It’s actually quite ironic that I wound up an educational consultant, considering I barely remember my own college application process.

       I’m not a person who forgets things; if I can’t find a single sock, it stresses me out for hours. Nevertheless, my entire college application process—from school selection to supplements to mailing in the deposit—is kind of a blur.  Even when I picked Vassar, it wasn’t for a particularly concrete reason. I knew Vassar was a “good” school, and I knew they had an excellent English department (my intended major), but almost every school I applied to met those requirements. I had no clue what Vassar’s ranking was; I didn’t know the personalities of the different dorms; I didn’t know the student-faculty ratio. Nevertheless, I picked Vassar because it felt the most right when I visited.

       I know, I know—that’s a useless explanation. It certainly doesn’t help international students who can’t tour the schools they apply to. But I’m saying it anyway because I think I now know what I was feeling when Vassar just seemed “right.” I think I was observing not what I was—not the attributes and environment that suited me best at that time—but the attributes and environment that would create the person I wanted to become. And that is relevant to any student applying to college. People say that college is the best four years of your life. I don’t know about that. But I do think those four years are among the most transformative. When I was in college I took classes about immigration, philosophy, obscure Spanish literature, urban planning, and many other subjects I had never encountered before. I became an avid feminist, a strong supporter of gay marriage, and I gained a sense of responsibility for the world around me. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without those experiences.

       So that brings me to where I am: living in China and working with Zhimeng. The experience that led me most directly to Zhimeng was my work in Vassar’s writing center. I helped students with all kinds of writing assignments, from literary analysis to lap reports. In doing so, I not only discovered something I was good at, I also discovered something I really enjoyed. I loved helping students with their work—specifically international students. They all had such different experiences learning English; sometimes they knew the most complicated words and structures but didn’t know how to correctly use a comma. A little guidance went a lot further with international students. They were eager to improve their writing, and that made me eager to help.

       Of course, that’s not the only reason I joined Zhimeng. I also studied Chinese for four years in college, including a summer program in Qingdao and a semester-long program in Shanghai. When people ask me what I like most about China, I have certain stock answers like “the culture” and “the food.” But honestly, the thing I like most is probably the challenge that China presents for me on a day-to-day basis. Things are just different enough to be hard sometimes, but figuring things out in China (and using my hard-won Chinese to do so!) is much more satisfying than it would be in a place where everything came easily to me.

       That has been my attitude, and that’s the attitude I like to see in my students as well. I believe any student who is willing to embrace those challenges will thrive in the US, and it’s my pleasure to help students get there.