International students compare life and school, here and at home

By Brooke Greene / Staff Writer

Hutchinson Community College has prided on its diversity, when it comes to the backgrounds of its students.

At HutchCC, one can find nearly every form of socioeconomic background, whether the students were drawn here for sports, by scholarship, by sheer interest or by affiliation, students all were drawn to Huchinson.

Some backgrounds may be a little more diverse than others, as HutchCC hosts many foreign students. These students have traveled across the world to attend HutchCC and benefit from the same family feel that most of us acquire.

Two of HutchCC’s golf team members are from London, England. They came to Hutchinson to be able to more freely pursue their love for the sport and enhance their education. Charlie Crockett is a third-year student studying business management while golfing, however he has had quite a different experience with the American education system than with the one set in England.

“The class sizes are smaller. I have many classes with only 10 to 15 students in them while there was almost always 30 plus in London,” Crockett said. “The education system is more disciplined here and the students are more determined to learn. The exams are different, easier with multiple choice questions and the curriculum is a touch easier.”

While Americans tend to romanticize the idea of foreign education, as portrayed in the movies with accents and formal matching uniforms, it seems the American education is more idealized by foreign students, with smaller classes and a more one-on-one experiences with professors. Benjamin Partridge, London, said how much more he enjoys the way American schools handle exams.

“It’s completely different than back home. You would sit in a room or on your own and have to answer questions where you have to write your answers in paragraph forms and essays. At colleges back home you would do three years of the major and won’t study different subjects to increase credit hours.”

While our education system is different, our politics and food greatly vary. While Crockett seems to prefer the methods of a monarchy when it comes to politics, he said he can see why and how President Trump manages to run our nation, yet feels like it is hard to run multiple groups of categorized people.

Crockett’s opinions of America can be amusing, with remarks such as, “Everyone carries a gun,” “It’s arse in London, not ass,” “Love the food. The meat is much higher quality, it’s phenomenal.”

When it comes to why Crockett and Partridge switched to American education, their responses were sincere.

“The sports are different here. They are much more important here than in London. There is no time for sports at home,” Crockett said. With NJCAA golf up and going again from the recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crockett and Partridge are back on the course and living the American dream.

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