NUS have cultivated in me a global mindset—an ability to view and understand the world from multiple lenses—and a creative mindset, such as an attitude of curiosity and a tolerance for unfamiliarity.”

Overall, the experiences of exchange students vary widely in terms academic and extracurricular activities. However, they all take something away with them––be it lessons about themselves, or the world around them.