Panther Trails – Varisa Limpijankit

ISB Class: 2017

College: Tufts University

What career path are you pursuing?

Right now I’m pursuing the pre-medical track. I’m thinking of majoring in Bio-psychology or Biochemistry and minoring in History.

How would you describe the transition from ISB to your new college?

The transition was definitely a bit of a mixed bag. I struggled a bit with the culture shock and trying to re-establish a new social network after having lived in the same country and community for 10 years. Also, the political climate in America is very different from that in Thailand, so navigating around that was interesting. The first couple of weeks at College were the toughest because I had to say goodbye to my parents and everything is so overwhelming, but once classes started and I began establishing a routine, it was much more manageable. My transition was ultimately very rewarding. And now I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the supportive and active community at Tufts. Coming back for the second semester, I feel like I’ve settled in nicely with a solid group of friends and professors.

Do you feel ISB prepared you well for your college experience (both academically and socially)?

Academically, I think ISB prepared me incredibly well for college. Especially having done the full IB program, the intense college workload and expected academic level of writing wasn’t such a shock. The IB is unique in that it really molded me into a critical and unbiased thinker and I think that approach set me apart from other non-IB students. Moreover, the content taught in a lot of intro courses was content that I had already covered in the IB, but, of course, in more depth. Still, the prior knowledge that ISB provided gave me a huge advantage. I felt less prepared socially than academically. I had spent all four years of high school at ISB, cultivating strong friendships and connections. So I felt like a fish out of water having to find a new group of friends. Furthermore, moving from a small student body size to a much larger one was also surprising. It was weird for me to walk around campus and not being able to recognize everyone, like I used to be able to do at ISB. But at the same time, it means I get to meet new and incredible people every day. Regarding diversity, ISB is very ethnically diverse and I feel incredibly privileged to have been exposed to so many cultures growing up. Most schools in the U.S., including mine won’t be as diverse in that regard. But in other ways, ISB isn’t super diverse. For example, ISB lacks financial diversity. Going to college with a much larger student body made me realize other aspects of diversity that I hadn’t been exposed to before.

What advice would you give to this year’s Seniors as they follow in your footsteps next year?

1) Transitioning from high school to college is understandably extremely daunting. You’ll realize that you’ll never live the same life again. Try not to look at that change with fear, but approach the uncertainty with an “adventuristic” attitude and welcome it with warmth and love.The transition takes time. It takes a while for you to find a solid group of people that you’ll feel at home with. But one you do, all the searching and putting yourself out there to meet new people will have been totally worth it.