Simran Raikundalia (CAS’25)

BU undergraduate student, Simran Raikundalia (CAS’25) reflects on her campus engagement outside of classes, and shares advice with international students on how to balance academic and non-academic commitments.

Please share more about yourself and your engagement on campus outside of classes.

I am a Junior studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Mathematical Statistics. I was born and raised in Kenya and I love it there! When I’m not studying, I love to dance and play the flute or piano; I love socializing with other people, and it is a great way to take breaks between intensive studying. I joined the Concert Band and BU Fatakada (BU Garba-Raas Team) in my freshman year and recently joined the Tri-Alpha National Honor Society (a first-generation honor society). This year I became a peer mentor for International Students and an International Student Program Assistant. I really enjoy taking part in activities outside of classes and would definitely recommend this to everyone!

How did you decide what organizations to join?

I came to BU knowing that I wanted to continue my high school hobbies therefore I kept a lookout for the music and dance organizations on the BU Engage website. At Splash, I met with different dance teams and auditioned for a select few. I joined BU Fatakada specifically because I wanted to try new dance forms (as I previously graduated from Bharatnatyam, South Indian classical dance). After coming across the First-Generation Honor Society on social media, I decided to join to meet new individuals with similar backgrounds as I love to learn about other people’s cultures and experiences. I also joined the Concert Band as I wanted to continue performing at concerts in college with new people. Lastly, I volunteered as an International Peer mentor because I wanted to help other students settle into a foreign country as someone who has experienced this journey themselves!

What have you discovered/learned about yourself in this process?

During my first year, I found it challenging to manage my time well because I wanted to be involved in many activities and did not realize how busy I would be with dance practices, music rehearsals, and 4-hour chemistry labs. Sometimes I would have sleepless nights thinking about this, but I am so glad that I continued with these activities. By managing my academic and extracurricular activities, I realized that I am stronger than I think as I learned to enjoy my extracurricular activities instead of seeing them as ‘time wasted not studying’. Additionally, I discovered that my determination to accomplish what I set out to do is not easily deterred. My determination and confidence to continue taking intensive chemistry classes while simultaneously participating in non-academic commitments have grown immensely throughout this process.

How do you balance your academic and non-academic commitments?

Several weekends throughout are pre-booked for non-academic commitments and as a result, I have to be organized and disciplined with my study schedule. Over the past two years, I have tried to pre-plan my commitments and start planning a week ahead of time (e.g., if I have a chemistry midterm on Monday and a whole day commitment on the Saturday before that, I ensure to review most content before Saturday). However, it is also very important to focus on your health; make sure you factor in time to eat, be with friends and sleep – do not compromise on these! I found out that doing just a ‘little’ more studying every night meant I only slept for 4-5 hours which led to a cycle of exhausted mornings and sleepless nights. While it is important to prioritize your academic goals, your health is equally important, and in my experience, maintaining this balance comes with good organization and early planning.

What is your advice for international students considering on-campus engagement?

Trust the process and be positive! It took me over a year to become accustomed to studying abroad, adjusting to my studies, and maintaining a balance of commitments. Without a doubt, my advice is to take part in extracurricular organizations! BU has over 250 clubs and organizations to choose from where you can make lifelong friends and take breaks from studying all the time. I was able to have amazing opportunities such as traveling across the U.S. for competitions and performing at concert halls for over 400 people because of these organizations! On-campus engagement is so important for international students because it provides a sense of belonging and makes it much easier to integrate into the BU community. Meeting new people at clubs and learning about different experiences has really helped me widen my perspective of people and cultures from around the world.