Dashini Jeyathurai is an English major from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. She also has a concentration in women’s and gender studies, and plans to pursue a PhD in English and women’s studies at the University of Michigan. She gained insight into the book publishing business as a summer intern at Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux in New York City, and for three years has worked as a writing tutor in Carleton’s summer writing program for high school students.

What first interested you about Carleton?

I didn’t have the option of visiting schools, so I had to base my decision on a gut feeling and what I could learn from a Web site. What set Carleton apart was how friendly the people were – I could just sense it in the e-mails I received. The admissions staff was really nice about handling all my queries, and I figured that if the school’s staff gave off this kind of vibe, then the school must be a friendly, nice place, and I was right.

What is the atmosphere like for international students at Carleton?

If you’re willing to put your hand out, someone’s going to grasp it. The majority of the people I’ve met are sensitive to international students being from a different place, a different culture. And most of all I find that people are interested in getting to know more about me. I’ve found that initial questions about my culture or country have often led to a deeper friendship.

What was the hardest thing to adjust to?

One particular challenge for me was doing laundry. At home my mom does the laundry, so I needed help operating the machines. That’s a great thing about the international student orientation – helping us with small, cultural differences like that so we aren’t embarrassed to ask an American roommate, “Hey, how do I do this?”

What extracurricular activities have you been involved in?

Carleton is a great place for firsts, like playing broomball. Last spring I auditioned for a play – and I got cast in Going to St. Ives, a two-person play! I joined the Lens magazine – a student-spearheaded magazine – and I am now one of the chief editors. I’m also a news editor for the Carletonian. When I was a first-year student, I got an e-mail saying “We need someone to cover the Mary Kiffmeyer talk.” (Kiffmeyer is Minnesota’s former secretary of state.) I said, “I don’t know anything about this, but sure!” So I covered that, and eventually I got brave enough to start covering other stories. Working for the paper was a great opportunity to meet different people and helped me figure out that I like journalism as an extracurricular activity, but not as a career.

What does is say about Carleton that you were able to jump in and do all of these things?

Carleton students don’t judge you too quickly and are willing to let you try anything. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, so it’s easy to run around on ice in your tennis shoes swatting a ball with a broom. I had bruised knees, ran away from the ball instead of chasing it, and decided broomball wasn’t for me, but it was fun trying.