First Post

There are reasons for me to start another weblog. Honestly, I have about four that are quite active already, but have decided to create another one because it seems that this host is popular with many international students, some of whom I am close with. I wish for them (all of them) to read and comment on this blog. This not only will be able to give me feedback but will also allow them to practice their reading comprehension and writing skills. As international students, I see that they seem to struggle with language and cultural barriers here in the United States.

Allow me to introduce myself. If you don't know this already, I am an international mentor for Project A.I.M. (Asian and International Mentoring), among other things. The official responsibilities that I hold on campus are as follows: President's Society Member, Member of Saint John's University's Asian Pacific Heritage Month Planning Committee, Vice President of Saint John's University's Chinese Cultural Association, Mentor and Student Coordinator at Saint John's University's Project A.I.M. (Asian and International Mentoring), Capstone Leader at Saint John's University's LEAD (Leadership Education and Development), Member of the Multicultural Advisory Committee, Secretary of the Asian Student Leader Roundtable Discussion and Student Worker at Saint John's University's Office of Business Affairs. I also study Mandarin Chinese on Saturdays in Chinatown and am the Supervisor for the New York Chinese School Patrol. I am an avid martial artist, specializing in Tibetan White Crane Kung Fu along with Tai Chi. This might seem like a long list, but in reality it is not. It might be surprising, but there are many students on campus who are able to do this many things and perhaps even more. I hope I do not sound boastful because I had no intention of doing so by listing them. I put it out there in order for you to better understand who I am and what I do.

The focus of this blog will be my experiences as an international student mentor. I find it quite amazing that students come from such a far away land to study in a place so unfamiliar. These students are brave, and this year, I have been blessed to be assigned with four international students to mentor. One is from Shanghai, another from Beijing, and two are from Taoyuan. Three are graduate students in the university's MBA program and one is an undergraduate freshman. All four are absolutely adorable and lovely people. They are friendly, polite, and most importantly, are open to learning new things. Many Americans would say "these people should be more like us," but I say to them: "we should be more like them!" America's seemingly arrogant and condescending attitude towards people of other cultures is definitely wrong. I, for one, have much to learn.

It's not that I have not studied hard to be able to understand them, of course. I have read extensively on the political and social structure of people from the far east, i.e., China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, etc. I have not come into mentoring empty headed. Many students who I have mentored have asked, "why do you do this?" Ms. Rosa Yen, my supervisor and boss, would reply to them and say: "Mentors do this because they have heart." I would not disagree, but I would add that it is also because of my background. When I was a child, I entered school without any knowledge of English whatsoever. My parents spoke to me only in Cantonese Chinese and knew that I would be able to pick English up quite quickly when I entered school. They were right, but I definitely struggled. When I was educated in Vancouver during first grade, I was placed in an ESL class. From that day forth, I knew that I had to do something to improve my English.

I studied quite hard and was usually one of the top students in the class when it came to English. It's quite ironic that an American Born Chinese with parents from Hong Kong was the most active in discussions during class when we were discussing texts in high school. Now in college, I have taken up an English minor to supplement my Business Management major just to make sure that my English is up to par with the other Americans'. Now, my goal is to excel beyond the average American when it comes to English and go to law school in order to pursue a Jurist Doctorate (J.D.) after my undergraduate studies.

Mentoring is definitely not easy, especially since the four students have unique needs (being student coordinator doesn't make life easier for me, either). I have tried the strategy of finding common interests and bringing the four of them together. I am so glad that they like each other and hang out even when I am not around. This is encouraging because if they did not like each other, I would have to try and spend time with them separately, which would require a significant investment of time on my part. I would never neglect them if they come up with individual needs, of course. I actually try to cater to their needs as much as possible without ignoring the guidelines of my job.

The other day, I heard that my mentees were doing quite well in school. I was so happy and proud! I am generally not an emotional person, but my heart swelled with pride as I acknowledged that my mentees are brilliant people and that perhaps, (just perhaps), my influence as mentor has helped a bit.

I love my mentees. =).