All the way from Auckland, New Zealand, Jacqueline Jiang was drawn 7,800 miles from home to Penn State, one of the largest schools in the United States.

Jiang is a fourth-year student from New Zealand studying at Penn State on exchange.

Jiang said she chose Happy Valley and Penn State after another New Zealand exchange student told her to look up the famous White Out football game.

From the moment she clicked search, she fell in love with the school and dreamed of studying abroad at Penn State.

The long-awaited process of landing in Happy Valley took a full year before she set foot at Penn State. Jiang explained that the process started with making a list of her top five universities and then earning a nomination from one in New Zealand.

The university then helps the student choose classes, coordinate paperwork, and apply for a student visa so everything runs smoothly as they make the trip to the United States.

Over the last two months, she has taken advantage of the great opportunities Penn State offers, such as the student sections, entrepreneurship programs, campus recreation outdoor trips, a cave trip, and more.

The most memorable experience so far has been the football student section.

Jiang said that in New Zealand, sports student sections aren’t really part of the culture, and it is a more American student culture tradition that she was excited to join.

Unfortunately, her time as an American college student ends on December 20. Before then, though, she hopes to celebrate Halloween, see snow for the first time, travel to the West Coast, and, of course, attend the White Out game she has been dreaming of.

Even as Jiang adapts to a new life in the United States, she has a whole other life back in New Zealand.

Back home, Jiang has left her precious matcha business, House of Berry, in the hands of her family and employees to run smoothly while she lives the American college experience.

Recently, House of Berry celebrated its first anniversary.

Jiang said she was inspired to start the business when she took a trip to New York City in 2025 and visited a famous matcha company, Blank Street Coffee.

“I wanted to bring the creative and fun flavors to New Zealand because in America you guys are ahead of the trends, and then everything rolls back around,” Jiang said. “So I thought it would be really fun to bring those flavors to New Zealand and build a business around that.”

Now, Jiang’s employees, with help from her family, run the House of Berry’s markets in New Zealand.

More information on House of Berry can be found here.

When Jiang started college, she began posting on social media as a creative outlet. Soon after, one of her posts went viral, and she began to wonder whether she should take it more seriously.

In her second year of college, she decided to take that leap into posting on social media.

Since starting her social media career, she has attended brand events hosted by companies such as YSL, been invited to music festivals, received university essentials as gifts, and even collaborated with Penn State programs.

Perhaps the coolest partnership she’s had was a four-month contract with Samsung.

“I got a whole student essential setup,” Jiang said. “I had a tablet, a flip phone, earbuds, a watch, [and] an AirTag. It was the coolest student opportunity.”

Because of the many opportunities she found through social media, one thing Jiang enjoys is helping other students like her gain their own experiences and opportunities.

She encourages fellow Penn Staters to jump in if they want similar success.

“[Don’t] overthink it and just start. The only way to get better is to try it and see what works. You have a community around you that is willing to support.” 

To follow along with Jiang’s experience as an exchange student at Penn State, folks can follow here on Instagram.