B&W Portraits Series

The photo series documents the everyday lives and living spaces of three international students in New York City, each navigating a different path shaped by geography, education, and personal aspiration. Through intimate portraits inside their apartments, the project explores how young immigrants construct a sense of home while constantly moving between cities, systems, and identities.

Rachel Zhong, 23, a Columbia Journalism School student, lies on her sofa with the ski medals and certificates she earned during her years at Boston University, in New York on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. Skiing has been her hobby since she began studying abroad as an international student in high school.

Rachel Zhong shows the film negatives she shot on her film camera in New York on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

Rachel Zhong opens her refrigerator door, which is covered with magnets she collected from her travels and others given to her by friends, in New York on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

Rachel Zhong is reflected in both the bathroom mirror and the vanity mirror as she stands inside a restroom where the word "shit" is written on the glass, in New York on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

Rachel Zhong shows the parking tickets she has received in New York on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.

Rachel Zhong, 23, grew up in Beijing and has lived in the United States since high school, moving from New Hampshire to Boston and now New York. Her compact studio apartment is filled with traces of her life abroad—ski medals, film negatives, souvenirs from her travels, and objects from her creative pursuits. For her, home is a timeline of experiences she actively chooses to document.

“I feel like I have a lot to document because I’m someone who tries many different things. You only live once, so I want to experience as much as I can,” Rachel said, “All these hobbies and adventures are things I discovered on my own after coming to the U.S., and they make my life feel full and meaningful.”

Christine Cheng, 23, an undergraduate finance major student at Columbia University, rests her chin on her hand at her desk after finishing her algebra homework in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Christine Cheng rests on her bed as afternoon sunlight falls across her upper body in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Christine Cheng kneels on the floor to open a package between her kitchen and entryway, where she keeps a shoe cabinet and a snack shelf, in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Christine Cheng makes coffee in her kitchen in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Christine Cheng, from Hangzhou, followed the traditional Chinese gaokao path to enter NYU Shanghai before transferring to Columbia University. Her apartment, converted from an old hotel, reflects the transitional stage of her life as she prepares for graduation while balancing financial independence and personal dreams.

“International students never have a truly fixed place to live. When I came to New York a year ago as an exchange student, I could enjoy life using my parents’ support, but now that I’m close to graduation,” Christine said. “I want to start becoming independent. I’m living in a small place for now, and later, when I’m working, I hope to earn enough to afford the big apartment I dream of.”

Christine Cheng stands in the laundry room of her apartment building in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Ziyuan Yin, 23, a master’s student studying journalism and computer science, brushes his teeth as his reflection appears in the bathroom mirror in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Ziyuan Yin sits in a living-room recliner reading a copy of The New York Times in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Ziyuan Yin works at his desk with assignments from both fields spread out in front of him in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Ziyuan Yin reaches into the refrigerator to take out a beer in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Ziyuan Yin rests on his bed beside one of his plush toys in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.

Ziyuan Yin, 23, who studied in Emory University’s international program before Columbia, lives in student housing and embraces the shared rhythms of dorm life. His room becomes a site of both stress and ambition as he juggles journalism assignments, exhaustion, and the belief that meaningful encounters make the work worthwhile.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sharing an apartment—my roommate is a seventh-year Ph.D. student, and even though we don’t see each other often, we still get along well,” Ziyuan said. “ Lately I’ve been stressed about my profile story assignment and slept only two hours. Even though reporting can be exhausting, being able to meet meaningful people makes it all worth it.”

Together, their homes reveal how international students build belonging in motion.

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