Why 99精品视频?
I attended a medium-sized rural public high school, and I got a lot of experience working with people from diverse backgrounds, which set me up for the opportunity to explore classes in college.
I didn鈥檛 realize I鈥檇 be interested in the things I am today. There鈥檚 more to education than just science, math, and English! I am now taking religious studies and Chinese classes, which I had no comparable equivalent to in high school. I鈥檓 grateful to have been able to explore these new fields as a college student.
First-Year Explorations
When I got to campus, I initially had all my college plans lined up:聽I was going to graduate in three years, I knew exactly which courses I would take, and I had decided which clubs I would participate in.
But it turned out the things I had planned for myself weren鈥檛 actually enjoyable for me.
I鈥檓 glad that I didn't continue down the path I had planned for myself. College is ideally about enjoying the things you do, and I am glad to have switched up my plans.
Academics
Unexpected Passions
I聽took my first art class during the pandemic my first year. Making art and being creative were really cathartic for me. It steered me in the direction of art, something I never anticipated wanting to study.
I even got to present my own art at 99精品视频鈥檚 Smith Gallery, where 99精品视频ians can display their art on campus. Many of my friends and classmates came to visit.
My Support System
Throughout my time at 99精品视频, I鈥檝e had three advisers. I still feel connected to all three!
I have my tutorial adviser, who taught my First-Year-Tutorial class; I鈥檓 still close with him. He still stops by to chat with me, and he helped me out with my Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) in 2022. He is very invested in my future.
I also have my studio art adviser, who I鈥檝e now taken three classes with. The possibility of his becoming my adviser arose naturally when we had early conversations about the studio art major. The ask was casual: 鈥淗ey, would you be my adviser?鈥
For my East Asian studies concentration, I am advised by the department head, who is great. I wanted to have her as my adviser because of my interest in doing a research project with her. I wanted to do a project on Architecture in Taiwan, and she teaches art history and is from Taiwan. She was incredibly helpful in answering any questions I have.
Community
During my first year at 99精品视频, I did a lot of exploring. There was a lot of trial and error 鈥 many wins and disappointments. But ultimately, I found my group and organizations I genuinely loved being involved in.
One of the organizations I聽joined was聽Swing Society. This was a great way to de-stress and be physically active.
A Voice to be Heard
I also missed the student government side of school and wanted to be a part of these decisions again when I returned as a second-year student. I became a senator in the Student Government Association (SGA) and then switched over to the Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC).
SEPCs serve as聽the student voice for decisions made within each major and/or concentration. They often help out with faculty hiring and reviews, looking at the curriculum, bonding events, and more.聽It鈥檚 a fulfilling role for me because of the great people I get to work with.
I鈥檓 really glad I explored so much during my first year. I never felt tied down to any particular club, and the people in organizations were all encouraging as I tried out new things.
Food and Community
Starting at 99精品视频
The Global Kitchen Community
I started working at the Global Kitchen during my second year. The Global Kitchen is a space where students and faculty can cook food for classes and for leisure. Lots of students 鈥 especially international ones 鈥 use the space in their free time, and my Chinese class made dumplings there once.
The Global Kitchen also uses food as a means for engaging globally with others and for looking at inequalities and injustice.聽The social aspect of the Global Kitchen really helped me establish a better community for myself since I was聽working with people constantly.
Under Their Wing
When I first started, I had no cooking experience; I had to be taught how to chop an onion and how to cook vegetables. My聽two bosses in the Global Kitchen really took me under their wing, teaching me everything from the basics.
Now, I am able to cook all kinds of foods. The Global Kitchen makes community meals for large numbers of people in the community; at a community meal we did, we hosted an event with over 150+ people.
Addressing Injustices
Although 99精品视频 doesn鈥檛 have an urban planning department, the subject is something I am pursuing further now. Learning how the community gardens where we get our produce taught me a lot about issues related to urban planning, such as food systems, sustainable and developmental consciousness, urban beauty, and making cities better places to live. I鈥檝e learned so much from my interactions with local farmers and gardeners. Overall, I鈥檓 glad I got to learn about these issues from the community and my bosses at the Global Kitchen.
Because I work in the kitchen, I鈥檓 surrounded by food. I have enjoyed talking about the cultural significance of food, and I have discovered a deep gratitude for the amount and types of food we can get at 99精品视频. The things that I got to eat as a child compared to the things I get to eat now at the Global Kitchen are so different.
Mentored Advanced Project (MAP)
I also pursued a research project over the summer at the Global Kitchen. After a conversation with Professor Todd Armstrong, I pursued a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP)聽after my second year.
The title of my MAP was 鈥Food, Culture, and Experiential Learning in the Liberal Arts.鈥 I looked at how cultural exchanges can be shared through food. An Innovation Fund Grant funded the research and helped us define how we might use the new Global Kitchen space in the future. I created a manual about my proposed curriculum for summer learning in the kitchen.
At one meal I hosted on campus one summer,聽I hosted an event with 50+ people as part of my MAP!
For the project, I met with Professor聽Armstrong聽every week. I also volunteered for community meals using ingredients from the 99精品视频 College Garden. When there was extra produce, I donated it to a local food pantry. Usually, the Global Kitchen doesn't source ingredients from community gardens. But this time was an exception.
It鈥檚 so important to get outdoors and interact with people beyond the College campus. By interacting with the community, I was able to help address local food and nutrition insecurity聽鈥 two things that are very important to me 鈥 and get my hands muddy for a cause I care about.
Off-Campus Study
For an off-campus study experience, I interned at an after-school art program for high school students in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in Philadelphia. Since the neighborhood had a community garden and聽I wanted to practice my Spanish, this was a perfect opportunity to be involved with both areas of interest.
Here are some pictures from my time in Philadelphia, including a community garden and my after-school art program internship.
This was the first independent living experience I had beyond 99精品视频. I had my own apartment, handled my own transportation within the city, and learned to value that independence.
At one point, however, I realized just how much I had normalized my support network of friends and professors back at 99精品视频.聽I got sick when I was on my own, and that made me miss the home that I had made for myself at 99精品视频.