S3E49: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Mannat Dhamija of India Artwork

Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!

Welcome to Seattle Colleges International Programs and our podcast 'Conversations with!', where we talk to people that help you understand how you too can be an international student in the U.S. and what it's like when you get here. We talk about higher education, community colleges and why Seattle Colleges should be at the top of your list. We'll chat with students, staff, instructors, agents, government employees and Seattle locals about what you can do to apply, how to get ready, what you might experience once you're here and how it can all add up to help you live your best life.

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Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!

S3E49: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Mannat Dhamija of India

August 13, 2025 • Evan Franulovich • Season 3 • Episode 49

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In this our forty-ninth episode of Season 3, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Mannat Dhamija of India about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States.

1:19 - Meet Mannat!

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Evan Franulovich 0:05
Welcome to Seattle Colleges International Programs and our show 'Conversations with!', where we talk to people that help you understand how you too, can be an international student in the United States and why Seattle Colleges should be your first choice. We'll talk to students and staff and agents and government folks, all kinds of people about what you can expect when you're getting ready to apply or travel here, what you'll experience while you're with us, and how it can all lead to an amazing life. Don't forget to check out the Seattle Colleges International Programs website at intl.seattlecolleges.edu where you can find a treasure trove of information about the school, the programs here and best of all, fill out and submit your application. Again, that's intl.seattlecolleges.edu.

Evan Franulovich 1:08
Welcome back to Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!' We're here at Seattle Central again, and we have a very special guest from India today. Why don't you tell everybody who you are, what you're studying, how long you've been here, that kind of stuff.

Mannat Dhamija 1:24
Hi everyone! I'm Mannat Dhamija, I'm from India, Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. This is my third quarter here, I just took a vacation quarter. I'm currently majoring in computer science.

Evan Franulovich 1:41
Yeah, computer science, what do you want to do with that?

Mannat Dhamija 1:45
Software engineering, but with the focus on AI and machine learning as well.

Evan Franulovich 1:51
So you're gonna put us all at jobs? Great. Good job!

Mannat Dhamija 1:54
Yeah, the engineering market is pretty much disturbed right now.

Evan Franulovich 1:59
Is it? Yeah? Hmm, when you say disturb, what do you mean by that?

Mannat Dhamija 2:04
Like there are lesser jobs than usual because of AI. AI has to cover everything, like it can code it can do everything.

Evan Franulovich 2:15
So does Seattle Colleges offer computer science classes that are really focus heavily on AI, or is that something you'll have to get after you transfer?

Mannat Dhamija 2:27
So we don't have AI subjects currently.

Evan Franulovich 2:32
Okay.

Mannat Dhamija 2:33
But we do have every subject related to software engineering, like in your first quarter, you get Python and then Java, and then OPS. Everything's over there. But then after two years, after completing your associate degree here, you get to transfer to university.

Evan Franulovich 2:51
Gotcha. So how much computer science did you have before you came to the United States? Did you focus on that in high school?

Mannat Dhamija 3:00
Yeah, I took the non medical in high school, which is maths, physics and chemistry.

Evan Franulovich 3:07
Gotcha.

Mannat Dhamija 3:08
With computers and English. These were the five subjects I took. And then after that, you can just go further with computer science or whatever you like, because non medical has a lot of pathways.

Evan Franulovich 3:24
Gotcha. Okay, so this was at a public school or private school?

Mannat Dhamija 3:29
So mine was private school.

Evan Franulovich 3:31
It was private school. You want to say the name of your school?

Mannat Dhamija 3:34
So till my 10th standard, I was in Little Flower Convent School, which was a Christian school. Everything was from the southern part of India, like every teacher, and it was super fun. We had a 40 minute assembly every day.

Evan Franulovich 3:50
Why? What for?

Mannat Dhamija 3:52
There were a lot of things. Like every class each day would give speeches, thoughts of the day, and everything new.

Evan Franulovich 4:01
Really?

Mannat Dhamija 4:02
Yeah, and there was like five prayers in total. And there was a lunch prayer, there was a goodbye prayer, prayers for everything. There was a beautiful church. And then in the last two years of my high school, I was in Madaan International School in the same city.

Evan Franulovich 4:18
Okay.

Mannat Dhamija 4:19
Yeah, it was quite fun.

Evan Franulovich 4:21
All right. Well, that sounds pretty great, so shout out to those schools. Well, let's go back a little bit. You were a little kid growing up in India. Did you think about going overseas, or is this something that maybe your parents planted in your head? How did the idea of going overseas to study occurred?

Mannat Dhamija 4:41
I never even thought I would get out of my city.

Evan Franulovich 4:45
Oh, really?

Mannat Dhamija 4:45
Yeah, I had no plans. Even though I took non medical because my father said so. He really wants me to become an engineer. When I was in 10th grade...

Evan Franulovich 4:58
Wait a minute, an Indian parent who wants their child to become an engineer? Crazy!

Mannat Dhamija 5:03
Yeah, in India, it's like become a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer. That's pretty much all the options.

Evan Franulovich 5:11
Sure.

Mannat Dhamija 5:12
But when I was in 10th grade, we got connected with one of my father's friends, and she convinced my father to send me to the US.

Evan Franulovich 5:22
Oh.

Mannat Dhamija 5:23
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 5:24
Very cool. And so had you decided where in the US? I mean, you eventually came to Seattle. Did you look all over the US when you were kind of thinking about it?

Mannat Dhamija 5:36
I looked up in Austin and Denver as well. But her plan was to eventually shift to Seattle for studies, because she thinks that Seattle is great for studies and the environment is great and everything. I was so prepared in my head that I have to come to this specific college.

Evan Franulovich 5:59
To Seattle Colleges?

Mannat Dhamija 6:01
To Seattle Central, yeah.

Evan Franulovich 6:03
Oh, not even Seattle Colleges.

Mannat Dhamija 6:04
No, not even north, not even south.

Evan Franulovich 6:06
Okay.

Mannat Dhamija 6:07
Seattle Central, I was so prepared.

Evan Franulovich 6:09
Wow. Okay, so you start doing research on this when you're in high school, and then when do you actually apply?

Mannat Dhamija 6:19
So starting in 10th grade, I started preparing for a TOEFL.

Evan Franulovich 6:22
Oh, yeah, sure.

Mannat Dhamija 6:23
And then in 11th grade, I was done giving TOEFL. I also did Duolingo after my high school just for fun. And then I started my visa process after I got done with my high school in March 2024.

Evan Franulovich 6:40
Okay, so you applied somewhere before March, got accepted?

Mannat Dhamija 6:45
No, no, I started my process in March.

Evan Franulovich 6:48
Oh, you started everything in March?

Mannat Dhamija 6:49
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 6:49
Oh, gotcha. And then from the time you started to the time you end up getting your visa, getting your F-1 so you can come to the US. How long did that take?

Mannat Dhamija 7:00
It took me nine months.

Evan Franulovich 7:02
Nine months, that's pretty standard in India.

Mannat Dhamija 7:05
Yeah, because the college quarter I was planning on coming to was fall, which is September, but then my visa got rejected.

Evan Franulovich 7:16
Oh, you got rejected the first time.

Mannat Dhamija 7:18
Yeah, I got rejected in June and then, and then I got my visa on 30th of September.

Evan Franulovich 7:26
Wow, that's great.

Mannat Dhamija 7:27
2 months before I was coming here, I came here in mid December.

Evan Franulovich 7:30
Wow. So guys, if you get rejected your first time, don't lose hope. There is a possibility that you can get it that second time for sure.

Mannat Dhamija 7:38
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 7:39
So there are a number of places within India where you can do a visa interview. Where did you end up going?

Mannat Dhamija 7:48
So there are five visa consultation centers. But for first time, I ended up going to Delhi and then to Mumbai. I love Mumbai.

Evan Franulovich 8:00
You do?

Mannat Dhamija 8:00
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 8:01
Why?

Mannat Dhamija 8:02
Because of the street food, I guess. I think it was my second time in Mumbai at that time. The weather is great. It's not hot, it's not cold.

Evan Franulovich 8:15
It's right on the water.

Mannat Dhamija 8:16
Yeah, there are beaches and everything.

Evan Franulovich 8:19
Air is a little cleaner than Delhi.

Mannat Dhamija 8:21
A lot cleaner.

Evan Franulovich 8:22
A lot cleaner. Yeah, I can understand that. Yeah, because your hometown actually is pretty far to the west.

Mannat Dhamija 8:31
Yeah, it's Northwest.

Evan Franulovich 8:35
Northwest. So if you were to drive, how long would it take you to get to the border with Pakistan? Is it an hour?

Mannat Dhamija 8:43
No, no, it's not that close. My city is a little bit far away, but I guess it's maybe 200 miles.

Evan Franulovich 8:52
Okay. India is a big place, 200 miles is pretty close. That's pretty cool. Nice. Okay, so you get into the process of looking around, you know, in the United States we have community colleges. We are a community college. A lot of people that I've met back in South Asia don't always understand what a community college is, or why they might want to consider it, or maybe they have some negative views about community college. So why did you consider a community college? What did you learn about them? And what have you discovered about community colleges? Since you've been going to school at one?

Mannat Dhamija 9:34
I think the first thing I learned about coming to the US was community colleges. I find it affordable, and it gives you a new, comfortable environment, because you directly come from some country, and if you cannot be in so much crowd, like me, I cannot be in so much crowd all at once. So, I needed some space.

Evan Franulovich 10:01
Sure.

Mannat Dhamija 10:01
And the classes are small here, there are less number of students, and this is super comfortable. I think community colleges are super comfortable, all in just one area.

Evan Franulovich 10:12
Yeah?

Mannat Dhamija 10:13
Yeah, but I would still love to go to university after two years.

Evan Franulovich 10:18
Right, right.

Mannat Dhamija 10:19
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 10:21
When you arrived here, you were over 18?

Mannat Dhamija 10:26
Yeah, I just turned 18.

Evan Franulovich 10:27
Okay, so you'll be transferring by the time you're 20, and then you'll do two years at a university. Do you have an idea where you want to go?

Mannat Dhamija 10:36
I mean, Udub's great.

Evan Franulovich 10:37
Udub's great.

Mannat Dhamija 10:38
Udub's beautiful. But if I get like any other better universities, I'll totally go for it.

Evan Franulovich 10:45
Do you plan to apply to multiple universities?

Mannat Dhamija 10:49
Yeah, I love Georgia Tech.

Evan Franulovich 10:51
Oh, you're the third student I've talked to that's been interested in Georgia Tech.

Mannat Dhamija 10:56
Oh, really?

Evan Franulovich 10:56
That's really interesting.

Mannat Dhamija 10:57
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 10:58
I had two Vietnamese students that ended up going to Georgia Tech, and then you've mentioned it. So that's really interesting. What is it about Georgia Tech that seems so attractive?

Mannat Dhamija 11:09
I think everyone who does engineering have this love for Georgia Tech no one could ever express.

Evan Franulovich 11:17
I see.

Mannat Dhamija 11:17
Yeah, it's great because it's kind of easy to get in than most tech universities. CalTech is great too, it's awesome.

Evan Franulovich 11:28
Sure, yeah.

Mannat Dhamija 11:28
But it's really hard to get in, but there's still a slight possibility for me to get into Georgia Tech.

Evan Franulovich 11:36
Do you know what the grade point average is that you have to have?

Mannat Dhamija 11:38
It's 3.5 or 3.6, I guess.

Evan Franulovich 11:43
That's pretty doable.

Mannat Dhamija 11:45
I created a list of universities, and went to my advisor, Jack is my advisor. And he was like, you are doing it too early. You don't have to hurry. And I was like, 'No, I'm just so stressed. Let's do it.'

Evan Franulovich 11:57
Yeah, you're your own best advocate. So if you want to get some done, you just go for it.

Mannat Dhamija 12:02
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 12:04
Interesting. Well, apply to Georgia Tech. Where are they located? Which city in Georgia?

Mannat Dhamija 12:10
I don't know.

Evan Franulovich 12:12
I don't even know, honestly. I got to look them up. Maybe I go back there and do a podcast with them or something.

Mannat Dhamija 12:16
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 12:18
Georgia Tech, I'm coming for you. Cool. Well, all right, so you arrived in Seattle. When you got here, were you by yourself? Did you fly with family?

Mannat Dhamija 12:28
No, it was my first time flying alone and flying international for the first time. I was super excited, I was not scared at all. But my aunt came to pick me up from Phoenix.

Evan Franulovich 12:41
Oh, nice.

Mannat Dhamija 12:42
Yeah. And then we came here.

Evan Franulovich 12:44
She came from Phoenix to Seattle?

Mannat Dhamija 12:47
No, she was in Seattle and she went to Phoenix because my flight landed over there.

Evan Franulovich 12:53
Well, so let's talk about the route you took. So you flew from where to where?

Mannat Dhamija 12:58
So I flew from Delhi to Paris.

Evan Franulovich 13:01
Oh, you went west.

Mannat Dhamija 13:03
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 13:03
Interesting. I figured you'd go east.

Mannat Dhamija 13:05
I went west. And then Paris to Phoenix. Phoenix is a really small airport. And then from Phoenix to Seattle.

Evan Franulovich 13:14
Okay.

Mannat Dhamija 13:15
It was almost a 27 hour flight.

Evan Franulovich 13:19
That's a long way.

Mannat Dhamija 13:19
That's a lot.

Evan Franulovich 13:20
Yes, I totally understand. But everything went smoothly?

Mannat Dhamija 13:24
Yeah, everything was great.

Evan Franulovich 13:26
Didn't miss any flights or anything?

Mannat Dhamija 13:28
Nah.

Evan Franulovich 13:29
Cool. How did you prepare as far as baggage goes, because you're only allowed so many bags, and you're coming here for years, how did you decide what to put in your bags?

Mannat Dhamija 13:41
So I was allowed two bags, 23 kgs each, and then a 13 kg suitcase.

Evan Franulovich 13:50
Yeah.

Mannat Dhamija 13:52
I did pack everything. My bag got so heavy. It had space, but it got so heavy. I didn't pack any summer clothes.

Evan Franulovich 14:02
No summer clothes at all?

Mannat Dhamija 14:03
No summer clothes because it was December. It was winter here in Seattle. And yeah, I didn't pack any summer clothes because there was this huge portfolio and paintings I had to take with me.

Evan Franulovich 14:17
Oh.

Mannat Dhamija 14:18
Yeah, I did apply for graphic design when I was here.

Evan Franulovich 14:20
Right.

Mannat Dhamija 14:22
I currently switched my major to computer science.

Evan Franulovich 14:24
You did.

Mannat Dhamija 14:25
Yeah, and then I made an art portfolio. And I was like, maybe they could just ask me, where are the paintings? So I took them with me here.

Evan Franulovich 14:33
So why did you switch?

Mannat Dhamija 14:37
Same reason because I saw this trend going on social media. I forgot the name, but it was 'AI is taking over literally everything.' And I always wanted to do computer science. My plan from the very start was doing computer science, but then I switched my major to graphic design, because I thought I wont be able to do it, like coding and stuff. I don't like coding. But now I feel like 'Let's just give it a try.'

Evan Franulovich 15:09
You're making friends with coding now.

Mannat Dhamija 15:12
I'm trying to.

Evan Franulovich 15:13
Yeah.

Mannat Dhamija 15:13
I just took one subject this summer, which is business technology management.

Evan Franulovich 15:20
Right, right.

Mannat Dhamija 15:23
Yeah, and I will try to code the whole summer.

Evan Franulovich 15:25
Cool.

Mannat Dhamija 15:26
So that I can catch up on things.

Evan Franulovich 15:28
So you're actually taking a vacation quarter, but you're taking one class.

Mannat Dhamija 15:32
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 15:33
Gotcha. Yeah, others do that. Are you working as well?

Mannat Dhamija 15:37
No.

Evan Franulovich 15:38
You're not working?

Mannat Dhamija 15:38
No, I'm not working. I did apply for on campus job, and I got one which starts in fall. It's for the Seattle Collegian.

Evan Franulovich 15:46
Oh, cool. Yeah, we've had a few international students who write for the Collegian.

Mannat Dhamija 15:51
Yeah, it's great. I did wrote articles for them earlier, and then they offered like we are hiring. And the main person, Mary. There's Mary and Jordan. Jordan's my English professor, so he knows me pretty well. And then Mary asked me if I can be their staff editor, and I gave them an interview and they liked it.

Evan Franulovich 16:13
And did they have you write something so they can see what your...?

Mannat Dhamija 16:18
I wrote articles for them way before I applied to the job.

Evan Franulovich 16:22
Oh, just as a volunteer, you wrote articles?

Mannat Dhamija 16:25
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 16:25
Oh, interesting. That's good way to get experience.

Mannat Dhamija 16:28
But they haven't published it yet because I don't have an SSN right now.

Evan Franulovich 16:32
You don't have what?

Mannat Dhamija 16:33
Social Security number.

Evan Franulovich 16:35
Ah, gotcha. Well, you're in the process of getting that?

Mannat Dhamija 16:39
Yeah. I just got the job offer. I applied for it, and my appointments is on 30th of July.

Evan Franulovich 16:45
So what happens at this appointment? Because someone I did a podcast interview yesterday, they said the same thing. I didn't realize there's an appointment you have to go to. Do you know what happens?

Mannat Dhamija 16:57
Yeah, there is an in-person appointment in which you have to submit all your documents. I haven't read about it a lot, but to this point, I just know that you have to give your passport and your I-20 and your job offer, which is like the main thing.

Evan Franulovich 17:12
Right.

Mannat Dhamija 17:13
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 17:14
Is that just a letter from school or something?

Mannat Dhamija 17:17
Yeah, you just have to sign the offer letter if you accept the job, and they give you the SSN within seven business days, I guess.

Evan Franulovich 17:26
Oh, that's great. And then for the Collegian, how many hours will you work? Or do they pay you by the article?

Mannat Dhamija 17:36
So it's up to me. There's a two hour meeting that is mandatory to go to, and then they allow me 10 hours of work every week.

Evan Franulovich 17:48
Oh, that's great.

Mannat Dhamija 17:48
Yeah. And it's just my choice if I have to go work for others.

Evan Franulovich 17:56
Right, right.

Mannat Dhamija 17:57
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 17:57
So guys, if you're out there and you're thinking about work when you come here, consider the Collegian, because they have a number of international students.

Mannat Dhamija 18:06
Yeah, they have a lot of international students.

Evan Franulovich 18:10
Vrinda, one of our previous. Yeah, she was working there. I don't know if she still is.

Mannat Dhamija 18:17
She just graduated.

Evan Franulovich 18:18
She just graduated. Yeah, exactly. Some people work throughout the summer after they graduate, but I haven't seen her.

Mannat Dhamija 18:24
Oh, really?

Evan Franulovich 18:25
Wow, interesting. So you have this summer break. The weather is gorgeous outside, probably a lot better than when you first arrived?

Mannat Dhamija 18:35
No offense to literally any Seattle lovers, but I hated Seattle when I came here.

Evan Franulovich 18:42
Why?

Mannat Dhamija 18:43
Because I love rain, but it would rain all the time, and there was this sharp wind coming to me every second, and I would just hate it. I would just hate to go out. I would just hate to come to college. But now I see Seattle as heaven.

Evan Franulovich 19:01
Summer is heaven.

Mannat Dhamija 19:03
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 19:03
The winter is dark and wet. She makes it sound really bad, but it's not as bad as she makes it sound. It does rain a lot, especially compared to India.

Mannat Dhamija 19:13
The sun literally sets at 4pm, which I hate. I feel like it's night again, and I have to sleep.

Evan Franulovich 19:20
Well, you're coding anyway. What do you care?

Mannat Dhamija 19:22
Yeah, that's true.

Evan Franulovich 19:25
So you are spending the summer doing one class, but then what are you doing for the rest of the time? Are you out exploring the city? Are you traveling around the US? How are you spending your summer?

Mannat Dhamija 19:38
I don't really have any plans, but I feel like I should work on my portfolio, I should create one. And I really want to create a portfolio website of mine, so I'll work on that, and I would learn maybe a new coding language. And yeah, I would catch up on Python or Java, because last quarter my Java was the worst.

Evan Franulovich 20:02
Kind of important.

Mannat Dhamija 20:03
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 20:09
What do you guys do C++?

Mannat Dhamija 20:13
I'm planning on doing C++ this summer. I did HTML and CSS when I was in India.

Evan Franulovich 20:19
Right, right, right. So, so far, you've been here a little while. What's been your favorite class so far?

Mannat Dhamija 20:26
My favorite class would be, I took this art class in my first quarter. I love it because I got the most amazing professor ever.

Evan Franulovich 20:35
Yeah?

Mannat Dhamija 20:36
Yeah. Her name was Tatiana Garmentia.

Evan Franulovich 20:39
Nice.

Mannat Dhamija 20:41
I love her. She is such a great human being, such a great soul. And she helped me a lot with my letter of recommendation. And even though she was sick, but she still made it. She's great.

Evan Franulovich 20:54
What kind of art are we talking about? Did you do sculpting, drawing, photography?

Mannat Dhamija 20:59
When I did my art portfolio. I learned about illustration, typography, sculpture, art, oil acrylic, and then charcoal medium.

Evan Franulovich 21:11
Oh, there's quite a bit.

Mannat Dhamija 21:12
Yeah, there's a lot. Advertising design too.

Evan Franulovich 21:15
Right.

Mannat Dhamija 21:17
The art class was pretty easy for me because I didn't know that you have to register for classes here. And I was late, so I registered into whatever class I got.

Evan Franulovich 21:26
Oh, just so you maintain your status.

Mannat Dhamija 21:28
And then eventually I got into the art class. It was generally the acrylic medium.

Evan Franulovich 21:36
Yeah.

Mannat Dhamija 21:36
But yeah, it was great,

Evan Franulovich 21:37
Cool. Well, you do know that when summer arrives, you can register for both summer classes and for fall classes. So have you already got your schedule for the fall?

Mannat Dhamija 21:48
I did register for fall classes, but I'm not sure if I will take those.

Evan Franulovich 21:54
Oh, you might change it up.

Mannat Dhamija 21:55
Yeah, a little bit.

Evan Franulovich 21:57
Okay. Well, your advisor can always help if you need that, but if you know what you're doing, that's great too. Have you found it easy to find the classes you want? Or has that been a challenge?

Mannat Dhamija 22:09
So for my second quarter, I would keep an eye on when the registration date starts.

Evan Franulovich 22:16
For sure.

Mannat Dhamija 22:16
And then at 12am in the night, I would literally like go up on my computer and see, and they'll be like, class opens at eight.

Evan Franulovich 22:26
That's what I did when I was in school. I mean, I was pre technology era, but I would try to get in right away, because classes fill up.

Mannat Dhamija 22:34
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 22:34
So the sooner you get on there and register, the better.

Mannat Dhamija 22:37
Yeah. But they fill in three days.

Evan Franulovich 22:40
Right.

Mannat Dhamija 22:41
All of them.

Evan Franulovich 22:42
Yeah. So there's a lot going on on campus as well. Have you been able to take advantage of some of the activities that the international ambassadors create? Or just in general?

Mannat Dhamija 22:54
I didn't go to much events. I did attend a talent night.

Evan Franulovich 22:59
Talent Night, that's where we talked at length.

Mannat Dhamija 23:02
Oh, yeah, we talked there.

Evan Franulovich 23:05
How was Talent Night?

Mannat Dhamija 23:06
It was great. Every talent was so great, and you just knew who was gonna win. Their dance was super.

Evan Franulovich 23:15
I didn't know who was gonna win. I'm surprised you say that, because I thought so many were so good. I couldn't believe how good the talent was.

Mannat Dhamija 23:22
Yeah, but there was so much energy.

Evan Franulovich 23:25
That's true, yeah.

Mannat Dhamija 23:27
I just knew they were gonna win. But the audience choice, I voted for him.

Evan Franulovich 23:32
That's great. You get on your phone and you vote.

Mannat Dhamija 23:35
Yeah, he's everyone's favorite.

Evan Franulovich 23:37
It was crazy.

Mannat Dhamija 23:38
He sits at the international office. I don't know his name.

Evan Franulovich 23:42
Well, that's really fun. What else have you done? Anything else?

Mannat Dhamija 23:45
I go to the MAC.

Evan Franulovich 23:47
Oh, yeah.

Mannat Dhamija 23:48
Playing board games.

Evan Franulovich 23:50
Can you tell the listeners? Some people might not know what the MAC is.

Mannat Dhamija 23:53
So the MAC is the Michelle Activity Center. It's included in the fees you pay. There's gym, there's volleyball, there's basketball, there's board games, rocket ball, everything, literally everything. The whole building is just games.

Evan Franulovich 24:12
No pool. Unfortunately, we don't have a swimming pool. I wish we did.

Mannat Dhamija 24:16
Yeah, we have the billiards pool.

Evan Franulovich 24:18
No, that kind of pool, but we don't have a swimming pool.

Mannat Dhamija 24:20
Yeah, we don't. And there are clubs as well. There's there's also Matcha club. There's International Club for international students. I am in the international club, but I didn't go for a day. I really want to go. They watch movies and everything. It's super fun there's a lot of stuff to do.

Evan Franulovich 24:45
So you arrived in time where you could have applied for the Foundation Scholarship. Did you apply for the Foundation Scholarship?

Mannat Dhamija 24:54
I didn't. To this day, I don't know what the Foundation Scholarship is.

Evan Franulovich 25:00
The Foundation Scholarship is one of our big scholarships. Half of the students that apply get it. The average award is somewhere around $5,000 so it opens for application every January to March, and you can apply every year you're here. So come next January, be looking there's posters everywhere. They'll be on Instagram, you'll hear about it. But yeah, you go on and you apply for it, and if you're awarded it, they usually make the award by May. You can use that funding in summer and fall, and they spread it out throughout the year for you, so it doesn't cover all your tuition, but it is very helpful.

Mannat Dhamija 25:39
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 25:40
In addition to your work, if you do work with Collegian, you'll make money there, and with the Foundations Scholarship, it'll cover a lot of your expenses.

Mannat Dhamija 25:48
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 25:49
It's worth checking out. What about Phi Theta Kappa? Your grades are good?

Mannat Dhamija 25:55
I think so I got a 3.7 this time.

Evan Franulovich 25:58
Great.

Mannat Dhamija 25:59
Yeah, but I got a four in math and English, but I didn't get good grades in computer programming.

Evan Franulovich 26:08
Well, as long as your GPA is pretty high, you will get invited into Phi Theta Kappa. Do you know much about that?

Mannat Dhamija 26:15
Oh, no. I watched your podcast with the three students from Phi Theta Kappa.

Evan Franulovich 26:22
Highly recommend you check it out, not only just for the good experience and the networking, but I also believe they have some scholarship opportunities as well.

Mannat Dhamija 26:31
I thought it was like a club where students come and play.

Evan Franulovich 26:34
It's an honor society, so your grade point has to be above a certain threshold, and then you're invited into it, and you join, and looks great on your transfer applications that you do. So it's definitely well worth joining.

Mannat Dhamija 26:50
Sounds good.

Evan Franulovich 26:52
All right. Well, you also have family that's come to visit. Is that right?

Mannat Dhamija 26:57
Yeah, I got my father here. Yay, Dad's here.

Evan Franulovich 27:01
He's behind the camera. So welcome to Dad. He's arrived here for a couple weeks. What do you guys planned?

Mannat Dhamija 27:08
He arrived on the 24th of June.

Evan Franulovich 27:11
Perfect.

Mannat Dhamija 27:15
We haven't done much of things, but we will just explore Seattle.

Evan Franulovich 27:21
Right?

Mannat Dhamija 27:21
Maybe we just visit somewhere.

Evan Franulovich 27:23
Been to the Space Needle yet?

Mannat Dhamija 27:25
Not yet. We have been to the SLU day before yesterday.

Evan Franulovich 27:30
Cool.

Mannat Dhamija 27:31
We have been to the Pike Place.

Evan Franulovich 27:35
Yes, they throw the fish. Did you see the fish throw?

Mannat Dhamija 27:39
Yeah, the fish, the gum wall. Yeah, there's a lot of fish smell.

Evan Franulovich 27:45
Cool, yes, for sure. And what about the ferry? Did you guys take the ferry across the water to West Seattle?

Mannat Dhamija 27:53
Oh, we didn't.

Evan Franulovich 27:54
It's kind of a fun thing to do. I mean, first of all, if it's a beautiful day like it is today, when you get out on the water, the skyline for the city is gorgeous, so it's pretty inexpensive. Do you have an ORCA card?

Mannat Dhamija 28:08
We do.

Evan Franulovich 28:09
So you just scan your ORCA card and cross the water, and once you're over there, you can walk around a little bit. There's a little restaurant and stuff. I mean, you can play around and then just take the ferry back. Highly recommend.

Mannat Dhamija 28:23
For sure.

Evan Franulovich 28:24
Yeah, it's really fun. Oh, do you hear that?

Mannat Dhamija 28:26
It's Trivia Time.

Evan Franulovich 28:30
So this is the part of the show where we ask you five questions. Really a serious part of the show. So if you do not answer them, all right, it's gonna be bad.

Mannat Dhamija 28:40
Okay.

Evan Franulovich 28:41
All right, question number one: You are in the the state of Washington. How many states in the United States?

Mannat Dhamija 28:52
Is it 27?

Evan Franulovich 28:57
Higher.

Mannat Dhamija 28:58
Is it 32?

Evan Franulovich 29:02
It's 50.

Mannat Dhamija 29:03
50?

Evan Franulovich 29:04
50 states. So if you look at our flag, we'll have 50 stars on that field and blue.

Mannat Dhamija 29:11
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 29:12
Each star stands for a different state.

Mannat Dhamija 29:14
I'm sorry about that.

Evan Franulovich 29:15
No, it's all right. This is just for fun. Okay. Question number two: If you are an international student, in order to maintain your visa status, how many credits do you need to take per quarter?

Mannat Dhamija 29:28
We need to take 12 or more, seven in-person credits, or hybrid credits, and then the rest can be online.

Evan Franulovich 29:36
Good job. All right, now that you're here and it's summer, maybe you'll want to get out. Maybe you'll want to explore one of our national parks. And we have three national parks right around the city of Seattle. Can you name one of those parks?

Mannat Dhamija 29:50
Mount Rainier National Park.

Evan Franulovich 29:51
Yes, Mount Rainier. Good. Do you know what the one is across the water from Pike's Place?

Mannat Dhamija 29:59
Olympia?

Evan Franulovich 30:00
Olympic National Park.

Mannat Dhamija 30:02
Yeah, I heard this question in the previous podcast.

Evan Franulovich 30:05
Oh, good memory. And do you remember what the third one is?

Mannat Dhamija 30:09
No, I don't.

Evan Franulovich 30:10
The North Cascades National Park. If you guys get the chance to go out and visit those it'll be well worth your time. Okay, question number three: If you go south from Washington, you'll run into the state to the south. What is the next state south of here?

Mannat Dhamija 30:32
Renton?

Evan Franulovich 30:33
No, state, not city. So there's California, then there's another state, and then there's Washington.

Mannat Dhamija 30:41
Oregon?

Evan Franulovich 30:41
Yes, it's Oregon. All right. Final question: What was the last movie you saw in the movie theater?

Mannat Dhamija 30:52
I don't watch movies. It's highly offensive, but I don't watch movies.

Evan Franulovich 30:57
It's not offensive. What about book do you read?

Mannat Dhamija 31:04
I do read books, but not like a lot. The last I read was Atomic Habits by James Cear.

Evan Franulovich 31:11
Yeah, good book. Very practical advice in there. Do you feel like you put the skills that they teach in that book to work?

Mannat Dhamija 31:19
I'm trying to, not a lot. But, yeah, I'm trying to fix my schedule and just do everything.

Evan Franulovich 31:28
Are you a gamer? Since you're into computer science, do you game?

Mannat Dhamija 31:31
I'm not, my younger brother is a gamer.

Evan Franulovich 31:34
Oh, yeah?

Mannat Dhamija 31:35
He plays games all the time.

Evan Franulovich 31:37
How old your brother?

Mannat Dhamija 31:39
He is 15.

Evan Franulovich 31:43
He's 15. Wow, so he's getting close to being finished with high school.

Mannat Dhamija 31:47
Yeah, he's in 10th grade right now.

Evan Franulovich 31:49
What's his plan after he graduates?

Mannat Dhamija 31:52
He too has no plans, just like me.

Evan Franulovich 31:54
No plans?

Mannat Dhamija 31:55
No plans. And my father is like, if he'll study, he gets to go wherever he wants, but if not, he's not going anywhere.

Evan Franulovich 32:04
Yeah, no going anywhere.

Mannat Dhamija 32:05
No going anywhere.

Evan Franulovich 32:06
So brother, get it together. Just you and your brother, you have other siblings?

Mannat Dhamija 32:11
No, we have a joint family.

Evan Franulovich 32:13
Oh.

Mannat Dhamija 32:13
We are like 10 people.

Evan Franulovich 32:15
Oh, my God.

Mannat Dhamija 32:15
My grandparents, my uncle, my aunt and their two kids, and then my brother, my mom, my dad and me.

Evan Franulovich 32:24
Nice. That's a lot of people.

Mannat Dhamija 32:26
Yeah, I have grown up into a joint family, and then when I came here to the US, it was all silent, there was no drama.

Evan Franulovich 32:34
No drama.

Mannat Dhamija 32:35
No drama.

Evan Franulovich 32:36
Right. I like big families. I don't come from a big family, but I once dated a girl in high school. She had eight brothers and sisters, and it was always so much fun to go over to their house.

Mannat Dhamija 32:47
I see, yeah.

Evan Franulovich 32:48
It was just always a party. It seemed like celebrations all the time, and not much drama either. They were just happy to be together it seemed like.

Mannat Dhamija 32:57
I see, yeah.

Evan Franulovich 32:57
It was great. Yeah, I like it. Well, great job. Didn't make the wall of fame, but you did pretty well. So good job. I'm glad to see that my show is teaching some good answers to questions. That's so true. Educational guys. Every Wednesday, right back here. Well, I always wrap the show, as you probably know, with two things. We ask our international students to maybe say 10 or 20 seconds in their first language. And your first language, in this case, would be Hindi.

Mannat Dhamija 33:25
Hindi.

Evan Franulovich 33:26
So whenever you're ready, you can say whatever you like.

Mannat Dhamija 33:29
Okay, I don't know what to say.

Evan Franulovich 33:32
Well, you can offer encouragement to people back home. You can say hi to the rest of your family back home. I mean, you can do whatever you want.

Mannat Dhamija 33:44
*Mannat Dhamija message in Hindi* Wait, I just spoke in English.

Evan Franulovich 33:58
I really understand this language.

Mannat Dhamija 34:00
Yeah, we kind of speak like that.

Evan Franulovich 34:02
Do you?

Mannat Dhamija 34:02
Yeah, It's like, Hinglish.

Evan Franulovich 34:04
You mix the two together, interesting.

Mannat Dhamija 34:09
I miss you all. That's it.

Evan Franulovich 34:10
All right, great. It's funny because some international students, they've been speaking English so much they have to really think what to say in their first language. It's pretty fun. Okay, and now you are the veteran. You've been through the process of flying to the United States, you've applied, you've got your visa, you've taken classes. What advice or nuggets of wisdom would you offer to students and parents back in South Asia, India, specifically, if they're thinking about doing what you did.

Mannat Dhamija 34:45
Three words, go for it.

Evan Franulovich 34:47
Go for it.

Mannat Dhamija 34:48
It's super fun. You get to learn a lot. The studies is pretty much the same as India, but I guess there's a lot more difference in culture. You get to connect with new people. It's all about connections here.

Evan Franulovich 35:05
I agree.

Mannat Dhamija 35:06
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 35:07
Yeah, I think one of the main reasons to go to university is just to make connections with people. I mean, It's good to learn things too.

Mannat Dhamija 35:13
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 35:14
Yeah, sometimes it's who you know, not what you know necessarily.

Mannat Dhamija 35:17
Yeah.

Evan Franulovich 35:18
Well, speaking of culture, you know, one of the big things about India, of course, is the food. So have you found some good Indian restaurants in Seattle?

Mannat Dhamija 35:27
We did. There's Taste of India. We generally order it online. And then there's Bombay Express in the UDub, you get almost all Indian snacks over there. And right next to the right rail, there's Annapurna.

Evan Franulovich 35:43
Oh, yes.

Mannat Dhamija 35:44
Which is Himalayan, Nepali and Indian cuisine.

Evan Franulovich 35:46
What do you think? Is it good?

Mannat Dhamija 35:48
I haven't tried it. I was thinking of trying it yesterday, but maybe today.

Evan Franulovich 35:52
Maybe today, yeah. It looks really good, smells good every time I go by there. It's right there, it's so convenient. I just never done it yet.

Mannat Dhamija 36:02
Yeah, I think they only accept pickups.

Evan Franulovich 36:05
Oh, really? But they have tables in there.

Mannat Dhamija 36:09
Yeah, the doors are never open, every time I try to open the door, it's locked.

Evan Franulovich 36:12
It's locked. Interesting. All right, we'll take out food there. But the other places you have eaten at Taste of India and Bombay Express?

Mannat Dhamija 36:19
It's good, yeah.

Evan Franulovich 36:21
It's legit. All right, cool.

Mannat Dhamija 36:24
Actual Indian masalas.

Evan Franulovich 36:25
Yeah, good deal. Well, there you go. Check those out. Great to talk to you again.

Mannat Dhamija 36:32
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

Evan Franulovich 36:35
It's my pleasure. We are happy to have you if you are interested. Come back every Wednesday we interview all of our our guests and publish on Wednesday you want to learn about international education community college, that's kind of thing. Please don't forget to like, share and subscribe. It's how we get this message out to all the students and parents and educators that are out there. Great. Well, have a good summer and enjoy your time with family. That's really cool. All right, guys, have a good summer. Bye, bye!

Mannat Dhamija 37:06
Bye, bye!

Evan Franulovich 37:09
Conversations with! is painstakingly crafted for you by the Seattle Colleges International Programs department and supported by the lovely folks here on our campus. This show is produced and edited by me, Evan Franulovich. We welcome your emails and questions about coming to Seattle Colleges. Please reach out to us via our website or just give us a rating and a review on Apple podcasts as this helps others discover the show. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube at Seattle Colleges Intl, that's Seattle Colleges Intl. And be sure to check out all of the shows here on 'Conversations with!' Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.