What was a defining moment during your time at UConn?
Coming into college, like many other students, I thought I knew what I wanted to major in, but really had no idea what I was getting myself into. People always told me “Do what you love,” but even today, I still haven’t discovered what that passion is just yet. So after a number of events, consultation with advisors and peers, and taking accounting classes, I realized that accounting gave me an understanding of business that I had never previously had. I switched my major for the second time, but this time I stuck with it. And since then, I’ve been able to develop an understanding of the foundation of business, meet incredible professors and students, and work with a really cool team during my internship. So if you’re a student and you still aren’t sure what you’re passionate about yet, my advice would be to pick a skill that you think could benefit you in the long run and study it!

Who have you met here who has already had an impact on your future?
No one goes through it alone, and I am definitely no exception. I honestly can’t choose one person, but I’ll try to stick to a few. Beyond my best friends (Eric, Angela, and Igor – you all are the best), the first person is Tina Pierce, who works in the dean’s office in the business school. I got to know Tina through her involvement in directing the Business Connections Learning Community, and she has served as my second mother at UConn ever since. From holiday treats to weekly chats, you have played a huge role in supporting me throughout every step of my college journey. Thank you for everything, Tina!

Secondly, I’d like to give a huge thank-you to the Lodewick Visitors Center bosses: Meg, Renea, and Pam. Working at the Visitors Center allowed me to work with an incredibly diverse group of students in a fun, yet professional environment. Your continual persistence in pushing me to become more involved and educated has led me to be a better tour guide, student, and human being. I couldn’t have asked for a more meaningful job in college.

You participate in various student functions and clubs on campus. What did you enjoy most about the student culture?
My favorite part about the student culture is the level of involvement of the students. One of the coolest parts about UConn is that there is nothing but Storrs. I would not have told you that three years ago, but being isolated on a college campus forces you to get out of your comfort zone and become involved in different activities, meet new people, and make memories. Events like Oozeball, Skydiving, and HuskyThon are some of my favorite memories, and they were all so incredible because I got to experience them with other UConn students.

Where are you headed after graduation?
Blaze Pizza. After that, I’ll be heading to New York City to work for PwC, but not before I get to spend the summer in Storrs studying for the CPA exam!

What will you miss most about UConn?
The little things. It’s funny, when you’re in school, oftentimes you’ll look forward to the next big event that’s coming up. While those events did produce some of my favorite UConn memories, the things I’ll miss most are mostly the small everyday things that I took for granted. I’ll miss being able to see my best friends whenever I want, sunsets at Horsebarn Hill, and walks across campus. I’ll miss some of those late-night procrastination laughs from finals weeks. More than anything, I’ll miss the sense of community. From the incredible faculty to the students that I got to experience college with, UConn has always felt like home.

What have been your most memorable experiences at UConn?
The Pre-Medical Society is a lot of hard work but really fun. We recently just had the former Dean of UConn School of Medicine come and speak and, honestly, it was one of the most inspiring talks I’ve ever heard. In that way, I feel really lucky that I’ve been part of this work since I was a freshman. Our organization is entirely student-run, but we have a lot of support from our advisor, Keat Sanford, and from the Undergraduate Student Government. It allows us to provide the information and programs that pre-med students are seeking.

Another thing I really enjoy doing is mentoring students. Through the years I’ve been a mentor to other STEM scholars, particularly to those who have the same major as me or are also aspiring to be a doctor. It’s really fulfilling because I remember when I was a freshman, I had all these specific questions, and I wasn’t really sure who to ask. I didn’t want to bother someone with all of my questions. As a senior, I want to be there to provide these students with the information that they need. So I’m happy to be there for them.

What does your research focus on?
My IDEA grant was like my baby. I’ve been in this Behavioral Neuroscience Lab with professor of psychological sciences Etan Markus for most of my college career, and my IDEA grant was the culmination of all the things that I learned. It was an observational learning paradigm, and I was trying to see if rats could learn a maze behavior just from watching another rat. The interesting part of my research was that I was using female pair-housed rats. Female rats are less often used in research because of their estrous cycle, but that was exactly what I was interested in. It was really exciting to build my project from the ground level, and have my vision supported by UConn.

Why did you choose to be pre-med?
It was always what I wanted to do when I was little. My mom is a medical assistant and my grandmother practiced traditional Chinese medicine back in China. I’ve had these really strong female role models in my life helping people, so why wouldn’t I want to follow in their footsteps? I have always been around medicine: I was an EMT, and I worked in a medical office when I was in high school. What really stuck with me was the relationships the doctors make with their patients. I think to be a good doctor you should really get to know the person first before you get to know their illnesses. All my role models – the doctors I shadowed and worked with – had a strong relationship with their patients. They knew their history, their background, their family, they could ask about their vacations. It comes down to remembering that patients are people, not a medical chart.

How has UConn prepared you for your future career?
Research is super-important to medicine. UConn is a Tier 1 research institution, which is amazing, and for me that has meant having a really amazing advisor, Professor [Etan] Markus, who has always supported my research ambitions. I received many grants through my research and I’ve been first author on a research poster. We’re working on a manuscript right now to be published in a research journal. Recently, I went to the Society for Neuroscience conference, which is a huge international conference in Washington, D.C., where I was able to present my poster to leading researchers in the field of neuroscience.

What advice would you give incoming UConn freshmen?
Don’t be afraid. Don’t be embarrassed. I think a lot of students are afraid that professors will be too busy or uninterested to help them. Honestly, if you truly show that you’re passionate about something and you’re doing it for the right reasons, professors and advisors will want to help you. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. When I was a freshman, everyone said I needed to get into research, but I was scared to approach anyone, fearing that they would say no. But you’ve just got to throw your pride away. Just say, I’m going to show up to their office hours and talk to them. I can tell you first hand that perseverance will get you a long way. And that applies to everything else, like showing up to a club that you’ve never been to before, or applying for a competitive program. It’s never easy. Just do it.

Why did you choose your major?
I chose environmental studies sort of flippantly, but I ended up becoming really passionate about it. I found that where it connects with political science is in the disproportionate effect that climate change has on brown and black people. So I focus a lot on black political thought and environmental justice. I like that environmental studies incorporates the humanities.

Globally, it seems that anything bad that’s happening in the environment, whether that be drought, whether that be sea level rise, whether that be crops dying, or lack of biodiversity, it’s affecting those at the bottom. And usually, those at the bottom are historically brown and black people. Even just within the United States, it’s very concentrated. You can see that concentrated pollution centers, or any types of unhealthy environmental spaces, are often placed near black people and minorities.

Who is your favorite professor or class?
One of my favorite classes is Black Political Thought with associate professor of political science Jane Gordon. That just opened my eyes to the situation of blacks in America very, very widely. And Sustainable Societies with associate professor-in-residence of sociology Phoebe Godfrey is a must-take. She has a whole different perspective on what it means to be a sustainable society. Generally, when you think about sustainable societies, you picture green technology and solar panels and recycling. She’s like, no, that’s not what it’s about. She says a sustainable society is about community and people and compassion and empathy and understanding each other and plurality and diversity. She has a very different way of thinking about what it means and what we should strive for as a society and the work we have to do on ourselves as individuals that will reflect on the larger scale.

How has UConn shaped you as a person?
I would say I’ve grown so much in the last four years intellectually. It has been mostly because of my professors. They have given me so many different ways of thinking about the world that I never had in high school. I definitely appreciate that. That being said, I’ve definitely come to realize the struggles of being black in a predominantly white institution, and that struggle has also helped me to grow, like how to find community and how to take care of yourself in spaces where people hold a lot of ignorance.

My high school was much more diverse. I went to Hamden High School right by New Haven, and it was much more diverse. But I don’t think that’s necessarily even it, because I did go to a private school that was all white. But it was more so learning what I’ve been learning now, being in the current political climate, studying black political thought, and then being surrounded by predominantly white students was a unique experience.

What do you plan to do after you graduate?
I know that I want to go back to school. I’m definitely going to take a year off, if not two. A lot of my professors have recommended that I do this. I know that I want to work for a non-profit or in the public sphere. I’m also interested in teaching and working on environmental policy. When I go back to school, I’m thinking of concentrating on one of three areas: a graduate program in sustainable development with a focus on social cohesion and inequality; environmental law, because obviously law school is a significant direction for this type of study; or sustainable design, because I’m really interested in art.

I’m taking a class right now in Digital Media and Design, so I’m kind of interested in digitalized art. We’re learning about infographics. Basically, you can pick something that you want to explain – it could be a social justice issue or it could be about a person – and make a graphic about it with information. It’s a more fun way of learning about stuff that potentially can make a change. I feel like when it comes to all this stuff, I’ve been constantly thinking about, how can you convey these messages to people in a way that’s not boring or not draining or taxing? Sometimes it can be too much. But I feel like art is a really good way of making that bridge a lot less painful when you’re talking about some of these really daunting issues, like climate change and social justice.

What advice would you give incoming UConn freshmen?
I know this is kind of corny, but I would say, pick a major that you’re passionate about. If it’s art, if it’s design, if it’s things around social justice and humanities, even if it seems like you’re not going to make money, I promise you that you will be where you need to be because your passions will take you. You’ll be stronger. Do what you love, versus studying something that your parents want you to study or that you’re just doing to make money, that’s not really helping your community or that’s not really bringing you any sort of peace or fulfillment. You’ll make money, but you won’t be happy in the long run.

I feel like the most we can do in this world is to give back to the community. So find your way of doing that. Find your way of giving back to the community, of helping people.

What was a defining moment during your time at UConn?
My defining moment at UConn was the second day of classes during my freshman year. I felt alone surrounded by thousands of people who did not even know it was my birthday. I did not realize at that time that so many other people often feel the same way on large campuses. But as time went on, I met more and more people – through the many opportunities that UConn offers. Now, I cannot walk around campus without seeing people I know, every single day. My college experience started with tears of loneliness and will end with tears of joy, because every day has been a defining moment for me because of the community I have developed here.

Who have you met here who has already had an impact on your future?
Picking out individuals would make this answer far too long, so I will try my best to condense them into a list. My friends, fraternity brothers, the sociology, political science, and human development & family studies departments, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center, the African American Cultural Center, the Women’s Center, the Student Union staff, and lastly, Supe Dupe have all been influential in my journey here at UConn. This list is just a glimpse of all of the people who have believed in me, even when I may have questioned myself, and I will forever love them for the future they have helped me to create.

You participate in various student functions and clubs on campus. What did you enjoy most about the student culture?
We are pushing on 1,000 different student organizations that are available to the undergraduate and graduate communities. Even though each organization has an individualized mission statement, we see that research, teaching, service, outreach, diversity, leadership, integrity, and citizenship are held as core values in our student culture. I enjoyed the fact that we have so many different people and organizations that all contribute to making UConn’s mission statement more than just a statement – it is a reality.

Where are you headed after graduation?
My plans after graduation are to graduate from law school, and to follow a path of service for my home community and for the world at large. I want to make this world a better place with small steps that become large strides one day!

What will you miss most about UConn?
Every day, I walked outside to the sound or sight of a school constantly under construction. But the buildings and the roads were not the only things receiving upgrades. I will miss being immersed in an environment that is consistently focused on growth. Rallies like the DACA rally and the Save UConn rally are examples of students saying, “We do not accept things as they are.” HuskyTHON is the perfect example of students saying, “We know we can do amazing things, and the next time around we will do even better!” Being surrounded by like-minded individuals who were also trying to reach higher heights than previously reached will be something that I will miss.

What was a defining moment during your time at UConn?
For me, being accepted to the Neag School of Education was the defining moment. My admittance into the intensive and experiential program affirmed my passion for teaching and love of learning; it inspired me to continue growing as a person and educator for myself, my loved ones, and my future students. Studying what I love to do so much has given me the confidence I needed to realize that this is my place in the world, and that I can make a difference in kids’ lives if I work hard enough and allow my passion and positivity to drive everything that I do. It’s amazing to think about all the growth I’ve experienced at UConn, and getting into the Neag School was the experience that helped me realize how much further I can go.

Who have you met here who has already had an impact on your future?
Everyone that I’ve developed at least somewhat of a connection with at UConn has helped me become the person I am today. All of my experiences and connections have led me to embrace the person I am today, and allowed me to be more open in everything that I do. I know that I’ve met many resources on campus that will be professionally beneficial as I enter the workforce in a couple short years. I also know that I’ve met people who will continue to change my life after college in ways that I don’t even know yet. All of my friends have made me feel so loved and supported here that I have learned to love myself more because of them. They have helped me achieve things I would’ve never thought possible, and helped me realize the potential I have inside me, which I will always be thankful and incredibly grateful for.

You participate in various student functions and clubs on campus. What did you enjoy most about the student culture?
I always enjoyed interacting with new people through all of my activities and organizations. On such a large campus, everyone is diverse in their own way and has so much knowledge and experience to share with the world. I really enjoyed learning from so many individuals at UConn, and have grown to love how easy it is to make a connection with most people you come into contact with here. My activities and organizations also always provided me with a feeling of support and teamwork that inspired me to become more confident in my own abilities and to share my wisdom and experiences with other people that I meet on and off campus. My involvement over the past four years has really set me up to achieve my goals and help others while doing so.

Where are you headed after graduation?
After graduation, I will be headed home for the summer before starting graduate school through Neag’s IB/M program. I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to study abroad next fall in Cape Town, South Africa, with some other members of my education cohort. I’m incredibly excited to immerse myself in a new culture, and continue developing my personal identity as well as my teaching persona through this experience. I know working closely with my peers in Cape Town schools will help us develop new perspectives, and even further prepare us to teach our own classes very soon.

What will you miss most about UConn?
Something I will miss a lot about UConn is the feeling of home that I’ve developed here over the past four years. Everyone that I’ve met and everything that I’ve been able to experience in Storrs has helped me grow into the person I am today, and the emotional attachment to the place that has allowed me to learn and do so much will never fade. Although I still have one more semester on campus, I know that very soon it will feel weird to not be on campus and around the people I’ve grown very close to over the years. But I know that UConn will always have a place in my heart, and no matter where life after college takes me, I will reminisce often about all the memories I made here and how they helped me grow in so many ways.

What was a defining moment during your time at UConn?
I think my defining moment during my time at UConn was my first semester as an RA, when I handled one of my first incidents. I had a resident that was really uncomfortable and scared regarding the situation at hand, and after I walked her through it, she sent me an email telling me she was thankful to have someone to count on in the area as a source of support. This was a really humbling moment in that I realized why I really loved being at UConn and being in this role. UConn helped me realize that I have the potential to positively impact people around me, even in the smallest way possible by offering a hand of support, and this inspired me a lot in my personal life and for my professional career goals.

Who have you met here who has already had an impact on your future?
I think that throughout my time, I have been able to meet multiple people who have had a profound impact on my future, ranging from professors, to peers, to advisors. A few people that I feel have particularly influenced me in a positive way are my supervisors at the Visitors Center, Meg Malmborg, Pam Pellegrine, and Renea Martinez. Throughout the three years that I worked there, not only did they teach me the importance of diligence and discipline in any role I pursue, but they always pushed me to achieve my best. Whether that was bouncing back from failures in securing undergraduate research, or supporting me through my difficult classes, they always pushed me to do my best and never stopped believing in me, and this really helped me strive to utilize all the opportunities around me to achieve success.

You participate in various student functions and clubs on campus. What did you enjoy most about the student culture?
I’ve worked in a few different domains at the University, and I have come to appreciate the diversity that we have on this campus. Through the Indian Students Association and the Asian American Cultural Center, I was not only able to connect to my own heritage on a deeper level, but I was able to learn about new cultures as well, which opened my eyes to the melting pot that UConn really is. Through my positions as an RA and as a Student Tour Leader, I was able to interact with so many students of different backgrounds, which helped me grow as an individual. It was amazing to learn that our student body is defined by multiple individuals that come from all different walks of life, and that is definitely what I liked most, because each new person or group I encountered was a new learning opportunity for me to grow further.

Where are you headed after graduation?
I will be heading to medical school in August. I have a few options, so I am still deciding which school to commit to, but I am really excited to start this next phase of my career!

What will you miss most about UConn?
I think the community is what I will miss the most. I have been very fortunate to have met so many wonderful people and mentors during my time here through my jobs and personal experiences. I will definitely miss seeing my close friends every day, and spending time with them. I will miss little things like walking into the Visitors Center to talk about my day with my supervisors, or laughing with the RA staff about things we experienced that week. I have been so lucky to have always been surrounded by a loving and supportive community, and while I will take everything I have gained from this community with me in the future, I will definitely miss being around these people. They say that college is when you build relationships you will have for a lifetime, and I can honestly say that I was lucky enough to find that here, and that is something I know I will cherish after graduation.