“Liberal arts mean…learning a wide variety of subjects and issues to become well-versed in preparation for any future career.”

Dinesh is currently a rising junior at a liberal arts college – Macalester College, Minnesota. He is pursuing a major in Biology, a minor in Political Science, and a concentration in Community and Global Health. Prior to this, he attended HELP University College for A levels. Dinesh received two fellowships with funding from Macalester for this summer – 1. He is setting up a Speakers Bureau at Planned Parenthood, a sexual and reproductive health center. The Speakers Bureau will be made up of trained volunteers that will be able to go out to schools to carry out comprehensive sex education. 2. He shadows health professionals in emergency medicine, pediatrics, infectious diseases and more.

Check out why Dinesh chose to study in the US =)

Why should students choose to study in the US, especially when alternatives may cost less, take less time, and offer more familiar styles of education?

In my opinion, the American system of education emphasizes different things than the more familiar styles of education we have experience with. In the US, you learn from your peers as you discuss issues in the cafeteria, from the student organizations you join and from the classes you take. I believe you will be able to do all these things in other countries or Malaysia, but it’s easier in the US simply because many universities here emphasize different forms of learning outside the classroom. American education has changed me tremendously as a person. Part of that is going to college and gaining independence, and part of it is learning to learn in completely different ways than I am used to.

What do the “liberal arts” mean to you personally?

Liberal arts to me mean that I am a Biology major, a political science minor and have a concentration in public health. Liberal arts mean that I have many friends in my major, but just as many if not more in other majors. Liberal arts mean that I took Organic Chemistry, Cell Biology, Medical Anthropology and Political Sociology in one semester and loved it. Liberal arts mean the difference between specializing at such a young age and learning a wide variety of subjects and issues to become well-versed in preparation for any future career.

A critical piece of advice you would offer a student looking to further his/her studies abroad…

Say hello to everyone during the first few weeks of school. You’ll make friends you never thought you would.

If there was one thing you could do over in the past 2 years, what would it be, and why?

I would have gotten snow boots earlier- Minnesota winters are brutal.

Macalester College

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