By Adelia Sindunata
Five SCC alumni sat as panelists—four from University of Washington and one from San Jose State University (SJSU)— on May 27 in the Quiet Dining Room to answer students’ questions about life after transferring.
According to Cynthia Okawara, the International Education advisor who was in charge of this event, the purpose was to help students know what to expect after transferring from SCC.
“I see a lot of students who have no idea what are they going to do when they’re transferring,” Okawara said. “With that background, we did this event so that second year students can feel more confident about the transfer, and first year students can get help to plan their transfer.”
Okawara, who acted as the moderator of this event, opened the session by asking the panelists about how their grades dropped during their first year at a university.
“Yes, it did drop…but as long as you work hard, you will get satisfying results,” said UW panelist Bryan Cho.
The students were asked a range of questions, from transfer credits, housing difficulties and GPA drops to social life adjustment. One of the students who came to this event asked the panelists how to find friends at the university, and whether they found their friends from clubs or other places.
“I made friends not from clubs, but from classes,” said SJSU panelist Riri Goei. “Talk to your classmates.”
According to Okawara, planning this event is pretty challenging; compared to last year’s transfer shock event, it was harder to find panelists who could come this year.
“Last year, we had around 8 panelists coming to this event, and they came from different universities,” Okawara said. “However, only 5 panelists could come this year, and majority of them study at UW.”
Yet the students find this event really useful. Kana Yabuno, a second-year student from Japan, said that it gave her a better idea of life after transfer.
“They said that unlike in SCC, where we can find information everywhere, no one will tell us what to do after we transfer,” Yabuno said. “So the best thing to do is to go find as much information as we can from the seniors.”
In addition to the prospective transfers, the alumni also found this event beneficial.
“I think the biggest benefit of this event is to keep (the students) informed ahead of time, so they can plan for their transfer,” said another UW panelist Aaron Alifen. “Other than that, they can also learn from their seniors’ mistakes, so they will not repeat it when they transfer.”
For those who missed this event, SCC will hold the next Transfer Shock event next spring, the Friday before Memorial Day.