Everyone at DKU is busy, and things progress at an astounding rate. Whether that is classes, meetings, friendships, or all the above, everything is done efficiently and quickly. Hence, I shall briefly introduce myself. My name is Nathan Franco. I am a current freshman in the class of 2028. Every day since I arrived in China has been impactful and fulfilling. Currently, on campus, I participate in a few activities: Medic-Responder, Gender Studies Lab Student worker, Shadowing at Kunshan Chinese Medicine Hospital, the Medical English Program, DKU Host Family, and I’m the Medic Mindset ISP Director. As you can see, having only been at DKU for four months, I’ve eagerly begun engaging with the community around me, an opportunity that would have been extremely competitive at other universities. Outside of campus, I have also had the chance to become friends with native Chinese people and other international at other schools. If it wasn’t for me leaving my embarrassment and shyness at the airport when I arrived, I wouldn’t have been capable of doing so much so quickly (this is a superpower for internationals, as we are in a new country which isn’t native to us there is no reason to be embarrassed when doing something wrong or going outside of your bubble). However, these are all minor roles that don’t necessarily contribute to bettering our campus, so I’ve decided to apply to the Student Leaders Board even though this application is so demanding. I want to get further involved in the DKU community. As a freshman, I have the advantage of a “first impression,” implying that I can view things for what they actually are with unbiased eyes. For example, I don’t agree that freshmen have the choice to explore classes because we choose last when it comes to classes, even though some “seats” are reserved. Most importantly, you can only credit/no credit major requirements in freshman year, contributing to freshmen wanting to take as many foundational and interdisciplinary classes as possible. Anyway, that’s just one example. As a Board Member, I plan to join the External Affairs or Intercultural Engagement Committee to work with the administration to improve our community. As students, we talk openly about our concerns to each other but find it hard to make a change. I want to be that liaison leading to the change!