“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King, American author.
Melisande Wong (second from left), is an American University Programme alumna from INTI International College Subang.
For Melisande Wong, Coretta’s words could not ring truer, as she discovered the strength of her university’s community after the pandemic struck the United States.
The Malaysian student who is currently pursuing her Bachelors in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), shared that she was in university when she first received news about the outbreak in the U.S.
“Everything happened so fast. Classes were immediately moved online and at the time of the announcement, UIUC was unable to inform us whether we would have fully online classes for the rest of the semester. So, I decided to stay on in my school’s dormitory,” recalled the American University Programme alumna from INTI International College Subang (INTI).
She continued, “As an international student, I was extremely worried because my international friends from other schools had shared that they were forced out of their school’s accommodation and had to fly back home as a result of the pandemic. At my university, all of the students who were staying in the dormitories, including myself, were asked to move to bigger dormitories, so I was concerned this would mean additional expenses since I was living in a smaller dormitory prior to the move.”
Anxious about her living conditions and the additional costs, a relieved Melisande shared that UIUC’s staff then offered her support and informed her that she could continue staying on at the university without forking out any additional money.
She shared that as the pandemic worsened in the U.S., UIUC’s community continued to extend acts of kindness to each other.
She explained, “Online classes were new for everyone. So everyone, including the academic staff and my classmates, were more willing to help each other adapt to this new form of learning.”
“We formed online communities through group chats to collaborate with each other and we organised online forums amongst the students to help us communicate with each other better. Our teachers also created as much interaction as possible during our classes and they would often check in to make sure we were not heavily affected by the sudden shift to online learning,” she added.
Melisande continued by stating that several students had also taken the liberty to stay on at the university’s office until midnight to replace the academic and administrative staff who were already working tirelessly during the day.
Melisande (first from left), with her peers and staff at INTI International College Subang.
She shared, “They would help other students who had moved back home and were in different time zones with any problems or queries these students had about their homework or lessons. It was really helpful for these students since they did not have their classmates or teachers physically present with them.”
Melisande shared that of the many acts of kindness she received and witnessed throughout the pandemic, she appreciated the efforts from her university’s upper management the most.
“My university’s chancellor, president or dean would often write heartfelt letters to us when we were going through uncertainties caused by the pandemic. In their letters, they would continually reassure us of their support. The chancellor even shared that the U.S. administration’s policies about sending all international students home was concerning and informed us that the university has taken legal action against the U.S. administration to protect UIUC’s international students,” shared the grateful student.
Despite the whirlwind caused by the pandemic, Melisande was extremely appreciative of her university’s community and their support for its students. When asked what prompted her to enrol into the Top 50 Times Higher Education (THE) World Ranked University, Melisande shared that it was the institution’s strong positioning in research, academics and graduate employability that led to her decision.
“On top of their good rankings and strong position in academics, getting all of this additional support as a result of the pandemic was an added and welcome bonus,” Melisande concluded.