Joy Nath B.A. in Linguistics; B.A. in Economics From New Delhi, India
My Sooner Legacy... I hope my legacy is one of advocacy and working hard to make a positive change for my classmates and for future OU students.
Why OU
I chose OU because of two reasons: the United World College (UWC) Davis Scholars community and the research caliber of the university. The UWC community was a big part of the decision because I wanted to go to a school where I would feel welcome and safe during my four years of college. The UWC community also made OU feel like home. There were always international students in my vicinity to talk about issues that related to my experience at OU. The research acumen was another reason I came to OU! I wanted to get the chance to delve deeper into topics that interested me, and I wanted to do it with faculty who were actively involved in research of their own. OU being an R1 institution offered this to me at an early stage of my academic career.
My OU Story
My time at OU has been nothing short of an adventure. I came here through the UWC Davis Scholars Program. I did not know anything about Oklahoma and had never toured the school, but I knew there was an active UWC community here. I decided to pursue my degrees here, and since then, I have found my best friends, faced some of the biggest challenges in my life, and achieved things I never dreamed of!
OU as an International Student
It has been exceptional to study at an American university like the University of Oklahoma. I did not think Americans would be so welcoming of us, but many American students became more than just my classmates and turned into friends. Whenever I needed it, my friends from across campus were always there to support me. I also had the chance to intern in New York City my junior year at BlackRock as an Internal Audit Summer Analyst, and I participated in several extracurriculars, like the Dunham College Council, the Student Government Association, the International Advisory Committee, and the Gender and Equality Center.
What my degree means
This degree represents the hard work I put throughout all these years and also the countless sacrifices I have made in my time here. It is a privilege to be graduating from the University of Oklahoma because I never thought higher education was a possibility for me. My family is extremely low-income in India, and my parents could never have dreamed of sending me to school here. My degree is a huge milestone, as I have put myself through college as a gay, low-income immigrant and person of color.
What comes next
I am joining the internal audit division at BlackRock in their New York City office starting August as a full-time analyst! I began as an intern there my junior summer, and that has grown into this full-time position.
