Nidhi Polekar

When I first came to the U.S., I was terrified. I was only 17. I didn't know anybody here, so I had to start from scratch. The International Welcome Team leaders were so nice and helpful. Even after the orientation, if I had any questions or if I was feeling lost, I could just contact them.

I became close friends with the person who was conducting my tour. She's my roommate now. After my freshman year, she encouraged me to join the International Welcome Team. Through that, I was able to network and meet students from all over the world. New Student Enrollment is the number one reason I have such a diverse friend group. Nebraska is more than a school—it’s a community.

I also had a great professor here, Professor McMahon. She was my first political science professor. She invited me to her home for Thanksgiving, which was so kind. She helped me navigate through college courses, and she introduced me to the Honors Program. She helped me a lot academically.

This has been the perfect undergraduate experience. I’ve had access to so many opportunities. In many ways, these opportunities sort of present themselves to me, and I just make use of them. I've just had so much energy and drive to explore new things and try out everything that I can. I like to explore all my interests. My enthusiasm has helped me manage everything. 

During quarantine, I became the designated chef for my three roommates. I've basically just made use of my social circle to experiment. I have a very diverse group of friends—Americans, Colombians, Indians, Middle Easterners—people from all over the world. They all have different taste buds, styles and preferences. When I'm making food, I just want to have fun with it. I plan to attend a seven-month culinary program in France after graduation.