Name: Jay-Brian Randone
Pronouns: He/Him
Class: 2026
From: Genoa, Italy
Studying: Chemical Engineering
How did you hear about the University of Rochester? What impacted your decision to apply?
I heard about the University of Rochester through my sister, who at the time was a student of the University. I knew that I wanted to go to university in America for a multitude of reasons, one of which was because I knew that they would have amazing engineering opportunities for me and I would be able to grow my professional identity and character in America. My sister knew about the STEM, especially the engineering programs, that the University had and helped me in researching and applying to the University by Facetiming me to show the whole River Campus and engineering buildings— and then I absolutely knew I wanted to apply to this school. Also being able to have my sister with me when I moved to a completely new country that I have never been to, and for her help settling in, getting accustomed to the culture, the place, the people, and everything that America has to offer was the greatest thing I could ever ask for from her and truly helped make me settle in quickly and get used to the environment here.
Describe the student body at Rochester.
The student body here at Rochester is a mixed bag of cultures and experiences. There is an overall strong sense of academia and willingness to grow stronger and smarter in a multitude of different ways. For being an academic school, it is not as competitive as I thought it would be in terms of the students. They all love to help one another with homework, assignments, projects, and there is a very strong sense and level of camaraderie between students in the same major.
How did you develop a community of friends on campus?
For me, it was a mixture of luck and also reaching out to others. No one from my high school came to Rochester, so I knew that I was going into this with no idea of who people will be, how they will act, and whether or not I will make any new friends here. That is why I wanted to reach out to others first, messaging one person who was part of my major and just starting building relations with him before school started. But once orientation week started, I was able to go meet a lot of new people, hang around the student lounges and areas such as Starbucks in larger groups, and I got to know a lot of the other students in my dorm. Eventually I got to know so many people who were very welcoming and very eager to know about me as a person and me as an international student as well, sharing my cultures and experiences and definitely correcting some funny stereotypes and beliefs people had, which was very fun and a way to connect with people here.
What advice would you give to an incoming international student?
I would say that my best advice that I could give to someone is to go into university with the mindset that yes, you probably know no one or very few people initially, (and that is very tough especially for a lot of people to make new friends), but also know that everyone else is in the exact same position as you, where they barely know anyone. They also want to make friends— just a simple introduction or going up to them and talking just for a little bit can go so far. Everyone is in the same starting position as you and if you need friends, then so do they and the longest friends I have made were the people I just messaged out of nowhere on Instagram and still to this day I am really close friends with them, doing homework, hanging out, and overall just having fun together as well.
What surprised you about the University of Rochester or the city of Rochester community?
What really surprised me is how nice the people here are, of course you have media internationally that portray America in a very negative light, especially the people, but coming to Rochester and especially the University, everyone has been so nice and helpful, and really surprised me how willing they were to know more about me and my culture and history which I never would have thought they would take interest in that.
What’s your favorite thing to do off campus?
For me personally, I love food and have been visiting a lot of the restaurants that are around the city, I haven’t really explored much in the city of Rochester other than the restaurants yet, but I have been to College Town a lot especially during my first year, where I get Chipotle, Insomnia cookies, and just hang around with friends there.
What’s your favorite place on campus and why?
My favorite place on campus has to be California Rollin, which is a small dining area in the engineering campus— I love to go eat there all the time. It is a place that serves sushi, ramen, rice bowls, and where I think the best food on campus is, so every time after my classes I always grab something from there to eat and hang around the building. But my other favorite place will have to be the Goergen Athletic Center (GAC), which is our indoor athletics center, it where I love to go to the gym and also where I train for my men’s club volleyball team, and I have tons of very fond memories playing volleyball, basketball, badminton and many other sports within the facility and always have fun playing sports in there all the time.