Where are you from?
I am from the gorgeous Seattle, Washington.
What drew you to Ethnic Studies as your major?
In the first term of my freshman year, I decided to take Survey of African American Studies II (ES 223) with Dr. Robert Thompson. I was utterly fascinated by the concepts covered in the class and I quickly realized that every course offered for Ethnic Studies majors sounded better than any track I could’ve imagined for myself. I decided to follow the direction of my passions and interests and switched my major from sociology to Ethnic Studies before the term had even finished. I deeply appreciate the ways in which Ethnic Studies uncovers the inner workings of our society and pushes students to thoughtfully question the world around them. I also think it is a very powerful thing to find an educator whose teaching style deeply resonates with you and I was lucky enough to find that in my very first Ethnic Studies course.
What has been your experience as a student of both the College of Liberal Arts and the Honors College?
My experience has been wonderful with both the advisors and general faculty within the College of Liberal Arts and the Honors College. There has never been a time where I felt alone or that I did not have the resources or individuals to help me in ways pertaining to my academic success.
Have you started your honors thesis? If yes, what’s the topic and/or focus of your research? If not, are you considering any ideas so far?
I have yet to begin my honors thesis, though I am highly considering focusing it on Queer individuals within sorority and fraternity life at OSU. Should that be the direction I take this thesis I would love to interview individuals that are within that demographic here, and potentially find individuals at other schools so that I could compare the general cultures at varying institutions. This idea crossed my mind when I first became a member of the Panhellenic community here at OSU, though I am certainly open to anything that piques my academic and personal interests.
What have been some of your favorite classes taken?
The hands-down best Honors College class that I have taken in my time so far at OSU has been the colloquia Illegitimate Music. I was totally unsure of the path that the course would take when I initially went into it, and in the best way possible it was totally not what I was expecting. It was genuinely so much fun and made me see music in a whole different way. Additionally, the class Theories of Race and Ethnicity was wildly impactful for me on the ways that I view the world and I would highly recommend it for fellow students. It was certainly a challenging course in terms of the workload and the heavy content, though it is easily the class I am the most grateful for being able to have taken at OSU.
What are you hoping to do after you graduate?
After I graduate I am very interested in the possibility of attending law school, as I am deeply intrigued by the criminal justice system. Prior to considering this direction, I was fairly set on becoming a high school history teacher which is still something that holds interest for me. I must say that above all else I am very much embracing the present and allowing my interests to guide me in whatever direction they point me towards. I am a firm believer that even though it is so important to plan for the future, we are all ever changing human beings and I could not begin to pretend to know exactly what life has in store for me.
How do you feel that your experience in CLA and HC is setting you up for success?
Both the CLA and HC promote the importance of humanity within navigating life both generally and academically. There is so much focus on seminar and discussion which is a deeply powerful tool for success in moving beyond an undergraduate degree. Additionally, the HC in particular offers thesis preparation classes which for me have been extremely beneficial in terms of pushing me to start preparing for my continued time at OSU.