Lost & Found: International Students Share their Journey to BU

illustrated typographic logo that says 'Lost and Found,' the name of the BU Today series.

International students share the journey from their homeland, talking about what they’ve left behind and one thing that has helped them forge a new life at BU.

In this series

  • illustration of a young woman reading a book underwater wearing a glass bubble scuba diving helmet with submersible vehicle in the background

    Part 1 Lost & Found: Lilian Li, Malaysia

    Growing up in Malaysia, Lillian Li (COM’21) loved reading, but couldn’t find children’s books set in her own culture. After coming to BU, she decided to write a YA novel about a girl like herself. In this episode of our animated series “Lost & Found,” Li describes how she came to write and publish House of Koi and how it helped her overcome homesickness and reconnect with her heritage.

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  • illustration of a young woman suspended in a void shining a flashlight on random floating doors

    Part 2 Lost & Found: Maria Lazou, Ukraine

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  • Lost and Found: Ao Shen, China. Still from the animation of a girl looking at herself in a looking glass

    Part 3 Lost and Found: Ao Shen, China

    In BU Today’s latest “Lost and Found,” Ao Shen (CAS’20) tells us that she sometimes finds it hard to reconcile her two selves: at BU, she uses her American name, Ava, and is always on the go. She thinks, speaks, even dreams in English. At home in China, she speaks Mandarin, and is quieter, more introspective. She’s found something that helps: meditation.

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  • Still frame captured from Eleonora Valdez's piece for BU Today's series Lost & Found, depicting a corkboard with miscellaneous photos and memorabilia.

    Part 4 Lost and Found: Eleonora Valdez, El Salvador

    In the latest in our ongoing animated series “Lost & Found,” about international students who share the journey from their homeland to BU, we hear from El Salvador native Eleonora Valdez. Overwhelmed when she arrived on campus, Valdez found a warm and welcoming group she felt an instant kinship with: the BU chapter of Sigma Delta Tau.

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  • Lost and Found thumbnail singing

    Part 5 Lost and Found: Daniel Mboweni, Zimbabwe

    Thousands of international students come to study in US colleges every year, more than 9,000 at BU alone. Leaving everything familiar—family, friends, their culture—can be hard, but even harder may be building a new life. Our animated series “Lost and Found” brings you some of their stories. Here an ENG student describes how he found a place “to be free to be myself.”

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  • Lost and Found 3 Thumbnail

    Part 6 Lost and Found: Yunran Zhang, China

    Thousands of international students come to study in US colleges every year, more than 9,000 at BU alone. Leaving everything familiar—family, friends, their culture—can be hard, but even harder may be building a new life. Our animated series “Lost and Found” brings you some of their stories. Here a Questrom student finds solace in contemporary dance.

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  • animation of Deniz Hallik sitting on a park bench

    Part 7 Lost and Found: Deniz Hallik, Turkey

    Thousands of international students come to study in US colleges every year, 3,000 at BU alone. Leaving everything familiar—family, friends, their culture—behind can be hard, but even harder may be building a new life for themselves. Watch the second story in our new animated series “Lost and Found,” about using art to beat depression.

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  • animation of Nathan Chow against Boston skyline

    Part 8 Lost and Found: Nathan Chow, Singapore

    Thousands of international students come to study in US colleges every year, 3,000 at BU alone. Leaving everything familiar—family, friends, their culture—behind can be hard, but even harder may be building a new life for themselves. Our animated series “Lost and Found,” new this year, brings you some of their stories.

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