Studying Engineering at Santa Barbara City College

By Nicole Walthers

Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) student Pulkita Jain recently graduated with honors as anengineering major. She came to Santa Barbara from New Delhi, India, and has been passionately engaged at SBCC. Her name means to be “cheerful always,” and she describes herself as a  “highly motivated, diligent student, with an optimistic attitude.” 

As an honors student, Pulkita was academically driven and involved in student activities and actively engaged in the Santa Barbara community as well. She was the president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, a member of the SBCC Honors Program, the chair of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, secretary of the Math Club, president of the Transfer Scholars Club, and she took on responsibilities outside of SBCC as a Blood Drive Coordinator for the American Red Cross and as a member of the Thomas Fire Corps for Direct Relief Corps.

We asked Pulkita what she liked best about SBCC and well, you can hear (and read) it for yourself! 

“My name is Pulkita, and I'm 20 years old, about to be 21. My major is chemical engineering. I'm from New Delhi, India. [I love] everything about SBCC. OK? The view from campus. I mean, there [are] mountains on one side and there's ocean on the other side!

That's perfect because you will never get that in New Delhi, [which is] like an inland city. You'll never get that there. And also I like the whole environment, the ambiance and everything.

Literally, everything is favorite! I mean, I love SBCC. I love the professors here. I love the students here. It's given me so much in this whole year!

So, yeah, everything's my favorite, really. I Googled the top community colleges in the U.S., and SBCC was the first one. I'm like, OK, I guess I will go with Santa Barbara. When SBCC popped up I thought ‘You know what? I'm going to apply, they are going to accept me, I'm going to pay the fee and I'll be here.’”

What in particular stands out to you as an international student about SBCC?

“OK, first of all, if you [want to] get transferred, then they have an amazing transfer office. The counselors [at] the transfer center, the whole department is dedicated to transfer services, it's amazing. They're going to literally walk you through it as much as they can. I mean, [if] you want to transfer. 

But also, I'm part of the honors program, and I feel initially when I got the application, I was nervous because I'm not from here. I [didn’t] know how crazy the workload is gonna be. I don't know if I'll be able to take it. 

And trust me, it was the best decision I’ve ever made!

I mean, we have our own personal private counselor who we can go to. We can meet her [the counselor] every day. I mean, and she's going to literally walk you through it. And if she doesn't have answers or she doesn't know anything, she can actually call up the university you want to transfer to. She's going to ask them personally, she's that good.

So that's one of the reasons. 

Also, again, professors. They are really good. They have an amazing work ethic. They really want you to get that A.

I mean, and it doesn't mean that they're going to give you extra credit options. And, you know, you can just do a bunch of stupid things and get the A. No, not really. They actually make you work for it. But it's going to be worth it. I mean, I feel it helped me grow.

I mean, my physics professor. He literally makes you want to love physics.

I was a person who hated physics as much as anyone can ever. I mean, I took physics in high school, and I had to slog through it. And I was like, fine, you know, I got my grades and blah, blah, blah, but I never liked it. Here I am at 8:00am. He comes in, and he walks into the class and he's so enthusiastic, he really makes you want to fall in love with physics. And by the end of the semester, I was like, you know what? Maybe physics is my major. Now I really want to take it because he's just that good.”

What student organizations have you been a part of at SBCC?

“So I'm a part of Phi Theta Kappa honor society. I mean, they pretty much send an invitation to everyone who has a GPA above 3.5. But that's not really enough because you just become a member of Phi Theta Kappa. And while you are a member, it's good. It's got its own benefits and stuff, but that's not it. Phi Theta Kappa meets every Wednesday, believe me every week. I mean, it doesn't matter. Well, finals week it [does]. Or, you know, midterms it [does]. They don't care. They're going to meet every Wednesday. And we have to dress professionally and everything. And it's amazing the work we do. 

We have taken up this project. It's some organization that I don’t remember the name of. But that organization helps people in South America. They really go to places that have a team of doctors. And the best part is the doctors don't help people actually they educate people. So they trained doctors, they trained nurses there, so that if some epidemic comes or, you know, there's something going on, the people themselves can help themselves. I mean, not everyone [would have to come] from the U.S. has to go and help them. They can do it for themselves. It kind of gives them a sort of sense of independence and freedom. I mean, you know, they don't need help from other nations or something. They can do it themselves. So that's one of the projects that we've taken up.

And we also do walks and stuff. We have this organization, I think it's the Alzheimer's organization that we walk for. I think, I don’t know, I think we do a marathon, not too sure again. But yeah, we have a walk. We also do beach cleanups. A lot of beach cleanups. I mean, we do a lot of events, a lot of social service events, and it's a very, very sophisticated society.” 

How did you end up in a leadership position in Phi Theta Kappa?

“So I literally emailed him, Professor, as I really want to be the president or the vice president, I really want a leadership position in Phi Theta Kappa. And I feel you're going to benefit from me because I'm international and because it's going to help your committee, you know, more than it's going to help me. I mean, it's going to be both ways. So please admit me, or you know, tell me some way that I can actually be a part of it. 

So he manually invited me. I mean, he had to go through the whole manual procedure. And then he sent me the invitation and then I got it. But I was there for the meetings because he said, ‘You know what, if you're going to be a leader next semester, join us for the meetings, be there for the meetings, see how it's done and, you know, be a part of it.’”

What have you gained as a member of Phi Theta Kappa?

“Being a member of Phi Theta Kappa is first and foremost, can introduce you to this corporate world of the U.S. I mean, maybe not U.S. companies or anything, but just the whole environment, the ambiance. And you have to dress professionally and you talk professionally. And, you know, I read this summer. So I followed this website and I read this somewhere that listening is actually the most important quality, compared to speaking. And sitting in that room, in that conference room with all your peers, you really have to listen to everyone's proposals and you really have to debate it out.

But in a very, very sophisticated manner, like you cannot say, you know what? No, I don't like your proposal. I'm not going to take it. You cannot do that. It's like you're being diplomatic, you know, you're doing good. You are being exposed to these opportunities and stuff. But then also at the same time, it's like an internship. I mean, I am an engineering major, so it's not really going to help me as being a part of Phi Theta Kappa, I mean, I'm not a poli-sci (Political Science) major. And everyone on the board is a political science major. It sounds alright. You're not a political science major, right? 

It helps you see people's point of view, different perspectives. I feel that's one of the most important qualities that I will learn.

Understanding and seeing a different person's perspective. Also, because everyone's different. Like they come from different places. They [have] different majors. And if you were international, that's the best thing, because, you know, you are going to put a point of view that no one in America will [have], because you come from a different background or culture is so different. You are going to say things that they will not even know, probably, you know.

So it helps you learn. It helps them learn. It's like a two way process. And also you're appreciated for it. I mean, you know, our committee has different positions and stuff. So there's the president and VP. And then the Phi Beta Kappa stands for actually three things: fellowship, scholarship, and service. That's like the important things that we stand for. And so there's a vice president for each of those. 

So what happens during the semester? We organize different events and every person on the board is going to pick up an event and sponsor the whole event. I mean, it's not like it is the president's duty to do everything, you know, look over every event. It's not like that. You are going to be the head or a leader of some or the other event, and it's going to help you grow as a person. You are going to feel like you are leading an event and it's a boost of confidence.

Trust me, it's a powerful thing. It's a confidence thing. It's going to make you feel you are important in this world, and especially a few international students kind of feel left out.

We're not a part of this culture. We are not Americanized, especially since I'm from India, which is a traditional country. I mean, I am from Delhi, which is Westernized enough that I could fit in, but not enough that, you know, I'm not American, right? And I won’t know the culture as easily as possible. And just being there, it kind of makes me feel like, OK, my views are important. Just me being international doesn't mean that I can’t be a part of this or can’t be a part of that. It makes me feel important and makes me feel like, you know, It doesn't matter I'm from India. I can do this. I can still be a part of an honor society.”

Can you talk in depth about the honors program?

“The honors program. So Melanie Eckford-Prossor is the president of it. But the students are usually the trifecta. And there are three people that kind of run the whole honors program. I mean, with her, obviously, but they run the whole program. I think Maggie and Laura, two of my favorite friends, and they were a part of the trifecta. They were also part of PDK, Phi Theta Kappa. So they were the ones.

I remember once I was at a meeting. So we had this honors program meeting, and not many people showed up. But I was there and two or three more people, and they had to cut the meeting short because they had to go into the washroom and change into professional attire, you know. And this was, I think, Wednesday, five o'clock, 5 p.m. we meet five thirty to six thirty every Wednesday. And I was like ‘dude? What are you doing? I want to do that. You know, I want to carry my professional clothes with me to school and then change it. That's the coolest thing.’ And then I asked them, and then they told me, like they're a part of the honor society. And I was like, you know what? I want to get there. I want to be in those shoes. So, right here.”

Which schools do you plan to transfer to?

“I will either transfer to UCLA or UC Berkeley. But also being international means crazy expensive tuition. So I'm looking at two private schools like Stanford and USC so that they can give me scholarships. Private schools give better scholarships. Private schools are going to treat everyone normally. I mean, for them, if the tuition is $70,000, it's the same for Americans as well as international students, so they're going to give you a scholarship based on who you are, not where you come from. Whereas UC or CSU, since they are public universities, for them, California residents are a priority, then other state American residents, and then international students, so like way down in the pool. No one really gives you a scholarship. And if you want one, you might as well go to a private school. Another reason for joining PTK [Honors Society] is scholarships. They give good scholarships.”