Students Study Hard and Play Hard

Shingo - web

I could say that life in Pittsburgh was the biggest experience and the most precious time in my whole life. My English was not good and was worried about that at first, but everyone was very kind and helpful which erased my worries. One of the most attractive part of studying in Pittsburgh was warm-hearted people. If you need help and seek for it, friends, professors, classmates, RA, advisors, librarian, lots of people around you are willing to help you and support your life, not just studying but anything related to you. I remember my RA took me out for lunch and dinner whenever I was feeling alone.

Classes were very interesting too. The class style was completely different from my home university in terms of students needed to participate in the class which I struggled a lot. It took me time to get used to it but professors supported me and tried not to leave me behind the class. So studying environment for exchange student was organized. I struggled but interactive style classes were interesting to see how students exchange their opinions and learn different perspective from others. The classes were based on not only professors lecture but student’s participation. This made me think a lot by my own which deepened my understanding.

The other thing I got impressed was how students study hard and play hard. When you talk to students, they always ask “What is your major?” and when they answer, they answer with confidence and proud of what they are doing. Also many students took classes which were not their majors but had interest in those classes, so they had broad knowledge. This stimulated me to have interest in other subjects which I have never learned and I actually took class for it, such as statistics. However, they put importance on relaxation as much as studying. Library was pretty full even when it was not before exam, but will be relatively empty on Friday night.

Through these new experiences, my view was widened and I learned lots of new perspectives. I am sure students can make progress in Pittsburgh with warm people, interesting classes, wonderful environment to live and many new experiences.

Hanako Shingo

Japan
International Politics
Year 2018