ISSS Podcast: Global Connections at USF
Episode #5: Global Graduates: Student Success Stories




Host: Hello and welcome to the last episode of this semester's Global Connections at USF. Get ready to be inspired as we hear about the journeys of two remarkable graduating students.

I'm your host, Rashi Bhatt. And today we're celebrating the achievements and aspirations of Emmanuel Abuenyi and Talisa Tran join us as we explore their transformative experiences, lessons learned, and future dreams.
I'll be speaking with Talisa first. So, hello and welcome to our podcast, Talisa and congratulations on graduating.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself to begin with. And how did you integrate yourself in the US F community when you just started your program?

Talisa: Hi, my name is Talisa. I am a senior who's graduating next week at USF and I major in communication studies with double minors in PR and business.

Host: Congratulations. First off. That is so exciting for you. Thank you for spending a little bit of time talking to us about your journey. Despite I'm sure this week and the next week being super busy for you as a graduating student. So I'm really appreciative of that. Thank you. So let's start off with you.

Moving here to the US and to integrating yourself in USF's community. Did you gravitate to certain clubs just to integrate yourself.

What was that experience like?

Talisa: Yeah. So I am from Vietnam. So I came here after my first year, so I spent my freshman year at home setting because it was COVID. So my first year here was actually my sophomore year. And when I came here, I was gravitated towards a few clubs, especially as an international student. And one of my hobby is dance.

And so I joined varsity, which is the teams, the club sport, the hip hop team in the school as well as ISA, which is the International Student Association here.

So those were the first two things that I was gravitated towards and I am still doing until my last year of college.
And it has been really amazing, aside from that I am also engaged in well within my own department. So we have PRSSA which is like a public relations Student Association.
Situation is like a club for pr students and LAMBDA Pata, which is our honors chapter in our department. So, yeah.

Host: Hm. I see. So it seems like although because of COVID, you've had to start your in person hands on experience only sophomore year onwards, you were still able to find academic based clubs and also cultural and extracurricular clubs and organizations to help you with that transition.So that's amazing.

That you were able to do that and reflecting on your time here at us f what were some of the most significant lessons or experiences that have shaped your personal and also professional growth?

Talisa: I feel like for me, what really shaped my personal growth being here at USF is that I learned to live with myself and embrace, embrace a lot of me time or alone time because I don't really have any close families nearby or I don't have a lot of like big connections when I came to USF so I spent a lot of time by myself.

I just never, I was like, never really comfortable with living with myself before. I feel like I always have to have somebody, especially because I live really close with my parents back home. So being here alone is definitely very lonely at first because you just always by yourself and even if you have friends, sometimes they're not always free to hang out.

But I have just kind of grown to live with it and find things that I can do by myself to just kind of be my own best friend and professionally. I have feel that during my time at USF I could say that connection is definitely everything but not like connection that you get on linkedin and you would just connect and message them.

But it's, it's important that you make genuine connection that you kind of have to be your friend and it takes a lot of work to, you know, connect with somebody on a personal level.

Host: Yeah, thank you for sharing that, creating a sense of independence and becoming comfortable with your own company. All the while keeping up with your academics and on campus commitments is a tall order for anybody and especially international students with their family living so far away. I am so happy that you've gone through this journey and come to these realizations for how important it is to take care of your own emotional health.

So before we let you go and close out the conversation, do you mind sharing a little bit about your plans after graduation? 

Talisa: Yeah. so because of the job market right now and with the major that I'm studying, which is communication, so I want to go into like pr and marketing is definitely a very competitive field since everybody is always looking for a job.

So I haven't found a position here at, at San Francisco to be completely transparent.
And I am planning to go back to Vietnam after after school, after I graduate and get a job there. But that's like the instant short future and right now, but in the future in like the long run, I feel like I could see myself starting my own business, opening a little cafe, a little bakery.

I don't know, I just see just me being very independent in the future. But for right now, definitely still figuring it out, definitely going back home after graduation. And I feel like that should be ok for international students to go back home because sometimes it's just hard to get a job here.
And I feel like we shouldnt limit ourselves to, to like, think that we have to stay here after graduation.

Host: Of course, I think it's so important for all of our listeners to hear a perspective that emphasizing finding a job in the US for international students isn't the only or best next step for graduation. People might want to continue their studies. The job market, like you said, might not be conclusive to getting a ton of offers. You may just want to go and build your life and career, your home country.

So understanding that there isn't one correct path to success and allowing yourself to explore all of those options after graduation is excellent.

Talisa: And I feel like we really should keep our options open. I mean, I'm not like that person who will have to go back home and I'm just sticking to that path. Like I'm open to go to other places. I'm open to come back here.

I'm open to anything but I feel like I would go anywhere if I have a job, that place, you know, if I get a job here, like five years later, I would definitely come back because why not but I think that keeping your options open and I think have a plan is important but be sure that your plans will change.
So as you prepare to graduate, let's give you a little pat on the back.

Host: So what's been your most proudest movement or achievement accomplishment during your time here at USF So some of the product accomplishment I have as at USf 

Talisa: I said before, some of the most beautiful connection that I have made with the people, not only in my department but other clubs, other departments are the majors and this includes like my professor and my classmates and the friend that I have made in my different clubs.

And I'm also really proud of the different contribution I have made with all the organization that I'm in like ISA VC or POSSA and Lambda paed.

And if you are, I mean, looking for a specific third moment, I could talk about that one time when the Vietnam Prime Minister came to USF and I got to represent the students to ask him questions and gave him the gifts after the ceremony.

And I just feel extremely proud because somehow I got chosen to be the one to be on that stage, talking to him.

And this event funny enough, got me a lot of connection and got me really close to the people at not the embassy of Vietnam but the people who represents Vietnam in the, in San Francisco. And I got invited to a lot of Vietnamese community events after that.

And I felt that not only do I have a community at school, but I also have a community of Vietnamese people who I've got to known here and my time in S F Yeah, that's awesome.

Host: I'm so excited for you to kind of build on that relationship from that one singular event that I'm sure it was a massively proud moment for you and for your family back home. So I'm excited that you were able to do that.
I think you gave us a little bit of an advice there in the last sentence, but just to put it more formally, is there something specific that you would recommend or advice to incoming freshman students? Maybe from Vietnam?
Maybe to all of our international students who aspire to follow a similar path as yours to come to their like self reflective journey and find out what their goals are.

Talisa: So I feel like personally for me, when I came here, it took me a bit of adjustment time to be able to really navigate school and friends and clubs and everything.

I think that took me around like a year, like during my freshman year when I was at home, I was not being open to anything except for zoom screen and I guess a canvas system.
But that time I didn't really,, really found a way to navigate through these things. So my class grades were horrible. Like I had the worst GPA ever. It was like two point something. Like, it was not something I was proud of, but it was, I feel like a learning curve for me at the beginning because I didn't, I was never exposed to these things before.

So it was definitely like a foreign thing that I got. I took time to adjust to. And then when coming here asked me losing a year of social life at home. I didn't have a lot of friends in the beginning and I was having a lot of trouble just like being with myself because I was like lonely. I didn't have friends. It was like, it was pretty sad.

It was like a like a sad few years, but I was glad enough to have a friend who was also from Vietnam who came to school with me.

So it was really like a blessing to have met her and to have her by my side. But I feel like for students who come in here by themselves for the first year is definitely very lonely. So something that I would really recommend is to join student organization, join clubs. Like if you want friends, join these things, especially the things that you're interested in.

Like for me, if you're interested in dancing, I would recommend you for join varsity or 
We have vitality, join those things even if sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming or daunting as you like, join a new club and you don't know anybody. But sometimes there are people who are like you in that club and they're looking for friends or looking for a new circle.

So just join those things and then eventually you will make those connection, you will make friends and you will be plentiful with your social life. And you will have a lot of things that are fun and exciting aside aside from your school and also organization within your department or your major.

So like ours, we have like pure S S A or we have Lambda Paleta or I feel like other, other departments would have a lot more student association that you can join to make deeper connection with your colleagues or your professor.

And another thing is that try to make genuine connection with professor, especially major or department professor, you never know what opportunities they could give you from, you know, knowing them and getting, getting to know them personally.
So I think those are the two things I would recommend like that really helped me to make my life at college like a lot better.

Host: Yeah, excellent. Thank you so much for sharing those two tidbits. I think making connections for your personal growth and also making connections with your professors for your professional and academic growth. I think both of those things are practical, doable and important. So, thank you so much for sharing that with us and for spending a little bit of time talking through your USF journey. Congratulations again on graduation. I'm so excited for all the amazing things you're going to do after. So, thank you so much.

Talisa: Yeah, thank you.

Host: And now I'll be speaking with our second guest, Emmanuel Abuenyi. Hello and welcome, Emmanuel. Do you mind introducing yourself and telling us what you've studied?

Emmanuel: Thank you very much. And my name is Emmanuel Abuenyi. I am from Ghana and I came to us basically to study my  MBA at the University of San Francisco.

And it's been a wonderful journey. I've been able to acquire some knowledge and experiences that over the years I didn't have. So I am really appreciative of the journey so far and I'm grateful to the university.

Host: Wow, excellent. And so reflecting on your time here at us f what were maybe some of the most significant lessons or experiences that have shaped your personal or professional growth?

Emmanuel: OK. So in relation to lessons and experiences, I I'll go academically, then I will come to my leadership roles and all so academically, I have been able to acquire certain knowledge like knowledge in Tableau knowledge in Python SQL, knowledge in agile management, consulting all these things I didn't have it earlier.

So I am grateful for the courses and how it was, it was structured and out of these structure, I've been able to acquire certain new things that I think would help me going forward in the future.
And when it comes to my leadership experiences, since I was the president of the Graduate Student Association, I've been able to get some extra organizing skills.
I've been able to know how to communicate well with management or people that I work together with. I've been able to gain more experience with team management and also collaborations with other, other sectors of the university.

Host: Thank you. Yeah, excellent. It seems like you've been able to get some critical, you know, like skills that will translate over to your professional career along with all of your academic, like coding languages and such that you've been able to become proficient in. So that's awesome. And you're graduating? So congratulations.

I know it's a hectic, busy, exciting fun week for you. And I'm sure everyone's been asking you this, but what are your plans and aspirations moving ahead for the future, personally and professionally?

Emmanuel: Ok. So professionally, I'm applying for financial analyst rules and I have my fingers crossed. Hopefully I'm gonna get into one. aside that I want to also develop an NGO I've seen some gap with international African students.

So I want to have an NGO that will help bridge this gap for International African students and,, going forward any business ideas that come to mind. I like, I like to own my own business, do my own stuff, control my own thing. So that is, that is why I'm looking to do. 

Host: Yeah. Well, fingers crossed. You get all of those things accomplished for you in the next how many ever years? And I know you started to mention a little bit about your involvement in student organizations on campus.

Do you want to talk a little bit about how you being integrated with them added to your experience as an international student? At USF.

Emmanuel: I would say that USF is a place where each and everybody, regardless of where you're coming from as an international student can. Should I say sink into the system and let's those skills that I really need to come out.

So when I was coming from Ghana already, I, I mean to leadership back in my country.

So when I came here, my head of, oh they need a representative for skill of management. And I'm like, OK, cool, let me just join and I joined. And out of that, I began to gain more interest in student leadership on campus.

So the next year I decided to contest for the president and with one vision in mind to make GSS known to all students because of the pandemic, our association was a little bit down but as a general body for all graduate students, so we need to revive it and bring it, you know, live for everybody to know.
And yeah, we've, we've been able to achieve that no 100%. But we could, we did that and we did some amazing things that have made almost most students know more about GSS.

Host: Yeah. So before we let you go, is there a piece of advice that you would like to give incoming international students who aspire to follow a similar path as yours?
Maybe I would say that coming to USF as an international student is a risk worth taking.

Emmanuel: So just be bold and take that risk and then you will never regret coming to us.

Host: Thank you. I like it a risk worth taking that will stay with me. OK.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you spending some time with us and talking to us about your journey here at USF congratulations again on graduation and good luck with everything ahead.

Emmanuel: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Host: And that wraps up another enriching episode of Global Connections at USF. A big thank you to our guests, Emmanuel and Talisa for sharing their incredible stories with us. And thank you to our listeners for supporting this new ISSS endeavor. Stay tuned for more inspiring content in the fall. And in the meantime, you can continue engaging with our team through our Instagram @usfca.isss and through our email.

Until next time, keep exploring, keep learning, and keep connecting globally. This is Rashi Bhatt signing off.