Global Ambassador Michelle Liu
Major: Computer Science (BSE)
College: Mathey
International Experience: Exchange at ETH Zürich
Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Hi! I’m Michelle Liu, a member of the class of 2025 in the COS department minoring in linguistics. I grew up in Edison, New Jersey, so I went to college not too far from home, and at the start of junior year I started getting the itch to study abroad. My ultimate choice to study at ETH Zürich over other study abroad programs was based primarily on its reputation as one of the world’s top tech schools, as I didn’t know very much about Switzerland before going in, but it ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
During my time there, I did a lot of traveling — I hit 12 different countries (including Switzerland) as well as various landmarks within the country from big cities like Geneva to little-known hiking trails on the countryside. I also got to meet lots of other exchange students through the exchange student network and see large local festivals such as the Fasnacht carnivals and Sechseläuten, while also partaking in the smaller details of local life such as spontaneous beer tasting events and scrambling to buy groceries before all the stores closed on Sundays.
All this fun and travel did mean that I had to spend a lot of the time over the summer revising for exams and writing final papers, but I think the experience I had in Zürich was well worth it! I think going abroad is a fantastic way to get a short, low-commitment sample of immersing yourself in an entirely different culture and way of living as a young adult, and I would happily recommend it to anyone who is curious. Please don’t hesitate to reach out as I’m always happy to chat about my experiences abroad, recommendations for things to do in Switzerland, or literally anything else about life.
Student organization(s) I'm a part of at Princeton:
Tora Taiko, WPRB