Student Spotlight
Steven Taslim – Ohio University Fall 2008
After I have joined the IELSP, I find that I gain some lessons in my personality. I start being a punctual person; I am to be a more discipline or well-prepared person; I would like to read more; I more appreciate people’s rights; and I am to be a more open-minded guy.
In the first place, I realize that punctuality is an important thing. Before I went to the United States, I often came late when I had an appointment because I used to be with the habit of my society. When I was in the United States, I observed that everyone came on-time when he or she had an appointment because he or she considered that time is money and appreciated people’s feeling. After that, I realize that we have to think of other people’s feeling. If we are not patient to wait for others due to the fact that waiting is a boring thing, we should know that others will feel the same feeling with that of us. Therefore, I try implementing this good habit in my life starting from now.
Next, I am to be a more discipline or well-prepared person. Based on my experience in America, I found that almost everybody has known in advance what they are going to do on the following week or in the following month because they have had a program about their activities. For example, when I first arrived in Ohio, the director program of Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) gave me a schedule containing activities that we will do during the two months. The schedule was almost exact with the reality of what we really did. Consequently, we had a clearer view of what we had to do. Another example, when my teacher in OPIE class assigned a paper for us, she gave along with a schedule telling how many times we will revise the paper and what we have to write in every single paper in order to make a complete paper. In effect, I was to be a more discipline or well-prepared person. As a result of this good experience, I start writing a program of what I am going to do, which in turn, making me be a well-prepared person.
Furthermore, I would like to read more now. Before I joined this program, I was a person who had insufficient desire to read. I only read when I really had to do it, like when I had an exam. Even, I only read an assigned task. Nevertheless, in the United States, I could not implement this habit because when I was writing the assigned paper, I had to read a lot in order to get an idea about what I wrote. Also, every week, on Wednesday, we were required to come to reading lab for reading at least one hour. As well as when I had a home stay in an American family, I found that there were so many useful books in their home showing that they like reading. Similarly, their children always read a book before going to bed at night. Accordingly, I realized that reading is an essential thing to our lives, especially for students like me. I am sure that it is useful for me. Therefore, I would like to read more now. Hopefully, I am able to implement this positive thing to be one of my hobbies.
Moreover, I more appreciate people’s rights now. Before going to the United States, I was always curious to know other people’s businesses and I seldom paid attention to what other people’s presenting about in front of me when I considered that it was not important to me because our societies always do the same thing. Conversely, in America, privacy is an important issue. People really appreciate others’ rights to have privacies, like a person’s grade in a course is his or her business with his or her teacher; therefore, we are not allowed or it is unusual for people there to ask about others’ grades. Similarly, when a person is presenting his or her paper in front of class or when people are sharing their opinion, everyone in the class pays attention carefully without making interruption until the people have finished talking. Likewise, people there never plagiarize others’ work because copyright is really appreciated in the United States. This results in my understanding that it is important to appreciate other people’s rights such as copyright, a right to talk or share opinion, privacies, etc.
Equally important, I am to be a more open-minded guy right now. Before I got this scholarship, I thought that it was impossible for me to study abroad, especially in the United States of America. However, after I got this scholarship, I am optimist and sure that I can get another scholarship again to continue my study in graduate degree in America regardless how long it will take my time.
On the whole, getting the IELSP scholarship was very beneficial for me. I have learned many lessons and had many experiences. I start getting use to with punctuality; I am to be a well-prepared human; I am eager to read more; I more appreciate people’s rights; and I am more open-minded. Therefore, I find out that there are many positive values that I got after I joined the IELSP.
Thank you so much to US Department of States, IIE and IIEF for this precious scholarship. This will be a wonderful experience for my life. I will not forget it.
