MingJun Zha

Hello my friend, I’m MingJun, a first-year political science student. As someone who came to US just six months ago when fall quarter started, the language, academic, and cultural adaptations are, quite frankly, hard. I still remember the loneliness I felt when I saw my roommates’ families walk them to the dorm and help them put the quilt on while my parents couldn’t even leave the country due to the Covid measurements.
Alas, what happened is what happened. But we can make the new coming international students walk a flatter road than we did. Here is my three-point plan:
1. Set up the international student peer program
This is a program where new international students can apply to have a weekly half-hour meeting with returning international students, someone they can share their thoughts and hear the response from those who experienced it.
2. Bring AS accounts to social media WE are familiar with.
I have talked with a lot of following international Gaucho about AS, and a common question I heard is what does AS do with its 15 million yearly budget. The truth is, this feeling has to be attributed both to the kind of program AS set and the lack of exposure to international students. AS’s programs all have a long history and thus can not be amended in a day, but the exposure is different. AS has plenty of accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; what hurt will it bring to open some accounts on Wechat and Line? This way, not only domestic students can browse AS’s program on social media they are familiar with; we can do this too.
3. Advocate with the school to set up an international students LLC.
UCSB has a wide range of living-learning communities, ranging from women in STEM to first Gen scholars and to Black scholars. Our challenges and experiences of us are definitely worth an LLC in the name of Global Gaucho. I will coordinate with other members of the senate and the student advocate general to push the school to create an LLC for international students.