Testimonials

Smaksh Mahajan's Testimonial

UCR student sitting and smiling
"Academically, I was able to do an internship in Hong Kong last summer, researching crabs in the mangroves there. It was an amazing experience鈥攂oth academically and culturally."

Hi, My name is Smaksh Mahajan, and I am a final-year student at UCR from India, currently studying Environment and Sustainability. I have had an awesome time at UCR over the past three years, and I would love to share some stories about it.

Academics and Extracurriculars:
Academically, I was able to do an internship in Hong Kong last summer, researching crabs in the mangroves there. It was an amazing experience鈥攂oth academically and culturally. I also stayed for four more months for my exchange semester, and I would say that I had an awesome time exploring one of the most international cities in Asia.

For my extracurricular activities, I was the Secretary of the RASA Board, which is the main student organization at UCR. Looking back, my board year was full of challenges, but it was also incredibly rewarding. I learned a great deal about leadership, teamwork, management, and, in general, how to organize great events!

UCR Memory:
Last year in May, my friend and I read online that the Aurora Borealis might be visible from the Netherlands. So, we sent a message in the UCR group chats and decided to go to a beach up north for a better chance to see the lights. Little did we know that we would end up leading around 60 people at 2 AM to a beach with only a slight chance of spotting the lights!鈥

We didn鈥檛 end up seeing the northern lights(Unfortunately), but we still had an awesome experience. In return, we were lucky enough to witness bioluminescence in the sea!

Ninke Mulder's Testimonial

UCR student sitting on a boat and smiling
"My learning became connected to that of others, benefitting all parties, and moved beyond the classroom."

Hi, My name is Ninke Mulder, and I am a final-year student at UCR from The Netherlands, currently taking courses in the Media, Culture & Communication and Government & Society clusters. I would love to share my experience with CEL courses.

Experience with CEL courses:

Apart from the small, interactive classes and the freedom to choose my own curriculum, one of my favourite things about UCR is the opportunity to take CEL courses- Community Engaged Learning courses. While taking a CEL course, I got the chance to actually put into practice all the knowledge and theory that my education has granted me, turning them into skills! And all of this in connection with 鈥榯he real world鈥; with a real project, real people and real impact. My learning became connected to that of others, benefitting all parties, and moved beyond the classroom.

Zhibek Timraliyeva's Testimonial

Woman holding flowers and wearing a festive hat
"My housemates are a great lot of fun. I cherish all the last-minute study sessions, house dinners, and late-night talks we have."

Hi, My name is Zhibek Timraliyeva, and I am a student at UCR from Kazakhstan, currently doing the Pre-Med program along with Chemistry. I would love to share my experience with CEL courses, a snapshot of my daily life and the student housing.

A snapshot of my daily life:

I am on an exchange semester at the moment, but my previous semester was bright and full of activity. I was taking four exciting courses 鈥 Mechanisms of Disease, Molecular Pathology and Genetics, Advanced Chemistry, and Ecology, all taught by great professors. I was also busy with the student council, or as we call it, the RASA student board! This included biweekly meetings, organising events, planning, and communicating with the university. Outside of my academics, I made sure to stay active socially by attending parties, society events, and helping out the university by being an ambassador. I spent a lot of time both in and out of the city, making the most of my time as a student in the Netherlands!

My student housing life:

My choice of student housing definitely grew on me during my first year at UCR. I remember picking Bagijnhof as my second option due to its unofficial title as 鈥榯he most social housing鈥. Subconsciously, I must have known how overwhelming moving to a new place would have been, so I am really glad I chose it. It was rough getting used to living with people, but at the end of the day, I am glad I made that choice. My housemates are a great lot of fun. I cherish all the last-minute study sessions, house dinners, and late-night talks we have. Bagijnhof is its own little community that I think people will love if they give it a chance.

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