Dipesh Mainali ’08 was looking for a small liberal arts school that had an active and successful international student population, and that’s what he found at St. Lawrence.  These plus generous financial aid convinced him that St. Lawrence was the perfect fit for him. 

When Dipesh, who is from Chitwan, Nepal, arrived on campus, he liked the setting and loved the people. “I really appreciated all of the people here,” he says.  “They were really helpful to me.”

He’s found various ways to help people at St. Lawrence much like they helped him.  He has been a Community Assistant, a Student Judicial Board justice, a teaching assistant for both economics and mathematics and an international admissions ambassador, and has worked with Amnesty International and SABHA (South Asian Bollywood and Holiday Association), which promotes Asian culture on campus.

In fall 2006, Dipesh is studying on St. Lawrence’s program in Shanghai, China.  “It has been an amazing experience,” he says. “I have learned some Chinese and a lot about the Chinese culture just by being here and living with a Chinese family,” he says.  “I’ve learned about the Chinese economy, business practices and international relations inside and outside the classroom.”

For Dipesh, an economics and mathematics double major and global studies minor, learning about the economy is important.  “Coming from a poor country, I want to focus on development economics and then go back to Nepal and contribute toward its development,” he says. A University Fellow during summer 2006, Dipesh worked with Associate Professor of Economics Michael Jenkins on research titled “The East Asian Miracle and Thailand.”  “I compared Nepal and Thailand’s economies and find out if there is anything Nepal can learn from Thailand’s miraculous economic growth,” he explains.