Richardson brings roots to GC&SU

Cherise Richardson, an international student from St. Kitts and Nevis, recieves interesting reactions when she talks about her homeland.

St. Kitts and Nevis, is a 69 square mile country, south east of Puerto Rico.

Richardson enrolled at Georgia College & State University in the fall of 2000, and she is currently a junior majoring in Human Resource Management.

Richardson thinks that most people would find the sandy beaches, the friendly people, and the slow pace of living an attractive side of St. Kitts and Nevis.

“Most people ask me why I came from such a good place to study at GC&SU,” Richardson said. “They tend to be under the impression that living in the Caribbean is like being on a lifetime vacation. However, that is not the case. Living there is just like living anywhere else in the world.”

Richardson said that the food, music, culture, architecture and climate are some of the things she had to get accustomed to when she moved to the United States.

When Richardson first arrived in the United States, she had some difficulty with the way people talked. She found the language slow, and could hardly understand anything, but she quickly got into the swing of things. Another problem that Richardson has run into is the feeling that
she cannot express herself as much as she wants to because the
influence of her native language makes it sometimes problematic for
people to understand her English. Sometimes she has to repeat herself several times in order to get her point across.

Cherise said that she associates well with both American and International students.

“I respect people for their differences [of opinion and way of life],” Richardson said. “Many times that creates a platform for reciprocated respect between both parties.”

Richardson admits that she occasionally gets homesick. When Richardson misses her home she simply alleviates the problem by studying, listening to music, or simply calling her family.

“If I could change anything about GC&SU, I would increase the number of international students enrolled,” Richardson said. “I would like to see more students that have a similar background as mine, so I could have more people to relate to.”

Richardson is a resident assistant in Terrell hall, which houses the Casa Mondo or “World House.”

Casa Mondo brings students together from places all around the world in a single living environment at GC&SU. Students who participate in Casa Mondo are matched with students from other cultural backgrounds and agree to share not only their rooms, but also their cultures.

Richardson said that living in Terrell has helped her learn a lot about other cultures, and has helped open her mind about different beliefs. The fact that she has a German friend, whom she still keeps in contact with, shows how much she has gained from cross-cultural living in Terrell.

Richardson finds the American system of education much easier than the British system she was used to in St. Kitts and Nevis. This is because in St. Kitts and Nevis instructors provided the students with the course outline, and the course material is not cumulative over the years.

Richardson also believes that she has benefited from GC&SU’s small class sizes, which make for an intimate learning experience.

Cherise has enjoyed her stay here at GC&SU so far and plans to make
full use of the time remaining.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 20 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry