click the islands to navigate

 

“Ding-ding!” With all the passengers’ eyes on the flight attendant as she announced our final destination to Hancock, I looked out the window in search for Houghton. I had imagined it to be a decently big city.

The Upper Peninsula was different compared to my island. Instead of exotic trees and a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, all I saw was a huge piece of land covered with pine trees in shades of evergreen and autumn.

After staring at the trees for some time, I questioned myself where the tall buildings, roads, and Michigan Tech were located at. My hope dropped when the plane landed at the smallest international airport I had ever seen. I thought to myself,

“Chris, what have you gotten yourself into?”

At that moment, I felt like going home because the thought of living in a small town like Houghton and the cold weather would depress me. However, my day lightened up when my parents and I arrived at Michigan Technological University. At first glance, I felt welcomed by the friendly people and helpful staff and met a large number of students.

Though the majority of the MTU students were Caucasians, I had no problem getting to know new people. Growing up in Hawaii, I was surrounded by people of many ethnic backgrounds (Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Tongan, Samoan, Vietnamese, mixed, etc.) so I was used to interacting with different individuals.

That’s what I love about Hawaii: it is a very diverse and culturally rich environment.

 
navigate Chris' story at the top of the page