First Impressions? State College Captures Kudos from New International Students

I make it a point each August to interview many of Penn State’s newly arrived international students. For a few good reasons.

First, they are the hidden treasure of Happy Valley, ignored by many despite their brilliant minds and fascinating backgrounds. Second, they represent the greatest untold drama of our community: overcoming remarkable barriers of finance and bureaucracy to get here. And third, they look at our community with a fresh perspective — appreciating things that State College residents have long taken for granted. 

So I hung out at the HUB for portions of four days during the third week of August and enjoyed opportunities to talk with students from such varied countries as China, India, Brazil and Myanmar.  

I wasn’t shocked to hear of their respect for Penn State as an academic institution or their appreciation for the selection of a former international student, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, as Penn State’s new president. 

I was surprised, however, by their adulation for State College’s greenery.

We may take for granted our lovely lawns, trees and shrubs, but international students do not.  Many come from cities with populations in the millions — best described as concrete jungles — so they fairly gushed over our verdant valley. And guess what? Not a single student offered praise for the new high rise apartment buildings that are taking over downtown State College. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF STATE COLLEGE?

“I come from a big city. So yesterday I was walking outside and I could hear birds singing and the crickets. And that is something different for me. At the law school, I will have to study hard but I can find peace of mind. If I have just 10 minutes, I can walk outside and breathe clean air. The Arboretum is just amazing. I really like to go there between classes where I can just sit down and have a chill time.”  – Augusto Ferreira, Brazil, pursuing J.D. at Penn State Law

“There’s so much green area around me. I really like this place. It’s like a picture, on Windows XP. Like the wallpaper you see there. I find this place as good as that.” – Debarshi Kundu, India, pursuing Ph.D. in electrical engineering

“When I was on the airplane (prior to landing in State College), I looked through the window and everything was covered by trees. Then when I was in the car (heading to State College), all I saw was trees. Trees and trees and trees. I felt like I had just entered a forest.” – Wu Yu-Syuan, Taiwan, pursuing a master’s degree in biotechnology

“The greenery is very good. You know, the greenery is the one thing that is not present in Lahore. State College is very much green, so neat and clean. And the atmosphere is very pleasant. It makes me feel comfortable. The only (negative) thing is that there is not much population. I grew up in a place where there are a lot of people.  So I want to see more people. Yeah, the small number of people annoys me and makes me depressed.” – Wagar Bhatti, Pakistan, pursuing Ph.D. in animal science

“State College is a good town. People in big towns work like crazy but here they work harmoniously, balancing between life and work. An example is when I go to the bus, the driver always smiles and asks, ‘How are you?’ That’s really amazing, something I couldn’t find in my country.” – Griselda Kurniawan, Indonesia, pursuing master’s degree (LLM) at Penn State Law

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PENN STATE?

“Penn State has excellent faculty members in my area, exactly what I was searching for.” – Wang Jingzhou, China, pursuing Ph.D. in energy economics 

“I figured out that Penn State is a welcoming school for international students. Yeah, it is competitive in the law school, but students try to help each other as much as they can. And there is a great faculty team.” – Augusto Ferreira

“Because of the Penn State curriculum and the rank of the university in industrial engineering. My father is in the poultry business, and I want to explore more about production and supply chain management. My aim is to set up a new poultry feed plant and to do that, I need to gain some knowledge in this field.” – Chandan Gudi, India, pursuing master’s degree in industrial engineering

“The main reason is my supervisor. I got a connection with my supervisor. I think he has very good publications and he’s very friendly, nice. That’s two reasons that made me choose Penn State.” – Li Jingyi, China, pursuing Ph.D. in materials science and engineering

“I have a lot of passion for golf. The PGA (Professional Golfers Association) has only 18 college programs for golf management, and Penn State is the best.” – Stephen Sha, China, pursuing bachelor’s degree in PGA professional golf management

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT DR. BENDAPUDI AS PENN STATE’S PRESIDENT?

“I think it’s great because in my opinion, the one who is a leader should not be defined by their race or by their gender but by their credibility. I think if a woman from India has the credibility to be the leader of Penn State, she should be the leader.” — Griselda Kurniawan

“The thing that’s inspiring is her journey to be president of a prestigious university like Penn State. It’s almost an Ivy League (school), like a public Ivy League university. And it tells us so much about Penn State. It really is an example of an equal opportunity university which we are very grateful for.” – Chandan Gudi

“It proves that Penn State is a university that embraces diversity.  It’s encouraging because Penn State has a president born outside the United States.  That tells international students like me that I can do something.  I can be somebody.” — Wang Jingzhou

“I really liked what she said at the meeting. (See below.) She said, ‘You are here to make Penn State better.’ I have a very clear goal and I’m going to work really hard so that in the future I’m going to make Penn State proud.”  — Stephen Sha

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It was not the loudest “We Are” cheer that I’ve ever heard. Nor was it the most inspiring. But it was absolutely, far and away, the most memorable.

It was led by Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, newly installed president of Penn State.  And her responders were hundreds of newly arrived international students, gathered for an Aug. 16 welcoming reception on Old Main lawn.

Why so memorable? To me, a locally bred and locally raised townie, there was fabulous symbolism in hearing a faint Indian accent from the accomplished woman who led the Penn State cheer. And I felt a surge of pride as I looked around the crowd of new students who represented nations across the globe.  

“Wow,” I thought, “this Penn State thing has gone far beyond local folks, Pennsylvanians or even East Coasters.”

Consider that Dr. Bendapudi was born in India and probably never held an American football until she came to the University of Kansas for her Ph.D., some 30 years ago. But who cares? Apart from the fact that she once served as an Ohio State professor, her credentials (executive vice president of Huntington Bank, president of the University of Louisville, etc.) strongly affirm her right to lead my alma mater.

And as she spoke to the crowd of new international recruits, Bendapudi pulled no punches on her Penn State pride.

“I know you’ve done a lot of research to figure out where to go to school,” she told the newcomers. “So whether you are here as an undergraduate student or as a graduate student, the great news is that you picked one of the best universities in the entire world… We have 3,000 (international) students here representing 113 countries. How many places anywhere can say that? And when you think about the incredible research done all over the country, we are ranked number three among all U.S. universities for the global impact of our research. So you are in a very special place. 

“And from now on, this is your family. This is part of your family. You are Penn Staters…Wherever you go around the world, go anywhere, all corners of the world, any city.  If you yell, ‘We are,’ somebody will say, ‘Penn State.’ That is the power of the blue and white tapestry that you are now part of…

“So here’s what I ask of you. Just as I know, Penn State will change you, I want you to change Penn State for the better.”