This year was my third year at UC. I have had considerable growth. I got involved with UC World Friends (UCWF) which is a group aimed to minister to Asian international students. We have dinner and a get together every Friday. We also host regular camping trips. When UCWF gets connected with students, volunteers assist them with getting settled in around Clifton-getting a phone, setting up utilities, and learning where the best ethnic grocery stores are. I have friendships and mentor relationships with many students in the group. When I first met part of the group we had lunch together and it was the first time I had ever eaten a meal with a non-American person. During this year I have opened myself up to learn about their lives, history, and culture. I have eaten all kinds of crazy foods and listened to awesome stories. One of the things about me is I see every person I meet as a potential friend. So I am able to draw a quiet person out and help them see that we can be friends even if we were born a world apart. That is what I contribute most to this community. As a branch of this path, I had a Spring co-op in China with the JCI program as a TA for engineering students. I have established hopefully long-lasting friendships with my coworkers and students.
A bit of advice that I have for myself is to work on becoming a little more organized every day. I have never been great at time management, but I am improving slowly. I am working to continue that improvement by writing in my calendar, setting alarms, and making lists (and finishing the lists!). As I continue to be involved in multiple communities as well as school of course, my time gets busier and more valuable. As I talked about above, UCWF has become an important part of my life. A year ago I had no idea this community existed, but now I am a part of the family. My idea about myself has changed and gotten smaller. I am joining a bigger story than my own. I cannot speak for when I graduate, but while I am local I will continue to be committed to UCWF and it’s amazing students and volunteers- who are otherwise known as friends. One goal I have set for myself, in the midst of the coming busyness, is that I will take time for myself to slow down and rest once or twice a week. I will consciously avoid getting stressed and burnt out in this way. I have had a wonderful year and am very excited about what the next year has in store for me!!
A bit of advice that I have for myself is to work on becoming a little more organized every day. I have never been great at time management, but I am improving slowly. I am working to continue that improvement by writing in my calendar, setting alarms, and making lists (and finishing the lists!). As I continue to be involved in multiple communities as well as school of course, my time gets busier and more valuable. As I talked about above, UCWF has become an important part of my life. A year ago I had no idea this community existed, but now I am a part of the family. My idea about myself has changed and gotten smaller. I am joining a bigger story than my own. I cannot speak for when I graduate, but while I am local I will continue to be committed to UCWF and it’s amazing students and volunteers- who are otherwise known as friends. One goal I have set for myself, in the midst of the coming busyness, is that I will take time for myself to slow down and rest once or twice a week. I will consciously avoid getting stressed and burnt out in this way. I have had a wonderful year and am very excited about what the next year has in store for me!!
