**Vera Tan**
_J-school student calls Malaysia home_

If you’re from St. Louis like many MU students, then home is only a two-hour drive away. Or maybe you’re from farther away –– if you hail from our nation’s capital, for instance, it’s a two hour flight.

But how about being a _19-hour flight_ away from home?

Just ask Vera Tan. (Yes, she came here for journalism, and yes, she gets that a lot).

The sophomore from Kuala Lumpur is new to MU after attending a year of college in her native Malaysia.

While “it took courage” and she “had to be intentional about it,” Tan says she has gotten to know other students, particularly through Reformed University Fellowship.

“That’s where I met most of my friends –– probably 98 percent of my friends are from RUF,” Tan says.

Tan, who says her coursework is more or less the same as it would be in Malaysia, notes one difference: the school calendar.

“(In Malaysia), there is no long summer break,” Tan says. “We’re in school from January to November, followed by a month and a half break.”

While still undecided on which area of journalism she wishes to pursue, Tan says that her experience at the J-School has been good so far.

Worth the 9,403 mile trip, it seems.

**Barbara Nobis**
_Farmer and die-hard MU fan_

Barbra Nobis’ life has been shaped by farming. On Oct. 17, she shared the products of her skills at the farmers’ market with the MU community.

“Growing something or making a product that someone else wants to buy is gratifying,” Nobis says.

Working alongside her daughter-in-law, Nobis sells jams, homemade canned goods and baked goods.

Nobis makes the jams and canned goods herself. She says she’s retired from baking in order to sell, but still enjoys it.

One of Nobis’ fondest memories from her childhood is her mother’s baking.

“We’d come home, get off the bus, and the porcelain table would be filled with cherry pies,” Nobis says. “We’d freeze them, and then we’d have cherry pies to bake all winter. It’s a lost art, making pies.”

From farming, Nobis has learned routine.

“I wake up, get breakfast going, wake Grandpa up, and then we get whatever needs to get done, done,” Nobis says.

MU football is also routine in Nobis’ life. An avid fan, she’s held season tickets for 20 years. Her ringtone is even set as the MU fight song.

“We have a long tradition of Mizzou students in our family,” she says. “I love Mizzou football.”