An international student's experience at CSULB

BY AHRAHM JOO Staff Writer

Asof spring 2023, there are around 1,241 international students at Long Beach State with most being graduate students.

One of these international students is Alan Lim from Cambodia, who is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration in entrepreneurship and innovation and received his Bachelor of Science in business finance at CSULB.

Lim is originally from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia and moved to the United States when he was 17-years-old to attend CSULB. Ever since he was young, he always desired to study abroad.

“Coming to the U.S. for my degree was a great opportunity for me to not only gain a quality education but also experience a new culture and a different way of life,” Lim said.

He added that Cambodia had a limited higher education system which often has outdated curriculum, while in the U.S. the curriculum is more up-to-date.

Some of Lim’s favorite memories home away from home was spending time with his friends that he made. One of his favorite places in the U.S. is Yosemite National Park.

“If I were to pick one state to stay, California is still on the top of my list,” Lim said. “From the breathtaking beaches of the Pacific Coast to the stunning scenery of Yosemite National Park, there’s always something to do in California.”

For international students, it’s not just moving away from home to a whole new country that’s difficult, there are dozens of other challenges that come into play once you start school.

One of Lim’s challenges was managing his academics and personal responsibilities. At first, it was adapting to the American education system and the teaching style, which was entirely different from Cambodia’s.

To overcome this, he created a routine and prioritized different tasks to help him be on track between school life and personal life. He also got help from pro- fessors, advisors and fellow students.

Another challenge Lim faced was homesickness.

“Being away from home for an extended period of time, was challenging for me, especially since I was in an unfamiliar place and culture,” Lim said.

As an international student, Lim experienced many culture shocks of things that were normal in the United States but were are not normal in Cambodia.

Some of it was how people talked in the U.S.

“[People here are] more direct and assertive in their speech, while Cambodians often use more indirect language and avoid confrontation,” Lim said. “These culture shocks were challenging at first, but they helped me to grow and learn more about the world around me.”

He also added that this took him some time to adjust himself to the new surroundings and culture. But with the help from his friends back home and new friends he made at CSULB, he was able to overcome his homesickness.

After graduating, Lim plans to travel around the U.S. for few months before returning to Cambodia.

Once he goes back to his home country, he wants to use what he learned in the states make an impact in his community back home.

“My education has prepared me to contribute to the development of my country and I am excited to apply what I have learned to make a difference,” Lim said.

BY LEILA ALARCON Staff Writer

First-generation student, Luk-Mattew Phanbandith has always felt the pressure of doing great things for the sake of his parents. He even graduated high school early because his parents liked the idea of him achieving something uncommon.

Now at 21, Phanbandith is graduating from Long Beach State with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and will be the first in his entire family, including extended relatives, to do so. Only this time, Phanbandith is graduating for himself before he lets his achievement belong to anyone else.

The road to graduation has not been easy for Phanbandith. Like many first-generation students, he entered college having no clue what he was doing.

Phanbandith didn’t tour any of the schools he was accepted to but decided to attend Long Beach State because of cost and distance from his hometown Fresno. He entered as a biology major because he wanted to be a forensic scientist, but struggled heavily in chemistry class.

On top of that, he was taking 18 units because he thought that was normal.

“I didn’t expect that much workload because no one had told me that there would have been that much workload,” Phanbandith said. “It was so unexpected from what I thought, because I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve taken eight classes in high school. That’s fine.’ But it was so much more than that.”

After struggling through his first semester, Phanbandith changed his major from biology to psychology to pursue a career in forensics psychology behavior analysis. Phanbandith had to work hard to catch up to the fouryear graduation expectation.

When the coronavirus halted in-person classes, Phanbandith took 16 to 17 units to get back on track to a four-year graduation plan. He had to teach himself how college scheduling works, what works best for him, and most importantly, how to cope with the stress college brings.

“Coping with stress has never been something that comes easy to me in terms of just divulging that kind of thing to my family,” Phanbandith said. “Like, I’m like a golden child to my family, but I’m so rusty on the inside, you know?”

Phanbandith practices self-re-