Year Two Fall
This fall quarter felt like the start of many good new things.
I continued to be an officer for Yarn It and I continued to participate in Hawai'i club, but I decided to get more involved this year. I started shadowing the logistics chair for Luau, an annual Hawai'i club event in the Spring. This role involves keeping track of finances and applying for grants, general planning, creating and following a timeline, and coordinating with the other committees (food, dance, ticketing, etc.). So far, I have mainly just brainstormed big ideas and talked to the current Logistics chair about what to expect for the coming quarters. I am so excited to be part of this activity this year and the next.
Another new activity was being an Honors Peer Facilitator for the Honors 100 course. Being able to make lesson plans, get to know the Honors students in section, and connect with other peer facilitators was such a valuable experience as I am interested in pursuing a career in education. My main takeaways are that I really enjoyed putting together the activities and plans, but, based on my experiences tutoring K-12 students at Mercy Housing, I think I would prefer to work with younger children because I enjoy teaching those topics more. However, I loved being more immersed in the Honors program and getting to know that community better. On a similar note, I led another Honors crochet event and I had such a lovely time crafting and getting to know people.
Having worked for Make-A-Wish Hawai'i as a Wish Assist intern this past summer, I feel like I have a bit of a better idea of where I would like to go with my career. This role was very fulfilling and I loved knowing that I was doing something to help my community. I would definitely consider going further into the nonprofit field, but at this point I would like to explore education more. Veterinary school is in the back of my mind, however, so I might try to get some experience in that field this upcoming summer.
On a more personal note, Fall quarter has been a chance for me to explore. I got a bike this year and have been going on the Burke Gilman trail to different parks and cute spots. I also have been getting into baking. One of my favorite memories from these past few months has been setting aside the Saturday before finals week to mass bake seven different recipes to give to friends as a Christmas gift. Baking has been a wonderful hobby and I imagine I will continue into the more gloomy Winter quarter. Being back in Seattle this Fall has been lovely and I am excited to see where the year takes me.
Artifact 01
EDSPE 304 Final Project
This is my final project for my Special Education Disabilities and Ableism in Education course. I used digital art to emphasize the lack of accurate representation of disability in the media. I showcased five posters from popular movies and made the characters misrepresenting disability into silhouettes, highlighting how ableism and harmful stereotypes take away from the storytelling and inclusivity. I have never created digital art this way, so doing this project stretched my thinking and skills. This course overall stretched my thinking as well as I have a much better idea of how students with disabilities are treated and should be treated in the classroom. As I am considering a career in education, I would need to know how to best support all students and this course kickstarted some of that thinking.
Artifact 02
Honors 100 Puzzle
This is the puzzle that the Honors 100 students in my section put together on the last day we met. Being an Honors Peer Facilitator this past quarter has been an incredible experience and I have learned so much about the Honors program, building community, and classroom management. During the final section, my section and I chose to do crafts and puzzles as our bonding activity. This puzzle was wonderful because I got to chat with the other Honors students and get to know them in a more relaxed, casual setting. To me, this puzzle represents not only the determination of the students who stayed a few minutes late to finish it, but also the relationships and connections made throughout our time together over the quarter.
Artifact 03
Moving out!
This quarter I moved out of the dorms and into an off-campus apartment! This photo is from the initial move in. This was a really big step for me because it felt like much more independence and I needed to take care of myself more than I was last year. Being a little further from campus and not having a meal plan helped me to develop my cooking, planning, and organizational skills. After this quarter, I feel more equipped for adult responsibilities and more confident in my ability to prioritize and be self-reliant.