The University of Kentucky Student Center is described as the energetic hub of the campus, featuring dining options like Panda Express, recreational areas like Cats Den for games, and other amenities. The author shares their positive experiences socializing and relaxing at the Student Center between classes, especially enjoying familiar Chinese food and games at Panda Express and Cats Den which helped them feel more at home away from home. Interviews with other students highlighted how the Student Center is a popular space for meals, socializing, and finding a sense of community while relaxing from busy class schedules.

1. Ke Chen
Professor: Rita DiBello
WRD 110-202 spring 2013
Students’ Paradise: The Student Center
Founded in 1865, the University of Kentucky is a public co-educational university in
Lexington, KY. It is the largest college or university in the state. In 2012 the
University of Kentucky boosted the record high new student enrollment with over
4600 first-year students. Also at a record high is the number of African-American,
Hispanic, international and out-of-state students [1]. The university campus has
numerous notable structures such as William. T. Young Library, which has become
the symbol of the university. But actually when I was on my first visit to the campus
during the K-week (A opening ceremony for freshmen to get started for college life)
in August 2012, the space that attracted me the most is the student center because I
found a lot of fun there, which will be introduced below. As it is described on the
web home, University of Kentucky’s Student Center is an energetic and vibrant hub
of the University of Kentucky since 1938. From the wide range of dining options to
out entertainment and educational opportunities there’s so much more in between
the lines: UK Bookstore, UK Federal Credit Union, free wireless internet access and
free laptop use, the Rasdall art gallery, meeting/conference rooms, two theaters
with state of the art media technology, WRFL radio, The Cats Den recreational and
entertainment facility as well as the Center For Student Involvement [2].
Last summer I became a member of the UK wildcats and enjoyed the K-week.
Actually it was my first trip to the US and I was a little bit nervous at first before I
paid a visit to the Student Center to attend the orientation.After the staff and
volunteers introduced some important things we need to pay attention to when we
are studying and living in UK, I together with my friends began exploring this
amazing space for the first time and I began to love it.
The Student Center is a building of two parts, which are connected with an air
corridor, is located near the corner of Avenue of Champions (Euclid Avenue) and
South Limestone Street. The red bricks and large pieces of glasses make this
building classic and modern at the same time. The original Student Center building,
fronting on South Limestone, was completed as the Student Union in 1937 and was
expanded in 1962. The student Center Addition was completed in 1987 and is
connected to the older building by a pedestrian bridge [3].
It brought me the memory of the first day when I first came to the Student Center. I
still remember how excited I was when I got my student ID card at room 107(in the
original Student Center building) that day. It means I became a member of the UK
wildcats. I suddenly had the sense of belonging. I cannot forget how kind the two
ladies were to us as well, and I was so grateful to their patience because we were not
so good at speaking English at that time, but they were still smiling to us and would
like to help us with great patience. For the first time in a totally different country, I

2. felt the warmth and I really like that fascinating feeling. From then on, I have always
been living with the goodness from the American people who have helped so much
to get rid of the fears of living far from my hometown. Afterwards, I got my second
card at UK from Room 245 (in the original Student Center building), the debit card
from the UKFCU. I like that red card with a basketball on it. Actually I enjoy the
candies more. It was also an unforgettable memory for me having lunch with all
international students at 305-Frank A. Harris Grand Ballroom. We sat down with
some random people talking to each other about our majors and some differences
between our different cultures or traditions. I was having great fun there talking
with people from all over the world. That was my first visit to the Student Center.
For the next few days, I kept visiting there to attend the K-week events. I enjoyed
the talk show, concert and free movies.
I did not fall in love with this amazing space until the classes began. I got an
extremely busy schedule because of the 19 hours courses. So the short break seems
so precious to me at that time. Most of my classes were at the Anderson Tower, so it
was very convenient for me to hit the Student Center during break time. You
absolutely can’t have any ideas about how exited I was when I found out there was a
Chinese restaurant in there, the Panda Express. It was located at the first floor of the
Student Center in the original building.It is easy to find it as you can see obvious
Chinese symbols like pandas and the Great Wall out side the door. The Chinese
traditional vermillion always makes me feel comfortable while enjoying the food
seating around the marble tables. You can always find a super long line waiting to
take orders last to the entrance of the building, which is over 60 feet away from
Panda Express. I didn’t expect that Chinese food was so popular among the students
at UK. I would recommend the manager to play some traditional Chinese light music
in the restaurant like erhu, which is the most popular traditional musical instrument
in China. The melodious and gentle sound of it will take you far apart from bothers.
The delicious smell of spicy, sour and savory sometimes remind me of hometown. I
thought I was so lucky that I could still have some food of my hometown style in a
different country. I went there for meals almost every day even though there were
not so many different dishes as I could have in my hometown. It became kind of
enjoyment to me having meals at Panda Express during breaks or after classes.
Actually there were many more dining services at Student Center second floor like
Chicken Fila, Subway and Sbarro. I would like to give a try to have some different
kinds of meals at different times. I like the plenty of space provided for students to
sit around tables to enjoy the food. What I found a very smart design was that the
students could find a seat immediately after they got their food no matter what
restaurant they bought food from. This makes it possible for some of the friends
with different food to sit together at the same table. They do not need to be seated at
different areas separated by different kinds of food. I began to love this space
because the food I found in it.
I interviewed a Chinese girl, Aijia Zhou, who also liked to have meals at Panda
Express a lot. She told me that the reason she had meals there was Panda Express
was the only space she could ever find to remind her of the feeling of being living in

3. her hometown on campus. 1 year and a half away from hometown made her
homesick and she missed the taste of hometown so much. For most foreign
students, a place where they can find the similarities with their hometown is always
a treasure to them, and they will always find happiness in there. She also has a part
time job at Panda Express for 12 hours a week. She said she liked this place so much
that she found herself not so different from living in China. She works together with
some other Chinese students. She told me that they were working together like a big
family; the workmates were just like brothers and sisters. I also asked her about her
attitude towards the other restaurants upstairs, but it seemed that she did not like
them because she told me that she couldn’t get used to the taste of cheese and
pickles. She said she would like to keep on working there until she graduates.
Another place that I would like to visit during breaks is the Cats Den, my favorite
part of the Student Center. As I mentioned in introducing Panda Express, I had a
very busy schedule of 19 hours classes. The breaks between classes seemed so
precious to me. I would like to spend them at Cats Den after having meals at Panda
Express or the second floor of the Student Center. You only need to spend fifty cents
for a pool game. Or you can get 15 free tokens with your student ID card every
semester. I like pooling a lot and I participated in the competition even though I did
not have a good ranking. I have a couple of friends who also like pooling so we
always hang out there during class breaks or after meals. Chinese are good at table
tennis, and I am not an exception. I enjoy playing table tennis with some other
students. It helped me a lot making new friends. We enjoyed playing, watching and
talking about the games together. I also met a professor from Taiwan who played
table tennis so well and he also taught me some special skills to better play it. We
became good friends before he went back to Taiwan. As it is described on the
website of Cats Den, it is equipped with table tennis, billiards, TVs, Xbox 360, Kinect,
Playstation, Wii, and a snack bar with FREE popcorn [4]. I also enjoyed sitting at the
tables doing some homework or just watching the others playing table tennis or
pooling. I am not a fan of video games, but if you are, I highly recommend you to pay
a visit to the Cats Den because there are really cozy sofas for video gamers.
I met a guy at Cats Den, Shawn Lee, a junior from college of engineering, who said he
enjoyed visiting this part of the Student Center. He told me he was a pool fan. I
interviewed him while playing a pool game with him. He said he visited this place
pretty frequently because this space provided him with a nice chance to relax and to
meet some new friends. I could tell that he pooled a lot because I found him really
good at it and could beat me without challenge. He also told me that he enjoyed the
random show on the stage, sometimes a concert, sometimes a comedy show, he
would like to seat around the stage enjoying the shows. He said he would visit this
space as he used to do even though he had a busier schedule this semester.
Another important design in the Student Center is the UK Bookstore. It is convenient
for the students because it is located right in the campus other than the Kennedy
bookstore. You can buy some new textbooks if you need any or you can buy some
used books if you would not like to spend that much money. But actually the real

4. “bookstore” is just part of it. They also sell some electronic devices like Mac,
earphones and so on. But I like the items with UK logos because I would like to have
some of this kind of items as souvenirs that could remind me of the beautiful
memory that I had at UK several years later. And the logos help me to show people
that I was proud of being a student at UK.
This is the second semester that I study at UK, and I visit the Student Center as
often as I used to do in the last semester. I have met a lot of friends there; we shared
our happiness and enjoyed playing together. I think there is one important function
of this center that has not been realized before, the Student Center gather students
who don’t know each other together at the same place enjoying the various and
helpful services provided by this amazing space. They play different games together
with new friends or even someone they do not know together at the Cats Den, they
enjoy meals at Panda Express or the second floor with acquaintances, they watch
movies at Worsham Theater, they buy books and some other stuff that a student will
need from the bookstore. There are so many different interesting things students
can do with both friends and strangers. Students get to meet there and become
associated. It is like a huge network that connects all the Wildcats together. The
wildcats are no longer strangers but like brothers and sisters. What is more, with
the services provided, students will find it more convenient and more interesting
studying and living at UK. They can participate in different events they like at
Student Center, they can get their problems and concerns can be solved at the
Student Center, they can find much fun after heavy classes or homework.
The Student Center will be a beautiful memory after I graduate from UK. I have
spent so much time having fun there with my friends. Life was busy but I did enjoy
that precious breaks having meals and playing games there. It gave me so much
relax and add more fun to my busy classes. I cannot imagine how difficult it could be
if I did not pay visits to the Student Center frequently. Would I be under great
pressure of homework and tests? I am not sure. Because of the Student Center, I
never felt that I was alone at a foreign country; I never felt that I was alone without
friends; I never felt that I am alone without help from my university. Thanks to the
Student Center for helping me with tough days with bunches of homework and
providing me great times during my breaks.
I do believe that every student can find his or her own happiness at the Student
Center. If you are under great pressure, or if you have no ideas of spending your free
time, why not pay a visit to the Student Center for even once? This space was
designed to provide services for students to help them relax from classes and better
prepare for the classes.

5. Works Cited:
1.“Wikipedia of University of Kentucky” University of Kentucky student life. 24 Mar.
2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Kentucky#Student_life>
2. “Home page of the Student Center” Student Center Cats Den. 24 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.uky.edu/studentcenter/>
3. “Campus Guidance” Student Center. 24 Mar. 2013.
<http://ukcc.uky.edu/cgi-bin/dynamo?maps.391+campus+0030>
4. “Home page of the Cats Den” Cats Den. 24 Mar.
2013.<http://www.uky.edu/studentcenter/catsden>