你的工作天赋 学生的故事

约瑟夫·钱德拉:感恩每一天

I grew up on a small island off the west coast of Malaysia with my missionary parents, 我在那里获得了一笔奖学金，参加了一所小型学校, 和我哥哥一起去当地的基督教学校.

I loved the personalized classes and Christ-oriented community that surrounded me, reminding me daily of the goodness and love of Jesus and forming a strong basis for my faith. This introduction to financial aid and the generosity of others made a lasting impact on me.

当我哥哥2015年高中毕业的时候, my parents decided to take time off from the field to help him adjust to living in the United States for college. I had to leave my wonderful friends and community in Malaysia and move to the states for a year. 我花了几乎一生的时间在真正的, 有爱心的朋友, I felt uncomfortable with this change in my life and found it difficult to understand a new, 外国文化.

Because of my family’s limited finances, I attended a public school in Illinois. 虽然我很享受在这里的时光, 我以为寒冷, 贫瘠的天气反映了我的精神之旅. I no longer felt the daily challenge from the spiritual emphasis weeks or chapels in Malaysia. 没有人强迫我在对基督的爱中投入和成长. 私人, Christian schools in the area that could have encouraged my spiritual growth were out of reach financially.

当我大四的时候, my parents suggested I apply to Westmont College and visit the campus while we waited to hear about my acceptance. 上帝显然想让我去韦斯特蒙. 我刚和我的招生顾问谈过, he told me I’d been accepted and invited to apply to the 奥古斯丁学者计划! 我们一直担心经济状况，终于得到了我们祈祷的答案. I felt like I was floating; my dream was coming true. I soon decided to commit to Westmont and its affordable Christian education.

然后COVID-19影响了一切. My school went completely remote, and only essential businesses remained open. 大四的时候, 这是我过去十年来最后一次欣赏我的家, 我失去了太多. I never said goodbye to my friends; I never finished so many conversations. The combination of school being completely remote and the isolation of spending time only with my family left me in a deep depression. I became bitter at the loss of my senior year, supposedly the best time of my high school experience. 它突然从我身上被夺走了. When the time finally came to go to America, I was ready to attend college and meet people in person.

曾经在我们家, 帕萨迪纳传教士的公共生活区, 我们开始接到学校打来的ag娱乐官网新冠疫情的电话. We learned that at least the first month of school would occur completely online. 我的心一沉. I felt like I’d come from Malaysia just to do the same online learning, 我开始寻找其他选择. 我必须在立即, guaranteed learning experience in person or a school remaining remote indefinitely. I prayed about it long and hard with my family, and we chose to stay with Westmont. 大学九月份开学对我来说意味着一切.

Having lived on campus, I’ve realized how blessed I am to be at Westmont. I’m so happy to be surrounded by professors and friends who genuinely care about me and have my best interests in mind. I’ve thrived socially even with the firm COVID guidelines of wearing a mask and staying six feet apart at all times. I’ve participated in life-changing opportunities such as a remote internship from a multi-faith organization based in San Francisco and membership in the Asian Student Association on campus. I enjoy the amazingly temperate Santa Barbara weather and the beauty of nature on campus. I love watching the sunsets on East Beach and getting Panda Express in the charming downtown. Everyday I’m reminded that I’m blessed to be at Westmont, safe and studying in person. Every day, I give thanks for the people who’ve allowed me to be here: Westmont donors. The generous contributions of people with true passion for this school and everything it stands for allow me to give my testimony.

离开韦斯特蒙后，我想从事某种形式的咨询工作. I want to use my passion for psychology to ensure that no one ever has to go through life alone like I did during my senior year. Experiencing this COVID pandemic and online school has made me realize that we need other people to succeed in life; we can’t do it alone. With your support, I know I’ll have the opportunity to faithfully serve others with my passion!

我对这段旅程的下一步感到非常兴奋. 我在等着发现上帝为我准备了什么. But I know that your generous donation allows me to dream bigger and smile wider. 谢谢你！!

——约瑟夫·钱德拉

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