Countdown to California: Join Nidhi Pandey and Zhaobin Li, GIC Mentors, as they share practical tips for navigating your first days at UC Irvine, from airport arrival and housing setup to banking, phone service, campus essentials, and settling into life in Irvine as an international graduate student.

Host: Nidhi Pandey, GIC Mentor

Guest: Zhaobin Li, GIC Mentor

Music: Intergalactic by Alex Jones/Xander Jones

Transcript Available Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18VU0S2Uyjzsk2xrqBpscszkjlMxXHWBaBRA_oAZzCB0/edit?usp=sharing

Campus Compass: Join Frances Li, GIC Mentor and MeganPetersen, International Student Advisor from the UC Irvine International Center as they talk about arrival essentials, maintaining your visa status, employment, and finding community at UC Irvine. This episode provides general visa information for incoming international students and does not reflect recent immigration policy changes. For the most current guidance, please refer to the UCI International Center website. 

Host: Frances Li, GIC Mentor

Guest: Megan Petersen,International Student Advisor at the UC Irvine International Center

Music: Intergalactic by Alex Jones/Xander Jones

Transcript Available Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SrD-k8_WrFgkFjn4tSpfNDXFyko0cbeI/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117589225904358100836&rtpof=true&sd=true

Countdown to California Series: Join Aayushi Sadani and Nidhi Gyan Pandey, GIC Mentors as they discuss how to pack smart for Irvine, including what to bring, what to skip, and what you can buy once you arrive.   

Host: Aayushi Sadani, GIC Mentor

Guest: Nidhi Gyan Pandey, GIC Mentor

Music: Intergalactic by Alex Jones/Xander Jones

Transcript Available Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AHRGOsc3V6mYuymhO9pS6W6ouwCf_-1l/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117589225904358100836&rtpof=true&sd=true

Countdown to California Series: Join Will (Chih-Chao) Chang, Aayushi Sadani, and Frances Li, GIC Mentors as they discuss housing options at UC Irvine from on-campus, off-campus and everything in between.   

Host: Will (Chih-Chao) Chang, GIC Mentor

Guest: Aayushi Sadani and Frances Li, GIC Mentors

Music: Intergalactic by Alex Jones/Xander Jones

Transcript Available Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ch0X-AlvHWHX1SinzqkrgeGa4C4yykPp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117589225904358100836&rtpof=true&sd=true

Join Advitha Thotapalli Arun, GIC's new Podcast Coordinator and Ruth Ortega-Gonzalez, Manager of Graduate International Recruitment and Retention as they introduce the new season of the GIC podcast. Many new exciting episodes to come!  

Host: Advitha Thotapalli Arun, GIC Podcast Coordinator

Guest: Ruth Ortega-Gonzalez, Manager of Graduate International Recruitment and Retention

Music: Intergalactic by Alex Jones/Xander Jones

Transcript Available Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y6J-6k-QVtZoSrkvGHL_vKs_NuU8qfcX/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117589225904358100836&rtpof=true&sd=true

Join Catherine, GIC Podcast Coordinator and Anna Fitzpatrick, Account Manager at Sprintax as she goes over tax forms, filings and common mistakes international students should be aware of. Please note that anything discussed on this episode is for general informational purposes. This is not official tax advice as any decisions you decide to make regarding your taxes, including any services you may or may not use, are up to you and only you.    

Host: Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo 

Guest: Anna Fitzpatrick, Business Development Manager, Sprintax 

Edited by Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo 

Music: Travel The World [Original Mix] by Aftertune is licensed under a Creative Commons License. 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Transcript Available Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t4JGIcvzCpYYDpC-xFWkps2QR_LyejuKEtEb16yi_10/edit?usp=sharing  

Join Catherine and Ruth, Manager of Graduate International Recruitment and Retention as Ruth shares some of the urban legends of the UC Irvine campus. Please note that these urban legends are passed down student to student and details may have changed throughout the years. These ghostly stories have not been confirmed or denied and stories as to how these started are also speculation.

Host: Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Guest: Ruth Ortega-Gonzalez, Manager of Graduate International Recruitment and Retention

Edited by Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Music: Travel The World [Original Mix] by Aftertune is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Transcript Available Here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AG6gAZeu4LvmC4kMdJgjXvKNZ-lA6pbz-rgdxWt_Z70/edit?usp=sharing

Join Fran and Anushka, current GIC Peer Mentors as Anushka shares how she has been able to make Irvine her home away from home.

Host: Fran Beresford, GIC Peer Mentor

Guest: Anushka Dwivedi, GIC Peer Mentor

Edited by Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Music: Travel The World [Original Mix] by Aftertune is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Transcript Available Here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lAWIIOz_lh8CvB7m3Hyub3bZsb_ntW0PJyPo9VyuCzU/edit?usp=sharing

Join Catherine, GIC Podcast Coordinator and Sara, Founder and COO of Adro as they discuss how to build financial literacy and navigate U.S. financial services with confidence. Please note that anything discussed on this episode is for general informational purposes. This is not official financial advice as any decisions you make regarding your financial plans are up to you and only you.  

Host: Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Guest: Sara Schmitt,

Founder and COO, Adro

Edited by Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Music: Travel The World [Original Mix] by Aftertune is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

TranscriptAvailable Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10fXr9kfdCzODQkFxWGiO5oCxs_iZdZrB8tdCRc4QZn0/edit?usp=sharing

Join Catherine, GIC Podcast Coordinator and Vicka, Co-Founder & COO @ Imera as they discuss the importance of knowing the various options or pathways international students may have to obtaining different types of visas that go beyond the student visa. Please note that anything discussed on this episode should not be taken as official legal advise - you should consult with your own attorney before making any decisions regarding your non-immigrant or immigrant status.

Host: Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Guest: Vicka Ter-Ovanesyan, Co-Founder & COO @ Imera

Edited by Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo

Music: Travel The World [Original Mix] by Aftertune is licensedunder a Creative Commons License.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

TranscriptAvailable Here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z_YxgRGkwZGkm0moXIWFyVyXkMyt3ESa4KucdR9GZiU/edit?usp=sharing