Roxanne's Story

My name is Roxanne. I’m a first generation American. My parents are immigrants from the Philippines. My family moved around a lot because of my dad’s military career, so I’ve lived all over the world. Currently, my family lives in Japan, and that is where I call “home”. Growing up and moving around frequently was hard at times, but I’ve grown to love it. I’ve lived in Georgia (state), Germany, New Jersey, California, Japan, and now, China. Although I don’t have a lot of childhood friends, I know people from all over the world. This has enriched my life, and since coming to this school, I’ve met people from places I lived before and travelled to as well. Growing up in this way has made it so I can talk to Europeans, people from either coast of the US, and people from all over Asia.

One of the key values of NYU and NYU Shanghai is this global perspective. We’re all meant to be global citizens, and I suppose growing up as I did gave me a unique perspective on the idea of a “global citizen”. More than any level of exposure to different countries and cultures, global citizenry to me is about how much you feel connected to the world around you. When I heard about NYU Shanghai, I saw it as a school that would give me that kind of opportunity.

I was talking with my friend and roommates in my room about why you would choose NYU Shanghai if you’d been accepted to one of the better US schools like U.C. Berkeley or even one of the Ivy League schools. I said that I chose to come here because I wanted to do something for myself and with my life that will be different and extraordinary; no matter what the outcome of college is – whether I end up “successful” or not – I will come out of this experience with a new language, with three years in Shanghai under my belt, with all my study abroad semesters, and with new friends from all over the world. I will have lived. I will have grown as a person. That’s not something you can say if you go to school anywhere else, no matter how many accolades the school may possess.

Coming here was kind of a whirlwind venture for me and my parents – they had no idea I was even thinking of applying. I applied to NYU Shanghai, had my interview, got my acceptance, came to Shanghai to see the city, and then I accepted my offer. So one day at dinner I told my parents, “I’m going to China in a week to see Shanghai, and I think NYU Shanghai is probably going to be my school.” I told them my vision of who I saw myself becoming, that I didn’t see myself following a straight and narrow path. I kind of hit them over the head with my decision to come here, and I don’t think they slept the night after I told them. But they’re definitely proud of me though, especially seeing how much I’ve grown and all I’ve accomplished in my time here. After I showed them how much I care about this school, they’ve actually fallen in love with NYU Shanghai too.

No matter how much I tell my parents about my experiences during first semester here, they still can’t really get a grasp on the entire scope of how much I had to change and adapt. From little things like learning how to do laundry in Shanghai, to bigger things like realizing that I don’t have to rely on my parents to make my decisions anymore. Though I still go to them for advice, and I know they’re always going to support me, I know that I’m the authority now. Living and studying at NYU Shanghai has given me a head start towards that realization, to understanding my own strength as a person.

Taking my first classes, learning a new language, living in a new city, living with a roommate – all of these experience have really helped me blossom. This second year has been a vast improvement over the first because I feel so much more mature, like I can navigate and excel in my life here. All my classmates have improved as well. We feel like we’ve accomplished something worthwhile in a short amount of time.

A year ago I was wonderfully lost in the overwhelming world of NYU Shanghai. Although the school was small, I hadn’t grown up enough in my first year to be able to navigate all the new experiences that flooded my sensory system. I’ve come back in my second year much more anchored to my goals. I feel that I know where I’m going now and it’s such a comforting feeling, it has allowed me to take on a lot more responsibilities with confidence.

Although I’m enjoying myself immensely here, I also want to take advantage of my time as a student of the NYU Global Network University to get out there and see the world. I have plans to study over the summer in Washington DC and New York. I’m also excited to go abroad to take classes in political studies in Buenos Aires and Abu Dhabi. I’ve also fallen in love with learning languages, so I hope I’ll be able to pick up some Spanish in Argentina, and perhaps some Arabic in Abu Dhabi. Combined with my growing Chinese ability, I might be something of a triple threat in the future!