From Big-City Mumbai to Scenic Chattanooga

Khushi Dhruv is a first-year student attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She chose UTC for its strong psychology program, which prepares students for psychology-related careers in medicine, business, law, and other fields. The psychology department also prepares students for graduate study, offering undergraduate research publication opportunities in the student-run journal Modern Psychological Studies.

Khushi plans to earn a master’s degree and pursue neuropsychology after finishing her undergraduate studies. She hopes to conduct academic research and may someday open her own practice.

Moving to Chattanooga was exciting, Khushi says, but also a big transition. She grew up in Mumbai, an enormous city where she was always surrounded by tons of people. “The food is also very different, and I miss the spiciness of Indian cuisine,” she says.

Moving to a smaller city in a new country was a shock at first, but Khushi enjoys Chattanooga’s laidback atmosphere. Now, she is making the most of her time in the Scenic City. Her favorite spots include the Tennessee Riverwalk, which stretches 10 miles along the Tennessee River and through town, and the historic Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge.

Starting over was challenging, Khushi says, “but I’ve made new friends with other international students and domestic students since I arrived.” In her free time, she enjoys cooking, exploring local restaurants, and attending campus events such as International Tea Time. She spends a lot of time in the UTC Library, studying and enjoying its quiet ambiance. She also likes walking through campus with friends and taking in the region’s natural beauty.

Khushi urges other students to join her in Chattanooga. “Come to UTC because it provides a wide range of courses, and it’s very flexible for students to choose their own path,” she says. “There are lots of extracurricular activities as well, like basketball and football matches that are fun to go to, and it’s nice that the University supports extracurricular things as much as classes.”

Guest blogger, Thomas Wiegand and Sarah Anne Perry