Host: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the very first episode of 2025 on Global Connections at USF. I am your host, Rashi Bhatt, and I'm thrilled to kick this year off by introducing some of the amazing international student orientation guides who are here to welcome and support our new admitted International students. These guides are not just friendly. Places, but they're also your go to mentors, navigators, and community builders at USF. So let's dive in and hear their stories, advice, and what they're most excited about this orientation season. We'll first start off with Afreen Munshi. Hi Afreen, it's lovely to have you. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you're doing this week. 


Afreen: Hi, Rashi. Thank you for having me here. I'm feeling great to be a part of this, and it's quite exciting to see how the week goes. 


Host: Thank you so much for joining us. So I have a couple of questions for you. I know this week is very busy, so thank you for taking out your time to speak with us. To start off with, what's motivated you this semester to become an international student orientation guide? 


Afreen: So I was, I am an international student myself and I have a Attended the International student orientation previously. I remember how clueless I was the day I landed here. And through the entire orientation, I got to know a lot of things here. I met a new set of people. I interacted with a lot more people who made new friends. And I believe that that's one of the reasons why. I want to become a part of this as a guide so that people can have that friendly face that they can come up to if they have any questions. 


Host: Where off or on campus is your favorite spot to study. 


Afreen: So basically for me, I prefer having a separate room where I can just relax and lay out all my books and stuff and study properly, so I prefer booking a private room in the Gleeson library so I can study. 


Host: OK, nice. That's good advice. I'm gonna have to try that out myself. And then finally, to close us off, what advice do you have for new students about making the most of their time here at USF? 


Afreen: I would say go out, explore more, don't be in your rooms the entire time. And attend as many events as you possibly can. So you enjoy it and you get to learn things as well. Thank you. 


Host: And we'll now be speaking to our 2nd ISO guide, Stella Joshi. Hi Stella, how are you doing and how are you feeling today? 


Stella: Hello, I'm doing well. I'm really excited to meet all of these new people from orientation and I can't wait to see what comes next. 


Host: Awesome. OK, I'm excited to ask you these questions. So what's been your most favorite memory from the time you attended the orientation here at USF? 
Stella: My favorite memory from orientation was definitely meeting new people. On the very first day I met at least 5 new people, and they're some of my closest friends, and now we're still together, even though it's been so long, and it's just crazy to think that some of my closest friendships have formed just because we all met at the same time during orientation. So it's a great way to meet new people. 


Host: Lovely. And what's the one hidden gem either on campus or in San Francisco that you think all new students should know about? 


Stella: I would say the hidden gems are all the various parks we have. Parks such as Golden Gate Park, Dolores Park, and also Stern Grove are are a really great place to have picnics with friends, go on a hike, or just relax in the nature and not just be worried about school or the stress of anything else, and you can just be there and at peace. 


Host: Definitely SF is a park city, so you must go out and have a picnic or hang out with your friends on a really nice sunny day to one of these parks that you mentioned. And finally, what advice do you have for new admit students to make the most of their time here at USF? 


Stella:I would say the advice that I would give is just don't be afraid to try new things and also meet new people because the connections you make here are how you can get the most out of your experience. 


Host: And we'll now be speaking with Benson Adomako. He is also one of our ISO guides and excited to welcome all of our new incoming international students during orientation week. Benson, how are you feeling this week and what are you looking forward to most? 


Benson: Yeah, I mean, I'm very excited to interact with the new student and also reflect back. Looking at the fall, I came to school last fall and me being in this position helping people. It's like it brings me joy and sad me to also, you know, helping, you know, guide the new students who are arriving this week. So I'm very excited about this week. Yeah. 


Host: Awesome. And what's the one spot on campus that you think is the most effective and efficient for you to study? 


Benson: Yeah, OK, for me, I don't really mind being in a, you know, a crowded or a noisy place. 
So I normally study at the Gleeson library, the ground floor, you know, there's this spot I like in the Gleason library, where I get a space for myself. But there's also a silent study room in the Gleeson library that, you know, most of my friends also like, but for me, I just like I just don't mind. I can study anywhere. So yeah, Gleeson most of the time for me. 


Host: Awesome. And finally, to close us off, what's the one piece of advice you'd give for our new incoming international students? 
Benson: I mean, get involved, you know, cause I mean, there are a lot of resources, there are a lot of opportunities on campus that you can, you know, get involved and, you know, meet people, and that is one thing that I did when I came on campus. I got involved. I was just attending, you know, the events. Trust me, there are a lot of events happening every week. You can just try and attend some of these events. You get the opportunity to meet a lot of people, learn a lot of things, because if you do not do that, I don't think you're really going to, you know, experience life, you know, better at USF because it's all about the people, it's all about, you know, learning and it's all about fun. Have fun too, you know, there's a lot of fun things to do in the bay. And you use this opportunity to explore, you know, see the bay, see the world, enjoy yourself, yeah. 


Host: Thank you so much. 


Benson: All right, thank you. 


Host: Hello, everyone, and now I have with me Pema. Hi Pema. Welcome to the podcast. So you're an ISO guide this semester. What's motivated you to become an international student orientation guide with us today? 


Pema: Hi, I am an international student as well, and I had a really good experience last year in my own orientation, so I want to be like one of the group or one of the team so I can help like an international student as well. 
 
Host: Awesome. And where are you originally from? 


Pema: I am from Tibet. 


Host: Oh, awesome. So you kind of have that personal experience of being an international student and gearing resources or being as helpful as you can during orientation week. So thank you for joining us and we're so happy to have you. If there was one piece of advice you could give your students, especially a good place on campus where they could study that you recommend, what would it be? 
 
Pema: I like the first floor in the UC, so after you finish your class you can take your friends, go down there and chill out and study for a little bit. I really like that place. 


Host: Awesome. And before we let you go,, what is the one thing that you're most looking forward to this semester? 


Pema: I want to make more friends, especially international students, friends, and I wanna probably write a good paper for my major, I think. 


Host: Awesome. Thank you so much and good luck with that. And that wraps up our very first introductory episode for the year. Big shout out to our ISO guides. They have been instrumental in making ISO such an amazing success this semester, and we look forward to making more resources geared towards international students. So stay tuned for more stories, tips, and conversations as we welcome international students to our campus. Until next time, take care and stay connected.