Finding Full Color in Atlanta: My PhD Journey with AMIS

By Pin-Jun (PJ) Chen

Let’s start with a confession: Do you ever feel like your life is running in black and white? Like you're stuck in a blurry 1980s VHS tape when everyone else is living in 2020s Full Color, 4K UHD QLED? That's exactly how I felt when I first landed in Atlanta—until I found AMIS.

My name is Pin-Jun Chen, and I’m a second-year Yellow Jacket pursuing my PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. I arrived in Atlanta in August 2024. This wasn’t just the start of my PhD; it was my first time living in an English-speaking country, having spent the first three decades of my life in my beautiful, democratic hometown, Taiwan.

As a child born and raised in Hualien, a remote, mountainous area in Eastern Taiwan, English was the very first mountain I had to climb here. Everything is filled with English communication, from discussing research to simply ordering a meal, from grocery shopping to tax reporting.

A year later, I can definitely say my English skills have improved. But if you ask if the language still hurdles me daily? My answer is still a resounding YES. Sometimes, I can grasp the words a native speaker says, but completely miss the real meaning or cultural nuance behind them. It can be isolating.

The PhD Triangle

Life is never easy, especially when you’re an international student in a foreign city with no immediate family or support structure. You face challenges like culture shock, financial stress, and for doctoral students like me, the intense pressure of finding a balanced life.

I came here with three years of industry experience, but I have to admit I severely underestimated the workload and intensity of a PhD program in the US—especially at a top engineering school like Georgia Tech. The pressure is huge.

My daily life quickly settled into a predictable, monotonous circle, a three-point triangle: the Laboratory/classroom, the Recreation Center (CRC), and my dormitory. On the weekends, I’d add Publix/Target to the rotation. I genuinely thought I would follow this pattern until I graduated in 2028 or 2029. But things changed.

The AMIS Effect

Just two months after landing at ATL airport, I joined AMIS in October 2024, and it’s been the most amazing organization I’ve met in the Atlanta metro area.

As I write this, it’s been one full year since my first AMIS event. During this time, AMIS has given me countless memorable moments, including a lively Friendsgiving, the Christmas social and craft party, hikes at Arabia Mountain and Kennesaw Mountain, and celebrating the 4th of July together.

The most unforgettable event, though, was the International Day at St. Martin’s Episcopal School. To this day, I can hardly believe I had the chance to share my Taiwanese hometown with a bunch of American kids (who, hilariously, were already obsessed with bubble tea!) at a US private school. But the most impressive scene for me wasn’t the sharing itself—it was walking into the school and seeing the classic American high school decoration. I felt like I was literally stepping into a scene from an American drama. It was surreal.

To me, AMIS isn’t just a platform that offers fun activities. It's a true community that provides extensive opportunities to connect with people from diverse cultures, to practice your English bravely and loudly, to immerse yourself into traditional American culture, and most importantly, to color a life that might otherwise be defined only by research and assignments.

My AMIGO, Chris

I especially want to express my gratitude to Emily for being so friendly and welcoming at almost every event I attended. Without her help, I might have missed the chance to build friendships with students from different continents and explore the beauty of Georgia.

But the biggest thanks goes to my AMIGO, Chris. I met Chris in February 2025 through the AMIGO friendship program, and he’s one of the most supportive and generous people I’ve met in Atlanta. Our friendship started with the Super Bowl 2025; he invited me to his house to share dinner and watch the game. It was my first time staying in a classic American home and dining with an American family—a truly amazing night. Since then, he’s often driven me grocery shopping, taken me out to try great local restaurants, and invited me to baseball games. These moments have been invaluable in helping me pass through and release the stress and frustration of exams and research.

Last but not least, though it is a bit cliché, I still want to say a huge THANK YOU, AMIS for giving me such a wonderful first chapter in my American life. Time will fly, and stress and setbacks may still exist. However, the question I want to ask everyone who happens to read this article is still the same: I am already here, are you in?