Rachel is an applied health science major from Taipei, Taiwan.
What drew you to Wheaton?
I honestly didn’t plan on attending Wheaton. Having attended a Christian high school, I wanted to experience something completely different. But the Lord has greater plans and everything pointed towards this small city in the Midwest. It hasn’t always been easy but I have grown to love this community and its people.
What American dish have you enjoyed the most?
Breakfast skillets.
What is your major and why did you choose it?
I am majoring in Applied Health Science. Healthcare is a universal language of love that surpasses cultural boundaries and it really became apparent to me as I was growing up in the Middle East. I realized healthcare was an avenue of peace building amongst the people groups and I wanted to further explore that. I decided to pursue AHS in hopes of gaining further education in global healthcare and to examine how holistic healthcare translates cross-culturally.
In what ways have you been able to incorporate your background and unique perspective in your life on campus?
Although I am ethnically Taiwanese, I have spent the majority of my life living in the Middle East and my identity has shifted accordingly. Discovering how to navigate these seemingly contrary cultures has and continues to be a lifelong process. It’s difficult to compartmentalize parts of who I am that are equally integral to my identity so I am left to embrace it. Thankfully, Wheaton has given me countless opportunities to express this worldview, both academically and relationally. Initiating contact and connecting with different people is extremely humbling, knowing that there is so much I am ignorant of. Learning to immerse myself with these various social and cultural groups within the student body has made my time here much more meaningful. So find people who are different, and hold on to them. They have so much to teach you.
What advice would you give for international students thinking about coming to Wheaton?
Sometimes Wheaton can feel like the hardest place to be an international student. There are times when you will be disappointed and times when all you wish for is to be home. But there will also be times when you can’t imagine yourself anywhere else. Wheaton is a beautiful community made of beautiful people. Prepare to be stretched and be confronted with your inadequacies. It’s going to be uncomfortable, but it is also a tremendous opportunity to grow in ways you may have never imagined.
Describe Wheaton in three words:
Humbling, Distinctive, Resilient