Jacob Chang, Ohio State University's student body president for the 2021-22 school year
Jacob Chang came to The Ohio State University (OSU) from China three years ago to pursue his undergraduate degree. But it took him time to feel like he belonged. Small things mattered. As part of a campus icebreaker during his first year, students asked each other to name their favorite ice cream flavor.
“I had no idea how to answer,” Chang said. In his hometown in China, he was used to only one or two flavors. The domestic OSU students listed ice creams Chang had never heard of.
“People just looked at me when it was my turn, waiting,” he said. “They thought it was an easy question, that it was a normal thing to ask. Because to them, it was.”
Chang also fell silent because he worried that his English was not good enough, that people would not understand him.
“That can make it hard to articulate yourself because you feel like you’re boxed in a corner,” he added. “That is extremely challenging for some international students on campus.”
Moments of not-belonging like that pushed Chang to get involved in student government and help the campus be more inclusive of international students like him. About 11% of OSU’s undergraduate population is made up of international students. This year, Chang became the first international student to be student body president at OSU.
