I stepped foot onto UCI in September 2007. I was lost. I was born in Torrance, but I had spent my entire life in Japan. That was because when I was born, my parents decided to raise me in Japan for me to acquire two languages. As a result, I had applied to college as a regular, domestic student. But in Mesa Court, I was an “international student.”
“You wouldn’t know, you’re from Japan.”
“Why are you asking him? Of course he wouldn’t know what that means.”
Throughout my freshman year, I felt like an outsider. A foreigner that did not know a thing — about anything. It is funny because throughout my life I was always treated like an outsider — a spoiled kid that goes to a special school that teaches their students in English. And, at UCI, I felt like an outsider again. I often did not know the culturally nuanced phrases, words, and expressions that snuck into regular conversations with my dorm mates. I was terrible at the game “Catchphrase.” Not because I couldn’t describe the words — but because I simply did not know what some of the words meant. It was hard because I was already adjusting to a somewhat foreign land.
I constantly wanted to prove my dorm mates wrong — that I was as good as they were. That is probably why I did decently well throughout my time at UCI.
But I don’t like to dwell in how my first year at UCI was catastrophic. Because it wasn’t. I made a lot of good friends — friends that I would live with for the next three years. I learned a lot — how to make s’mores, play Guitar Hero, and stay awake until 6AM and wake up for the 9AM class.
I found a true Irvine home during my second year. I was tired of simply going to classes, eating commons food, studying, and sleeping every day. It was all too mundane. I decided to challenge myself by doing things outside the classroom.
I decided to go to a Leadership Development Seminar led by the SSARC in the fall of my sophomore year. There, I learned of an interesting program named “CSLP.” It was allegedly a program that focuses on leadership development and community service. It sounded broad but it caught my eye. What probably made a huge difference were the board members of the program. I looked up to them. They were campus reps, Jumpstart corps members, SSARC staffers, LARC tutors — leaders within and beyond the campus. CSLP continues to be near and dear to my heart because it is where I met my significant other — during my sophomore year. Who would have thought I would meet someone special plucking weeds in Mason Park?
I also wanted to do something where I could utilize my experiences as an international school alum. Then, a perfect opportunity found its way into my e-mail inbox. Global Connect. An educational partnership between UCI’s School of Social Sciences and local high schools to increase global awareness and fill the void in California’s international studies curriculum. Like in CSLP, the leaders of the program were phenomenal. How did they become so well-read? Such great orators? I always wondered if I would be able to become as smart as the site supervisors within my remaining two years at UCI.
Within my next two years at UCI, I was granted the great honor to be a leader in both organizations. I eventually became the chair of both programs during my last year at UCI. How that happened — I do not know. But what I do know is that I was truly inspired by the leaders of both programs. Throughout my time at UCI, I wanted to become a well-rounded individual like my program predecessors were.
I said I found a home in these two programs. But in Global Connect, I found family. An unbreakable support system that I could always count on. We studied, laughed, and played games together. I could not imagine a UCI career without the Global Connect Family. I am forever indebted for the sense of security that the Global Connect Family provided me with during a turning point.
Finishing college is a turning point. That is because everything up to that point is fairly predictable. Elementary — Middle School — High School — College. And I say fairly because there are many who cannot follow that path for various reasons. I was fortunate to be granted the opportunity to follow this path. I did not really know what I wanted to do after UCI. It was hard to imagine parting with the home and family I had found in the Irvine bubble. But I have to say that in life, things have a natural tendency to fall into place.
If I could offer one piece of advice as a UCI veteran — as Mark Twain once wrote, “sail away from the safe harbor.” UCI is a campus that is so rich in opportunities. But a word of caution — select wisely. You cannot possibly do everything that you want to within your four or five years at UCI. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of the Campuswide Honors Program, EAP, CSLP, Global Connect, SAEP, UROP, Political Science Honors, and the Ambassadors Council. These beyond-the-classroom opportunities that the campus has to offer is what will make the UCI experience worthwhile. No, it’s not the classes.
I owe a lot to UCI. It is where my memories still live today. I am proud to say that I am an Anteater-for-life. Zot.
Digo S. Takahashi
Class of 2011
P.S. The word-count for the above is 949 — the Irvine area code.