AUTUMN QUARTER

CLASSES:

HONORS 220: Using Date Science to Fight Racism: Analyzing and Recreating the Visualizations of W.E.B. DuBois
HONORS 397: Peer Educator Seminar
JSIS 200: States and Capitalism
JSIS 302: Politics and Culture of Europe

EXTRACURRICULARS:

Honors Peer Educator
Phi Alpha Delta Professional Development Committee

Research!

Fall was my first quarter as a student in the International Studies major, I began to take upper-level courses within the major, and enrolled in JSIS 302: Politics and Culture of Europe with Dr. Sabine Lang. This was without a doubt the most formative class in my college experience, not only because of Dr. Lang’s unique teaching style and propensity to take students out of their comfort zone, but also because of the personal relationship I would end up forming with her. Attending this class initially produced a lot of anxiety in me, Dr. Lang would start lecture by quizzing us on current international events, pushing us to really understand what was happening in the news and not just recite headlines. The readings were stimulating and rigorous, and introduced me to many of the scholarly topics I would eventually delve deeper into. This final paper that I submitted led to Dr. Lang reaching out to me and encouraging me to submit it to the European Union Undergraduate Research Conference. I was ecstatic to receive this level of recognition from a professor I so admired, and this felt like confirmation that I made the right decision to pursue International Studies. This led me to asking Dr. Lang if she had opportunities for undergraduates to contribute to her research, and sparked the start of my years long position as her research assistant.

Teaching Honors 100

I taught Honors 100! All of the preparation done in Spring, from the retreat to prepping lesson plans, all came to fruition in Fall. Every other week, I met with my group of twelve students and presented on Honors course requirements, programs, gave personal advice, etc. Though the in-class sessions definitely made me more comfortable with public speaking, I think that the most impactful part to me was what happened after class. My students would come up to me, ask to chat on a bench, and ask me for advice. Everything from “I hate my roommate” to “how do I know my parents are proud of me” came up. I felt like I was talking to my freshman year self, and through these conversations I was able to form deep relationships with my students.

I also had an unusually negative experience with one of my students, who gave me a hard time and was generally not enthusiastic in the honors program. However, learning how to navigate difficult situations like these (with lots of input from Nadra) became a great anecdote for future interviews, and an important learning experience!

This quarter I also made an effort to look for more “pre-law” opportunities, and felt it was time to rush Phi Alpha Delta (PAD), the pre-law fraternity. I dragged my roommate with me to rush week, and after applying, we were sworn into an academic fraternity that boasted alumni like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Joe Biden. I applied to be a part PAD’s professional development committee, which consisted of recruiting members of the Seattle legal scene to speak at our chapter meetings. I felt that my time in PAD was instrumental in me understanding of different areas of law, and it felt helpful to be in a group of students on a similar career path to mine.

Roadtrip + New apartment

My dad and I did our annual Chicago to Seattle roadtrip to move me into school. It’s hard to put into words how much it meant to me that my dad was there to ease me into this transition. It alleviated a lot of the whiplash of moving across the country, because it took five days and we went state by state. I’ll look back fondly on these roadtrips for the rest of my life, on the playlists we made each time, on the national parks we visited, and the sleep in random hotels in South Dakota. In September, I moved into my first apartment! Though I was essentially on campus still, even living on the Ave felt like I had gained my independence. Living outside of the dorms allowed me to cultivate a living space that was my own, and I got to delve into hobbies that could not physically fit inside Willow Hall. I brought my guitar out to Seattle, and because I now had a kitchen I was also able to keep myself sane by cooking. This massive upgrade from dining hall food was a physical and mental improvement that cannot be quantified.