Talented students graduate from Moore each spring, taking with them valuable knowledge about the College, its community and its campus. “Meet a Moore Senior” pairs incoming students with outgoing seniors for an open-ended conversation, allowing them to ask questions and get answers from the students who know Moore best.
Editor’s note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Lars Angstadt: What about Moore stood out to you the most? Was it the environment, the opportunities or the classes?
Apurva Bakshi: What stood out to me about Moore was the community. I did a campus tour before I came here, and people were just really nice. The area is also great. Safety is definitely one of the most important things for me, and Moore’s campus is very safe.
I didn’t know anyone before coming here, and I’m personally a little introverted. But that’s a lot of the student body. Honestly, everyone is very nice. If you say “hi” and have a cool sticker or pen, someone will say, “That’s a cool sticker.” It’s very easy to make friends.
The professors are great, too. I’m an Animation & Game Arts student, and the program is very holistic. Those are the main reasons I came to Moore.
LA: What about the transfer process? How easy or difficult was that for you?
AB: I was very meticulous, making spreadsheet after spreadsheet as I was applying and doing research. I felt like I was asking too many questions, but I wasn’t. You can ask as many questions as you want!
I feel like the process was very smooth. I met with my Admissions counselors, who were very accessible. There’s a laid-out process for transferring—there’s steps for housing and your deposit, and it will be communicated to you very clearly. Compared to other schools, Moore was very easy because the transfer process is fairly simple.
The academic counselors handle all of your transfer credits so that you can fulfill your graduation requirements. I did two years at community college and will do three years at Moore, and the extra year is because I started in visual arts at community college. I didn’t have any animation credits, so I had to do those here. If your major is Film & Digital Cinema and you’re taking film classes, then it will be very easy to transfer those credits here.
LA: I totally get that. I asked a lot of questions too, so I understand. I always tell my transfer counselor, “I’m so sorry. I know this is the 100th time I’ve emailed you,” but she’s very understanding. [Transfer Admissions Counselor] Sierra Conniff is awesome, and everything’s been pretty smooth.
AB: Awesome, that’s very good to hear. I actually worked in the Admissions office, so I know Sierra and she’s great.
LA: She’s amazing! I love her.
What was your biggest struggle as a transfer student? How did you overcome it?
AB: That’s a good question. When I was in community college, I was living at home with my parents. Coming to an environment where I was living by myself was a bit of a challenge, but there are a lot of ways to overcome that quickly.
When I came here, I lived in one of our dorms, Sartain Hall. It’s about a five-minute walk from campus and it has private rooms. Even though I do enjoy privacy, I still learned to get to know the people around me. There are game nights hosted every month, movie nights—there’s plenty of events to get to know people more.
Also, a week before classes start, we have an orientation, and we get to travel to different places in the city. You get to know the city a little bit more and meet people outside of your major.
LA: How was it settling into campus life? Would you say it was easy, because of the environment and having all those special events?
AB: I’d say it was easy. There are some funny stories about living in the dorms. It was the first time I had to use a communal bathroom. That was a change, but it was fine. [laughter]
LA: I totally see that. I won’t be living on campus, so settling into campus life was a concern of mine. But I always hear that the campus life is pretty awesome, so I’m super excited about it.
Do you have any advice that you would give to incoming transfer students?
AB: Ask questions! I know you said you’re already doing that, so you’re on track. Ask any questions that you may think are silly, because they’re really not. Lots of people are wondering the same thing. If you don’t ask, you won’t get answers.
If I had to give advice to my previous self while transferring, I’d say, “Just be a little less formal.” I grew up in India, so the education system there is very formal. Going to community college was a change that got me out of my shell a bit more, but over here, the people are just so friendly. It’s like, if you like a certain TV show, we’re besties.
LA: It’s always a good thing when you have people around you that you can relate to, and they can be like, “Oh yeah, I like that show, too!” It seems easy to get along with people.
Just one more fun question: Can you give me a song that describes your first year at Moore?
AB: Hmmm. I don’t listen to a lot of English songs. I have a very cheesy Bollywood playlist that I listen to, but any songs that motivate me. I enjoy watching anime, and anime openings are great. Any hype song, I guess.
Actually, during my first year at Moore, I made a short film about Philadelphia, and I used to listen to that background music all the time while making the film. It was the Rocky theme song! So I’ll say that one.
LA: That’s a good choice. You’ve got the Philadelphia Museum of Art right down the street, so it fits!
AB: Exactly!
