By Sarah Gill
People talk about your life flashing before your eyes, and this is exactly what happened to Yash Dhillon when he stepped onto his first plane in August 2023 starting his journey to Springfield College. The initial excitement from the newness of this experience kept him going, but as soon as the plane began to shake mid air, Yash knew more than just his plane trip would be turbulent. Up in the sky over the never ending ocean, Yash knew he was on a journey that was just starting.
Yash comes from Chhilora Meerut, Uttar Pradesh in India, where he lived with his parents and other family. Although he comes from a small area, India is the world’s biggest country with more than 1.4 billion people, four times the population of the United States. This rural area is a part of villages in the Meerut District with a population of a little over 4,000 people.
Yash’s father holds a well known social and political status among those in the surrounding villages. This always caused Yash to feel as though he was being watched and he wanted to break away and find independence.
During the Covid Pandemic, Yash would often scroll through social media and watch videos as to what it was like to go to an American school. This is what sparked his interest in Springfield College.
When he first told his parents that he wanted to go to school in the United States they were completely shocked and against the idea. Yash explained his parents wanted him to attend college, but they never imagined it would be in America.
“Because they want to send me to another state, not to another country because it’s… too far. So they were really shocked. And at first, they don’t wanna do that.” Ultimately, Yash’s parents asked around and were persuaded that college in America was a good choice and opportunity for Yash.
The first hump of getting his family and friends on board with him leaving home for the first time was over, but his journey was just beginning. When Yash left his house for the airport in late August 2023, he was thrilled and excited. This excitement lasted only through the doors of the chaotic airport. A wave of sadness hit and at that point he wasn’t even sure he wanted to continue on his journey.
Named after the former Prime Minister, the busiest airport of India is the Indira Gandhi International Airport. This is the primary serving airport of New Delhi, the Capital of India.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi, was busy and overwhelming for Yash, who had never been. Yash was able to bring three bags on the plane which he packed with essentials and tokens to remind him of home. The first leg of his trip was from India to South Korea. In that eleven hour flight Yash realized that he was already missing home and contemplating his decisions. He was thinking about every moment in his life that led to this one, a turbulent new place. “It was definitely a new experience. Like, just sitting in the plane for the first time, I was really happy. I was really excited when it took off for the first time. I was like, oh, yeah I’m in the sky now. And the turbulence? The turbulence, actually. I feel it in my stomach.” After over a day of travel, he landed on a rainy day in Boston Massachusetts. Yash was overwhelmed with the large amounts of people and the new places he was about to experience. He was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t find his luggage and bag belt. He took a bus to Springfield and had Heather St. Germaine pick him up.
St. Germaine is the director of the Springfield College International Center. She was Yash’s first call off the plane. The International Center helps coordinate the students’ arrival to campus.
“From day one, it was very clear that he was going to make the most of this experience.”
Heather also said Yash has an outgoing and willing to try new things mindset. She noted his spirit has helped him build a network of support, notably faster than some of the other international students.
During his first full week of class freshman year, Western Massachusetts faced a heat wave, where highs of upper 90 degree days lasted for the majority of the week. Yash lived on the first floor, the basement floor, of Reed Hall. This floor was where laundry was which increased the scorching temperature in the building. However, Yash was used to this kind of environment. Back home temperatures above 100 degrees were normal. In a way, this heat wave helped to smooth the environmental transition to Springfield College. Although Yash is also not a fan of the cold weather, he noted that environmentally, Springfield has cleaner air and less pollution than back at home. Yash knew he was coming to snowy Western Massachusetts winters, and all he could do was pack warm clothes and wait for snowfall, which didn’t seem all that relative when his first week at school was a heat wave.
This drive to get involved helped Yash adjust to life in Massachusetts, specifically life at Springfield College. Yash recalls how he thought all of America was like New York City and that was what he imagined the city of Springfield to be, busy and populated city blocks. Although he wasn’t correct, again he faced his turbulence head on and made the best of his situation. Yash has been involved with the Springfield College’s Men’s Rugby team, has worked at the dining areas on campus, worked as a Camp Massasoit counselor, worked in the wellness center, and has found people who share his same passion for computer programming and artificial intelligence.
Since being at Springfield College, Yash has developed dreams which he is turning into a reality. While he just so happens to be attending college while artificial intelligence is becoming more so a part of everyday life, he has plans to start an AI program which helps with college searches. The goal would be to make the process simpler and open up a wider variety of options of universities and colleges for aspiring students. Using his passion for computer science and programming, he hopes to make other college decisions a less turbulent experience
Everything about the United States was a culture shock for Yash. From the way cities and towns look, to the way Americans communicate with each other was something that Yash had to adjust to. Living in the basement floor of Reed Hall, Yash met his residential assistant Audrey Sevigny, who he would end up becoming close friends with. Audrey helped Yash to adjust to some of these cultural differences and confusion he was experiencing.
“Yash and I had longer conversations, especially in his first semester on campus. We talked about the cultural differences between India and the U.S. I suggested ways to be himself here while adjusting to differences in the United States like the boundaries people have, including ways to approach conversations with others. It can take a while to adjust to a new culture, so I was happy to help Yash and be someone he could come to. It was a learning curve for me as a residential assistant, but I realized how much my words and experiences could impact others.”
Yash remembers the time they spent together during his first semester adjusting to college. They would talk about “everything”. Even when Yash just needed a friend or someone to be there for him Audrey was the go to girl.
English is Yash’s second language. In school growing up it was taught to him as a foreign language class. However what this class didn’t teach was slang that he would soon learn going to an American school.
“Slangs are really different. I was so confused about the slang at first, like, so much. English, I learned in the books is straight English. But in real life, it’s so different. It was confusing at first, but now it kinda makes sense.”
Adjustment is something that Yash is still trying to navigate. A huge change Yash has been traversing is independence, however he never showed any waves of anxiety about this experience to those who know him. Now in his sophomore year Yash doesn’t have a roommate. He has a good group of friends and even keeps in touch with his more close friends who have graduated and moved to New York. Yash plans to spend this coming summer there looking for future job opportunities and seeing new areas.
He has only gone home once since freshman year and being without his family can be difficult. However, he is focusing on making the most of his time in the United States and knows he will get to go home more often when he is done with school. Even during a turbulent time in society, Yash has flown through difficulty and wants to stay here and achieve his dreams.
Photo courtesy of Yash Dhillon