Joanna Lam's Year in Review (2023)

Joanna is a student in the class of 2027 and the fall 2021 recipients of the Social Media Scholarship. Below she reflects on her first year at the Sciences Po Campus of Le Havre.

Donc, la première année est finie, so here's my 1A reflection. My main takeaway after living in Le Havre is that I am lucky to be surrounded by so much love and camaraderie. This atmosphere certainly made the not-so-easy transition from high school to college a lot more pleasant, and furthermore, the newness of navigating a foreign country became easier with the knowledge that I had a community behind me. Our campus-wide Whatsapp group chat made it so that information was readily accessible, and oftentimes allowed for friendships (or even just cordial acquaintanceships) to blossom. Coming from a high school where my graduating class had nearly 900 students, the connectedness of the Le Havre campus was a welcome change of pace. 

This year was one for self-discovery. I arguably spent too much time with my own thoughts. I reflected quite a lot on what my goals were for myself, what my learning style was, what I truly enjoyed doing. Oftentimes this introspection was actually prompted by the classes we took, like with Sociology or Economics. Also, this past year I have discovered capabilities that I didn’t know I had: being able to deal with bureaucracy in a language I don’t really know, how to pack light and travel for cheap, how to study for a final exam in less than 24 hours… and still pass with good marks.

Speaking of academics, I came from a pretty rigorous high school, but Sciences Po is a different type of intensity. We take more units than the average American college student, and on top of having many classes, we are still expected to maintain a high degree of involvement in extracurriculars. Everyone on campus cares about doing well academically, but what I’ve seen is that even though it can be a little competitive sometimes, we foster a collaborative studying environment and we are willing to help eachother out. In addition to school, we have to factor in time for other things, like grocery shopping or meal planning, which most freshmen in American colleges don’t have to worry about since most have dining halls on-site. I knew this before committing to the program, but I think it takes experiencing everything to truly understand how difficult it is to manage your time. That being said, I’ve learned that it is very much possible to socialize, study, work and well, live… given you understand your boundaries and retain a certain level of discipline in how you spend your time. Experiencing this independence and having to learn how to balance all of my responsibilities is a life skill that I know will help me in the future. 

Paradoxically, at the same time, I found a surprising amount of time to hone in on my hobbies and learn new skills thanks to the openness of the campus. I bought a guitar off of a 2A for twenty euros at the beginning of the year, and all of the sudden I was asked to play in the band for the school musical. I had always wanted to try martial arts as a kid, and so I started going to the MMA sessions offered by the school. While I mostly got my butt kicked by my sparring partner, she helped adjust my technique, and most importantly, taught me to protect my face. After being coaxed by the rugby captains at a club fair, I joined the team because it seemed close enough to the flag football I played in high school. Through going to dinner parties at 2A colocs, I learned to cook, and in that process started looking out for my nutrition. The small but talented student body sets up a welcoming environment for you to explore activities outside of your comfort zone with little resistance. I’m always in shock at how amazing my peers are, and one of the things that I have taken away from this past year is a little more faith in humanity after seeing the sheer compassion displayed by my classmates in their willingness to help others. The campus has a little bit of something for everyone, whether it's sports, arts, public speaking, or all of the above. I’ll treasure the memories of cultural events like Diwali Night or our Chinese New Year celebration and I will always remember our WEIS from the cuts and bruises we sustained as a result of fierce competition. 

After this first year, I feel more whole as a person. I know that is a bold statement to be making, but after meeting the people I’ve met, traveling to the places I’ve been, studying the subjects we study, I can say that my life in Le Havre is vibrant and fulfilling. (Quite the contrary to the dreary weather we face.) I look forward to this next year as a 2A, and I hope to continue to create new friendships and deepen existing ones. I’m excited to be living in a coloc, and I am stoked that our place has an oven where I can potentially take up baking as a new hobby. Obviously I’ll be occupied with 2A things, specifically Politics and Government-related since that will be my major. I’ve enjoyed documenting my first year for the Dual Degree social media platforms, and I’ve learned that I want to continue documenting my journey in Le Havre for personal memories next year as well. If you are a prospective student reading this, I hope this encourages you to take the leap and choose this program. If you are an incoming 1A, I hope this was helpful in understanding how your year might play out. Be sure to try all the things, even if you don’t feel like you bring any experience to the table. And with that, onwards to l'année prochaine!