When Temple Freshman Nicole Hom saw that her class was the most diverse in 25 years, she was amazed.
“I just feel represented,” Hom noted. “I feel seen.”
Hom chose Temple University because it is a school in the city, she said, and because it allows her to be in an environment with more diversity.
“You know, Chinatown is a few subway rides away, so that is really comforting,” Hom said.
She wanted to be at a school where she could meet others who speak her specific dialect of cantonese.
“I really needed a strong Asian community,” she said. “And I really needed a community that has similar backgrounds and cultures to me.”
Temple’s Vice Provost for Admissions, Financial Aid & Enrollment ,Shawn Abbott, said there has been an 8.8% increase in students of color this year. These students are representing nearly 45% of their class, the largest percentage of students of color welcomed to Temple in at least 25 years.
He also said in terms of geographic diversity, Temple greeted its largest percentage of domestic, out-of-state students ever, at 34.6% of the class.
Along with this, the freshman class saw a 22.7% increase in Black students, which represents the largest Black student community coming to Temple in the last 25 years.
This growing rate of diversity will help create an even more inclusive environment for Hom and other students in her class. Many international students are appreciating this newfound diversity as well.
“If I’m coming to a different country, I want to be in the most diverse place, where I can experience the most of it,” Temple Senior Dipanshi Agarwal said.
Agarwal is an international student from India who, in her senior year now, said that the diversity of Temple is what has made her feel most at home.
She also said she doesn’t experience as much racism or xenophobia as she would anywhere else.
“It fosters a place where people are generally open minded,” she noted.
Hom has seen this diversity in her classes at Boyer, with the student body, and what they are learning.
She said it’s a refreshing experience.
It makes her feel as though a safe space is created, and everyone has a voice.
“All of our little experiences add so much value into the classroom, and adds so much to what we learn and discuss everyday,” Hom said.
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