Home away from home: Conversations with Yale-NUS exchange students

How is life as an exchange student in Yale-NUS College? For many of our exchange students, coming to Singapore gives them an opportunity to learn about different cultures and perspectives as they explore the interdisciplinary curriculum that Yale-NUS offers.

As we welcome new exchange students to Yale-NUS College this semester, we share the experiences of exchange students Milena Schwotzer from University College Freiburg, Llaure Braun from Queen Mary University of London and Thuc Anh Phan from Fulbright University Vietnam who had previously visited.

Milena’s interest in Yale-NUS College stemmed from her positive experiences studying at a liberal arts college in Germany, and a desire to deepen her academic pursuits in life sciences abroad. Here, Milena embraced the spirit of interdisciplinary learning and curiosity nurtured by Yale-NUS, eventually taking classes in the arts and physical sciences as well.

Having smaller class sizes was a highlight of her academic experiences here, Milena said, pointing out how the diversity of her classmates’ backgrounds enriched their class discussions, both within and out of the classroom. “A particular highlight for me was the Organic Chemistry Lab course, which has been frustrating but also the most fun and intellectually stimulating.”

Milena with her classmates at Yale-NUS’ chemistry lab. Image provided by Milena Schwotzer.

For Llaure, she enjoyed the challenge of applying the themes and lessons learned in her major –  International Relations – in her classes at Yale-NUS where she took higher level modules in psychology, environmental studies and non-fiction writing. Llaure shared, “It was very challenging doing these classes, but I went in with the intent to learn something new and understand concepts from International Relations in a different way.”

A particular highlight for Llaure was her psychology class on confronting social injustice, where she found herself analysing these themes from a personal perspective vs just approaching it as academic knowledge. To Llaure, exploring her academic field through a multidisciplinary lens was a unique benefit of studying at Yale-NUS.

Like Milena, Thuc Anh also hails from a liberal arts college. To Thuc Ahn, studying at Yale-NUS provided an opportunity for her to learn lessons that she can bring back to her own college in Vietnam. She enjoyed the enthusiasm and close-knit community that Yale-NUS students created amongst themselves, fondly recalling how her suitemates would bounce back and forth between activities including ballroom and k-pop dancing, photography and volunteer work.

Left: Thuc Ahn on campus. Right: Thuc Anh and fellow students at an expedition to Dover Forest organised by Yale-NUS student organisation EcoPlanet. Images provided by Thuc Anh Phan.

Living with suitemates provided Thuc Ahn the opportunity to share her own culture and experiences, such as cooking Vietnamese food, which made her feel more connected to life on campus. She enjoyed experiencing Singapore through College-led expeditions, such as venturing into Chinatown with the Residential College Officers or visiting Dover Forest with EcoPlanet, Yale-NUS College’s student organisation that champions sustainability.

Milena also enjoyed immersing herself in the plethora of student-led activities on campus, notably organising a makan-makan (food) session on German bread making with support from the Intercultural Engagement office, and playing for the College’s floorball team at the Inter Faculty Games (IFG). She said, “While I have enjoyed improving my floorball skills, the best part has for sure been the team spirit especially at IFG. Shout out to the best sports team at Yale-NUS, I will miss you!”

Llaure was ‘pleasantly intrigued’ by the community engagement and vibrant residential life on Yale-NUS campus. She said, “I find the responsibility that the students undertake to build their community very interesting, and I think the Yale-NUS exchange students community is also much closer as a result.”

Llaure exploring Singapore during a College organised trip. Image provided by Llaure Braun.

Reflecting on her time at Yale-NUS, Thuc Anh said she was grateful for the academic opportunities and residential culture she was able to participate in.“ It was great to be a member of this community and see different people with different interests come together” she said. She hopes to see a similar culture grow within her home institution in the future.