Each year new students are introduced to Baylor through Welcome Week activities during the week before classes begin. In BIC, an important part of Welcome Week is the Friday night dinner with all the new BIC students and many BIC faculty. This year two current BIC students, Rohit Ayaggari and Grace Lee, offered words of wisdom to the new BIC freshmen. Below you will find comments from Grace Lee, sophomore BIC student, and last week we posted comments offered by Rohit Ayyagari.
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Hi everyone! My name is Grace Lee and I am so excited to see and eventually meet all of you. I am a sophomore this year and I will be a Peer Instructor for Dr. Hibbs’ World Cultures class. I am excited to see you all here, first of all because I want to be friends with y’all and get to know you better, but even more so because I know the amazing experiences that you will have at Baylor and in BIC. I can say that as a Freshman coming into BIC, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into. I knew a little about BIC because of my brother, who is two years ahead of me at Baylor and strongly encouraged me to do BIC because of all his wonderful experiences, but I didn’t really know the extent of what it was about. So now, after having completed a year of BIC, I can say that choosing to be a part of BIC has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in college. Yes, BIC is a challenge, but it is well worth it. It is a place where you are likely going to meet some of your closest friends, a place where you can be challenged beyond what you think you can do, and a place where you will grow academically, emotionally, socially, and even spiritually.
Through BIC I was able to explore new cultures. I’m a big fan of travelling. I LOVE it. This winter, I went to Thailand and when I was there, I saw a mural-like image of one of the subjects that we had studied in World Cultures I in one of the temples I visited. This summer, in Xi’an, China, I saw a building that was in a famous Chinese story that we read in World Cultures II. I think it’s amazing to be able to learn about things and then experience them. And you don’t have to travel around the world to do that. I love BIC because you get to experience different cultures, even around Waco. I know you guys will be able to visit a Mosque, a Temple, and more in your coming year. These trips are great because you are able to not only learn about other cultures, but also immerse yourself in them.
I could just go on and on about things that I think are great about BIC and that I love, but I won’t do that to y’all cause I’d probably keep you here awhile. I am really so excited to see how each and every one of you will grow during your time in BIC, each in your own way. And even when things get challenging, don’t give up! It’s often persevering through the challenge that is the most rewarding. And know that you’re not alone. You have an awesome community of people around you, and teachers and Peer Instructors that would love to help you. Thanks so much for listening and I hope you guys have the most amazing year ever!
Grace Lee is a sophomore Pre-Business major and a Peer Instructor for World Cultures I.
