"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
-Maya Angelou
This story starts at the University of Washington freshman year when I moved into the dorms with nearly all of my worldly possessions in hand. But of everything I brought, the thing that made my dorm room feel most like home was the t-shirt quilt my mom made me as a high school graduation present. Through all of my old t-shirts, it told the story that reminded me where I came from. The pieces of the quilt were absolutely beautiful, but the real art was in how it was all stitched together. After all, without the stitching, the story could not be told; something I have come to recognize over the past four years as I’ve stitched together my experiences in science and education into a quilt of my own.
I started out on square one exploring a major in psychology. Upon taking biopsychology winter quarter of my freshman year, I found that it was the biological aspect of psychology that really interested me. This changed my trajectory slightly, as I began diving into the physical sciences in preparation for a major in neurobiology. I never imagined I would be taking science classes, but I wouldn’t change it if I could. Through all of these science classes, I’ve gained a deeper understanding for both the internal and external world in which I live.
Meanwhile, I kept busy outside of class volunteering in a Head Start preschool classroom through the Jumpstart program at UW and, after that, in other schools. There is something refreshing about working with children. Perhaps it’s the curiosity that all too often gets lost with age as we accept the fact that we can’t possibly learn everything there is to learn and become complacent. When asked question upon question by a four-year-old, I found that many times it made me question things I had just never thought about. In fact, I would say that a huge part of my learning as an undergraduate has come from lessons I’ve learned from preschoolers, and in particular the curiousity I developed because of them.
I took this curiosity with me to Ecuador and back, and that is what has allowed me to grow into the person I am. My trouble was always that my curiosity caused me to keep too many doors open to the point where I had trouble deciding what I really wanted. Sometimes I felt as though I was pulling myself in completely different directions, but it turns out all of these colorful pieces have come together to compliment each other quite well. I’ll be pursuing both science and my love of working with children as I transition into the role of a chemistry teacher, and I could not be more excited to add a new square to my quilt.
I started out on square one exploring a major in psychology. Upon taking biopsychology winter quarter of my freshman year, I found that it was the biological aspect of psychology that really interested me. This changed my trajectory slightly, as I began diving into the physical sciences in preparation for a major in neurobiology. I never imagined I would be taking science classes, but I wouldn’t change it if I could. Through all of these science classes, I’ve gained a deeper understanding for both the internal and external world in which I live.
Meanwhile, I kept busy outside of class volunteering in a Head Start preschool classroom through the Jumpstart program at UW and, after that, in other schools. There is something refreshing about working with children. Perhaps it’s the curiosity that all too often gets lost with age as we accept the fact that we can’t possibly learn everything there is to learn and become complacent. When asked question upon question by a four-year-old, I found that many times it made me question things I had just never thought about. In fact, I would say that a huge part of my learning as an undergraduate has come from lessons I’ve learned from preschoolers, and in particular the curiousity I developed because of them.
I took this curiosity with me to Ecuador and back, and that is what has allowed me to grow into the person I am. My trouble was always that my curiosity caused me to keep too many doors open to the point where I had trouble deciding what I really wanted. Sometimes I felt as though I was pulling myself in completely different directions, but it turns out all of these colorful pieces have come together to compliment each other quite well. I’ll be pursuing both science and my love of working with children as I transition into the role of a chemistry teacher, and I could not be more excited to add a new square to my quilt.