The International Graduate Student Orientation kicked off today with the Round the World Breakfast, featuring delicious fare cooked up by Chef Mitch Vanagten of UC Merced Dining Services.
Incoming international graduate students enjoy the breakfast on Friday.
The menu was created specifically for the event, based on the countries represented by the incoming class of international graduate students and available ingredients.
Students were treated to congee, a savory rice porridge with various toppings that is traditional in China; Middle Eastern flatbread with jams, whipped cream, honey, butter and feta; and oats upma, a spiced oatmeal with vegetables from India. Also on the menu were Mediterranean fare and Mexican chilaquiles with chorizo and eggs.
"I tried three items during breakfast today that I have never had in my life,” said Zhixun He, an incoming student in the chemistry and chemical biology graduate group. “The breakfast is great, and I hope that next year we will have even more options for breakfast and even more international students from all over the world."
The daylong orientation is just one of the Graduate Research and Orientation Week (GROW) events that have been taking place on campus since Monday.
During GROW, new graduate students are able to learn about UC Merced programs and practices, meet other incoming graduate students, and familiarize themselves with the campus before the fall semester officially begins Aug. 19.
After breakfast, the orientation continued with information sessions and student and faculty panels to help new international graduate students become more familiar with the campus and the resources available to them.
“Our international students have been offered ‘traditional’ American breakfast items all week during other GROW activities,” said Graduate Dean and Vice Provost Marjorie Zatz. “With this event, we wanted to make our students feel a little more at home as they continue to get acclimated to their new environment here at UC Merced.”
