Nita Touch chose the University of Minnesota from a list of SHE-CAN Global partners. The nonprofit supports high-achieving young women in Cambodia, Liberia, and Guatemala on their path to leadership, providing scholarships to select colleges and universities in the United States.

Touch liked UMN’s reputation for research excellence, and she was also excited by its diversity.

“When I looked it up on the internet, UMN seemed so diverse with so many people from around the world,” she said. “So I guessed it would be a very welcoming community.”

That sense of welcome proved true for Touch, and now as an orientation leader, she is helping make other students feel like they belong on campus.

She described it as an “honor” to help incoming students at orientation, one of the first times that many really get to experience campus.

“I remember how overwhelmed I felt when I first joined my orientation. I didn’t know anyone,” Touch said. “So when I leave my group of students, I just try to make sure that they feel comfortable. I try to make sure that they feel welcome. It just feels so nice to be able to help people out, especially new students.”

Touch said getting involved in student groups and campus programs helped her build a community here.

“I met my best friend, I met my advisor, and I got one of my jobs for fall,” she said. “By building the connections here, it made me feel like I belong to the U.”

This fall, she will be a peer career coach for the College of Liberal Arts. She got the job after participating in the Culture Corps Career STAR program, a career development workshop series for international students, and being recommended by the program facilitator.

“I think I’m going to learn a lot,” Touch said. “I’m also so excited to help other students.”

She’s looking forward to her classes this fall, especially organic chemistry and policy analysis. As a biology, society, and environment major, she enjoys mixing science classes with healthcare policy.

Her ultimate goal is to improve the healthcare field in her home country of Cambodia. First, she plans on getting her master’s degree, and possibly a Ph.D.