When Dipesh Mainali ’08 arrived on campus from Chitwan, Nepal, he was especially thankful for the people at St. Lawrence. “They really helped me,” he says.

Dipesh was looking for a small liberal arts school that had an active and successful international population, and he found that at St. Lawrence.  It was these things and generous financial aid that convinced him St. Lawrence was the perfect fit for him. 

Looking for ways to help others, Dipesh decided to become a community assistant in a residence hall.  “I thought it would be great to lead a community and influence it positively,” he says.

Dipesh is also an international admissions ambassador.  “I thought it was my responsibility to help St. Lawrence enroll international students from all over the world,” he says.  “I want to help prospective international students make the right decision while choosing colleges in the United States.”

Dipesh also finds time to be a Student Judicial Board justice and a teaching assistant for both economics and mathematics, and he has worked with Amnesty International and SABHA (South Asian Bollywood and Holiday Association).  He also manages to squeeze in intramural sports, including soccer and cricket.  

Dipesh, an economics and mathematics double major and global studies minor, was a University Fellow during summer 2006, working with Associate Professor of Economics Michael Jenkins on research titled, “The East Asian Miracle and Thailand.”  “This compares Nepal and Thailand’s economies and find out if there is anything Nepal can learn from Thailand’s miraculous economic growth,” he explains.

Dipesh studied on St. Lawrence’s program in Shanghai, China, in fall 2006.  “It has been an amazing experience.  I have learned some Chinese and a lot about the Chinese culture just by being here and living with a Chinese family,” he says.