Student Spotlight: Amanda Mast
Meet Amanda!
- Major: Business Administration, Marketing
- Home Country: Canada
- Program: Bachelor's Degree (Class of 2020)
Amanda shares her experience and advice to future international students!
I am Amanda Mast, a graduate of California State University, Monterey Bay Class of 2020. I began my journey at CSUMB in Fall 2016, moving from Toronto, Canada to Monterey Bay, California. With my diverse background, living in 5 countries across the Americas, I developed fluent written and spoken skills in Spanish, excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. Through my travels and life experiences, I learned to not fear taking risks and discovering the unknown.
I chose to attend CSUMB because of its location and school size. I truly enjoyed my experience at CSUMB because it challenged me in every aspect of life. I learned and grew as an individual more than I ever thought I would have in four years. I made friends who became family and met people from all walks of life.
A challenge I encountered moving to the United States was being away from my family. It wasn’t easy being over 2,200 miles away with a 3 hour time difference, however, I overcame those difficult times by surrounding myself with friends and keeping busy with activities I enjoyed doing. I joined the Women's Rugby team at CSUMB and stayed active by joining intramural teams. I was a part of the College of Business mentorship program where I was very fortunate to have been paired with Gill Campbell who introduced me to the business and hospitality community of Monterey County. Dr. Roberta Atzori and Dr. John Avella also helped me get involved through the Special Event Management Team program at Pebble Beach and the research team at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
There are two pieces of advice I would give any student, especially an international student, attending a new university. The first thing I recommend doing is to join a club, a sports team, or get a job. This will allow you to meet others and help you build connections, both personal and professional ones. The second piece of advice I would give is to be yourself and enjoy the experience.
Overall, CSUMB was a great experience. I look back at this chapter in my life and smile because of all the amazing memories I made.