Bridge Student Profiles, 2011-12

Ken Xu
Ken is a student from Quanzhou in South China but discovered The Claremont Colleges through his Aunt, who is a professor at the Claremont Graduate University. He has lived in the United States for about six months and has spent the majority of his time here in Claremont. At the end of the semester he is excited about embarking on an adventure to the Grand Canyon. Ken is currently engrossed in his English classes but has ambitions to major in Political Science and Economics here at Pitzer. Afterwards, his hope is to attend graduate school on the East Coast. His biggest enjoyment so far here in the States is his newfound love of Italian food, especially pasta!

Yujian Gao
Yujian hails from Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. He is currently undeclared in his major but has a distinct interest in either science or economics. Prior to attending Pitzer College, Yujian spent two years in high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, and spent this past summer back in China with friends and family. His ten-year plan is to finish college and then move on to graduate school, also in the U.S. He hopes to gain a year or two of work experience before heading back to China. Yujian has fallen madly and deeply in love with Mexican food -- beef tacos to be exact.  And he really does love everything about Claremont and Pitzer, even his roommate!

Breezal Zhou
Breezal is an education major from Shanghai, China via the O.C.  She spent the past two years at Fairmont High in Orange County. She loves having a car so she can make frequent trips back to the O.C. to see her friends and hit up some beach time. Her love for Los Angeles only goes so far, however, because her desire is to return to China after she completes her degree here at Pitzer, although she will consider attending graduate school here in the States. In her free time she is eating spicy Chinese-American food at the Boiling Crab and shopping at Forever 21 for the newest fashion trends!

Hyungee Jo
Hyungee hails from Bungdang South Korea but attended high school in Singapore. Her father’s business brought the family there but after she graduated her mother and brother moved back to South Korea. Hyungee has only been in the United States for two months and the majority of that time has been spent here in Claremont. Her lack of wheels means she hasn’t had much opportunity to explore the greater Los Angeles area but hopes to experience it soon. She relies on her newfound friends to chauffeur her around, and she is very grateful for these friends. She admits that she felt intimidated when first coming to Claremont, but has found the Pitzer community exceptionally friendly and welcoming. She has also found Pitzer to be more academically challenging than anticipated. The major differences Hyungee has noticed between the educational system here and in Korea is the amount of reading and essay composition; this difference makes her quite thankful for the Bridge Program which has helped enormously with her English speaking and reading skills.

Wiphu Youyen
Wiphu is from Changmai, Thailand via Austin, Texas. He spent a year in Austin attending a prep school, which prepared him for American college life. It was a very tough year for him as he experienced much homesickness and quite a bit of culture shock. Yet, he did discover a love for country music (but not for Texas BBQ!).  He prefers Claremont in all ways except the weather. The dry heat has not won him over but he is reveling in the Southern California culture. He just recently took up skateboarding and loves long rides into the village where he enjoys American Thai food! Wiphu is studying physics here at Pitzer and hopes to attend graduate school for his PhD in the States as well. After his studies he will return to Thailand and act as Professor and/or Research Scientist for the government in order to repay his current academic grant as a Thai Royal Scholar.

Tina Gong
Tina is a sophomore Bridge Student here at Pitzer. She is still undecided about her major but is definitely feeling the pressure from her family back home in Taiwan to become an economist. If she follows this path she will pursue graduate studies here in the States and then hopes to live and work here as she has completely fallen in love with American life and culture.  When not studying with her friends, you can find Tina at Kazama Sushi, her favorite restaurant in the village! Although she loves Claremont and her new car and off campus apartment, she really does miss her friends and family back home. She especially misses playing the flute in her band, which she has done since elementary school! Alas, the flute will have to wait until Winter Break.

 

For More Information

The Pitzer Bridge Program
Pitzer College
1050 N. Mills Ave.
Claremont, California 91711

Telephone: 909-621-8308
Fax: 909-621-0518
Email: bridge@pitzer.edu