GSEP Graduate Voices 2020
Tanad Lerdbussarakan

It’s been like 4 years since I started my undergraduate study at Tokyo Tech as a GSEP student. I remembered myself being a guy who was hyped so much about coming to study in one of the renowned engineering institutions in the world. High-quality academic performance and superb research facilities are definitely what you can expect from such a high-level university like Tokyo Tech and that is all I probably expected to see at first. I found that there are more things than that, I found it during my time here and it did give me a lot of lessons that help me become what I am today.

I knew before I came here that Japan is one of the very unique countries with a very unique culture. I didn’t expect such a multicultural community that I found here. I got to meet new people who may have different backgrounds and discuss with them various topics. It’s a good opportunity for me to exchange knowledge, culture, and broaden a perspective of the world. That’s where I started to learn something as important as an academic aspect from my time here, life aspect. Every time I got to meet new people who may have a different background, we always get to discuss various topics and that where I could pick up a lot of stories and reflections from many people’s experiences. It’s a lovely atmosphere that feels comfortable to listen to many interesting stories and opinions as well as express my own as well. It made my time here so exciting and memorable.

 

I have been so fortunate enough to get many opportunities to be part of many extracurricular activities like photography club, international student association and many abroad programs supported by the university like London Science Museum internship and leadership workshop at Georgia Tech. It had so much fun and challenging experiences. I got to meet many people who have specialized and experienced in each field, which reminds me that there are still long way to go for me. I was just a young boy being exposed to the bigger world and trying to see what I could be. These experiences help me understand myself better and realize in which direction that could lead me to a better version of myself. I also learned that sometimes you need to be more humble and make myself open to learning from everyone around me. Sometimes I thought I’m good enough but I was not. I have been so confident in myself that it become cockiness and arrogant, which stops me from developing myself. I’m not sure whether what I found for all of the years as GSEP can be called a particular thing I learned but everything I have been through definitely makes me grow up. I believe that’s the most important thing to me.

 

          After graduation, I will study the master’s program in Biomedical Engineering in the United Kingdom. I always have an interest in medical technology since I graduate from high school. My current research is related to the molecular biology field. My research topic is about testing engineered DNA repair factors to see how it may affect to radiosensitivity of cancer cells. Cells usually have pathways to repair DNA strand when there is damage happen from various reason like radiation or chemical induction. Cancer cells rely upon a certain pathway to repair DNA strands break, which leads to the idea that if we can somehow make cancer cells unable to repair their DNA strands break, it may help us develop better efficiency of cancer’s radiotherapy. It is a very interesting and promising topic. However, I realized there is something I would like to go after. I would like to go for something more related to my interest like an injury from sports or daily activities. I will change my field to more on biomaterial and tissue engineering, which is a topic I have been interested in for a long time even before I came to Japan. It will be quite a challenge for me at this stage but believe me, that’s certainly what I’m looking for.

If there is anything I feel a bit regret, I would say I could have done more. There are many opportunities that I let it pass by just because I was too hesitant to do it. That may be something that I would leave as a message to future GSEP students. In 4 years of studying as GSEP students, as an international student in Japan, there will be a lot of opportunities coming to you or waiting for you to grab it. Don’t take too much time hesitating about it. If you can find the right moment or chance to do something, just do it. No matter the outcome will be either a great accomplishment or another frustration, it will be quite an experience. To be honest, I don’t think there is anything you need to know from me that much. There is also another thing very important. No matter what happens in your life, keep calm and stay awesome!

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