I think deeply about things, which is good in the sense that it's helped me become a better critical thinker. But it can be an obstacle in instances like having to wait for my mind to settle before I can fall asleep. I was once told I have 15 minutes to adapt George Ella Lyon’s poem “Where I’m From” to write my own version. The time constraint forced me not to overthink, and I put pen to paper quickly. Although it's cheesy and surface-level, I think it illustrates a little bit about who I am today:
I'm from the frost on a cold winter's morning,
but also the sunshine from later that day.
I'm from the crumbling rocks above the tree-line,
sights of falling autumn leaves and the smell of pine trees.
I'm from my parents' sacrifices, dedication, and encouraging words.
I'm from my teachers' wisdom and my friends' laughter.
My purpose stems from those treated unfairly—including Mother Earth.
I'm from the chalk on the bars, the sweat on the beam, and my coach's criticism.
I'm from the lines on a track, the bow-ball of a boat.
Most importantly, I am from love.
I was born outside of Denver, Colorado, where I was fortunate to live throughout my childhood. The plentiful mountainous hiking trails and scenic nature sparked my love for the outdoors at an early age.
I'm from the frost on a cold winter's morning,
but also the sunshine from later that day.
I'm from the crumbling rocks above the tree-line,
sights of falling autumn leaves and the smell of pine trees.
I'm from my parents' sacrifices, dedication, and encouraging words.
I'm from my teachers' wisdom and my friends' laughter.
My purpose stems from those treated unfairly—including Mother Earth.
I'm from the chalk on the bars, the sweat on the beam, and my coach's criticism.
I'm from the lines on a track, the bow-ball of a boat.
Most importantly, I am from love.
I was born outside of Denver, Colorado, where I was fortunate to live throughout my childhood. The plentiful mountainous hiking trails and scenic nature sparked my love for the outdoors at an early age.
I observe attentively, which can partially be attributed to growing up shy, especially in middle school and high school when I was self-concious about having cystic acne. Now I love social interaction, but I still find time on my own to recharge beneficial. I think of myself as a situational extrovert for this reason.
I was an energetic kid and loved climbing and attempting to do handstands whenever the opportunity presented itself, which led my parents to sign me up for gymnastics classes. I stuck with it for ten years until I developed a bulged disk in my lower back that I went to physical therapy for and was unable to return to gymnastics from. I was a freshman in high school and felt lost after losing a large part of my identity. Upon completing physical therapy, I was determined not to give up on sports. So, I decided to try out track and field. I became a sprinter and a long jumper, and although I wasn't great at first, I fell in love with the sport and the drive and diligence I'd developed from being a gymnast propelled me to rise to the challenge and improve. Junior year I was recruited to run at the Air Force Academy, but their range of majors is quite narrow, and ultimately at age 16 I didn't know if committing to four years of college followed by five years of active duty would lead me to a career with the kind of environmental and social impact I was eager to procure. But when I visited Santa Clara University, it felt right because it had a wide range of majors, small class sizes, an emphasis on sustainability, and a welcoming atmosphere. The only missing piece was that it lacked a sprinting team, but that was a small tradeoff to make. After my first quarter here, I was happy but I missed being on a team. So, I re-evaluated my options and emailed the head coach of our DI Women’s Rowing team over winter break. He invited me to try out at the beginning of winter quarter and after a couple of weeks I walked on the team. I'm grateful for the experience I had as a rower for two years; it taught me a more intimate level of teamwork than I'd ever experienced and instilled me with grit. It was a tough decision to let go of the team, but since I was recently hired as a research assistant I knew it was the decision I had to make as rowing is a 25 hour time commitment each week.
I was an energetic kid and loved climbing and attempting to do handstands whenever the opportunity presented itself, which led my parents to sign me up for gymnastics classes. I stuck with it for ten years until I developed a bulged disk in my lower back that I went to physical therapy for and was unable to return to gymnastics from. I was a freshman in high school and felt lost after losing a large part of my identity. Upon completing physical therapy, I was determined not to give up on sports. So, I decided to try out track and field. I became a sprinter and a long jumper, and although I wasn't great at first, I fell in love with the sport and the drive and diligence I'd developed from being a gymnast propelled me to rise to the challenge and improve. Junior year I was recruited to run at the Air Force Academy, but their range of majors is quite narrow, and ultimately at age 16 I didn't know if committing to four years of college followed by five years of active duty would lead me to a career with the kind of environmental and social impact I was eager to procure. But when I visited Santa Clara University, it felt right because it had a wide range of majors, small class sizes, an emphasis on sustainability, and a welcoming atmosphere. The only missing piece was that it lacked a sprinting team, but that was a small tradeoff to make. After my first quarter here, I was happy but I missed being on a team. So, I re-evaluated my options and emailed the head coach of our DI Women’s Rowing team over winter break. He invited me to try out at the beginning of winter quarter and after a couple of weeks I walked on the team. I'm grateful for the experience I had as a rower for two years; it taught me a more intimate level of teamwork than I'd ever experienced and instilled me with grit. It was a tough decision to let go of the team, but since I was recently hired as a research assistant I knew it was the decision I had to make as rowing is a 25 hour time commitment each week.
I grew up in a family passionate about technology (my parents are both software engineers), so you might wonder what led me to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies. The answer is partially that I was privileged to spend much of my childhood outdoors, but I think the dominant factor that inspired this decision was a series of environmental documentaries I watched in high school like Plastic Paradise, Cowspiracy, and Tomorrow. These films vividly illustrate the causes and rapidly worsening consequences of anthropogenic climate disruption (fortunately Tomorrow focuses more on solutions). Seeing footage of global environmental destruction intertwined with social disparities that have resulted from corporate greed was incredibly disheartening. With this newfound knowledge, I knew I had a choice. I could either acquiesce in the injustices people and the planet are facing, or I could let it empower me to take action. I chose the latter and allowed it to inspire my educational and career goals. I began reading books about sustainable behaviors including sustainable diets, minimizing personal waste, and other ways to reduce my ecological footprint. My career interests started becoming more defined. I seek to couple environmental knowledge with technology to help solve problems regarding human interaction with the environment, beginning with correcting environmental injustices. I've taken courses in geographic information systems (GIS) where I've learned about the power of using maps to tell a story to a wide range of audiences. When accompanied by scientific but palatable explanations, I believe they can go a long way in helping solve social and environmental issues by informing policy and the general public. Fused with the sphere of social entrepreneurship, I see powerful potential.
During fall of 2018, I studied abroad in a small, rural town in the center of Costa Rica, where immersive learning confirmed my career interest in helping to correct social and environmental inequities. I took classes in natural resource management, tropical ecology, Costa Rican language & culture, and environmental ethics.
During fall of 2018, I studied abroad in a small, rural town in the center of Costa Rica, where immersive learning confirmed my career interest in helping to correct social and environmental inequities. I took classes in natural resource management, tropical ecology, Costa Rican language & culture, and environmental ethics.
These courses built upon what I've learned in my first two years as an Environmental Studies major in a unique and exhilarating way. We completed multiple field experiments for Natural Resource Management, Tropical Ecology, and Environmental Ethics. These involved using the scientific method to conduct fieldwork followed by statistical analysis to then write a scientific report that would prepare us for our independent research projects during the last month of the semester. These reports were more than just good learning experiences that improved our scientific writing skills; it made me hopeful to know that they were submitted to the municipalities in Costa Rica that we'd done surveying for to help make a positive impact on those communities. What I'll cherish most about my time in Costa Rica, though, is learning firsthand about a new culture and developing relationships with people across a myriad of backgrounds, some of which I still keep in touch with today. I'm excited to work collaboratively throughout this fellowship to generate lasting positive impact, and I'm especially grateful to have the opportunity to do so.