Introduction by Simps

posted by: Simphiwe

Hey guys,
My name is Simphiwe [pronounced sim-pi-we], but its saves time to call me Simps, and so everyone does. I am a sophomore and am actually amongst the first full-time, international undergrad students this school has ever had. I come from a distant kingdom, called Swaziland. It's a small country sharing South Africa's north-eastern border, and yes, I still live there. In fact, I have absolutely no family in the northern hemisphere. So I try to go back there every summer. Now, I know what you are thinking... "Dude, why did you pick this school?" Am I right? Well, to explain that I need to first tell you that I'm a double major in Actuarial Science and Finance. Those of you who know anything about actuarial science should know that it's a very difficult and rigorous course. Because of that, most universities don't offer an additional major to that course, but Rider University does. So I came here. And of course, our college of business is actually well renowned world-wide. I have a 3.94 cumulative GPA!! [I got a 4.0 last semester]. Oh yeah... I'm really proud of that, and so I should be, right? Well, I'm not mentioning this purely for the sake of boasting [although that's a minor part of the reason], I'm telling you this because this fact is a big part of who I am. I work hard!! I'm not kidding; I work really, really hard. In fact, it could be argued that I'm all work and no play... or very little play. But don't for one second think that I'm a nerd. Those who know me intimately know that that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm merely determined and extremely motivated, and these aspects of my personality will shine through my blogs. So my reason for writing this blog is to give you some insight on how an international student is coping with the daily trials and tribulations of college life. The same college life you are dealing with [and still getting pretty impressive grades]. Well, I hope you find my blogs of some interest, and that they help you deal with your own college experience.

Well, I'm going to sign-off... for now. So, tune-in two weeks; same time, same place. There are more interesting tales from the Swazi yet to come.

Simps