AUTUMN

CLASSES:

ASTR 150: The Planets
JSIS 324: Immigration
SPAN 203: Intermediate Spanish
JSIS 499: Undergrad Research

EXTRACURRICULARS:

Phi Alpha Delta Professional Development Committee
Research Assistant
UAA Peer Adviser
JSIS/POL S/GWSS/LSJ Writing Center Tutor

Global Challenges

In August, I was asked to be the student moderator for Global Challenges, the Honors program’s annual event in which a panel of faculty members discuss a topic suggested by Honors students. This year’s topic was set to be ‘research’, more specifically the role of a public research university. The past two years I had attended Global Challenges, and was beyond honored that the honors staff trusted me to take this on. Through fall I met often with Carey Christie and Dr. Stephanie Smallwood to workshop the structure of the event, things we should/shouldn’t discuss, and incorporate feedback from students that were currently in Honors 100. When the day of the event finally arrived, I was PETRIFIED. I had never spoken in front of that many people before, let alone moderated? I felt responsible for the flow and logic of the event, and to this day I can’t believe I was able to do that. All in all the event went very well, and was a huge accomplishment.

Writing Center

By Fall Quarter, I had two on-campus jobs, my role as a Peer Advisor with UAA, and as a Writing Tutor with the JSIS/POL S/LSJ/GWIS Writing Center. I was working 19.5 hours a week, and every single moment of my week was booked. I absolutely loved working at the Writing Center though, and it never felt like labor to me. I enjoyed having intellectually stimulating conversations with fellow students and reading pieces on topics that were totally unknown to me. I read MANY LSJ application essays, which was very helpful as I applied to LSJ myself this quarter. In a way, spending so much time working on campus forced me to learn how to manage my time more effectively, and I fell in love with obsessing over my Google Calendar.

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Much to dismay, I tested positive for COVID just days before I was set to moderate Global Challenges. I was heartbroken, I had worked so hard preparing for something that might not even happen if I couldn’t sort out my lack of voice and mental fog before the week began. Thankfully, I tested negative THE DAY before the event, and was given the green flag to present. Getting COVID was mental whiplash, and threw a wrench in my quarter.

On a more positive note, in September I moved into a house with my best friends, and finally had a room all to myself. I wasn’t sleeping in a twin XL anymore, and didn’t have to worry about sharing a room with someone I hardly knew. I was in heaven.