HER WILDEST DREAM: HUSKY 100 ESSAY

I have transcribed a story of myself that is unrecognizable to the 17-year-old freshman in college who was freshly preparing her plans to drop out of education altogether. At the time, her hopes and dreams had limited themselves to the distrust of her capabilities. And became unwilling to adjust to the uncomfortable ties that come with being 6 hours away from her sunny southern California home. Along the way she measured and assessed her past, present, and future, admiring the growth that had occurred while observing obstacles where she caved. She craved change, even though she knew the journey would be uncharted because of her family's history. 


The story and journey that I am walking through today are because my past self took a risk, she submitted herself to faith and hope of new possibilities by taking the advice of a mentor, boss, and friend who affirmed her position and capabilities, pushing her potential for the better. 
In truth, I often have deep conversations with my mother about where I am now. I tell her how “I was never supposed to make it,” in return she looks at me with confusion, at times with anger, as she thinks the opposite. From my perspective being the last child of 5, who has experienced many losses that caused my high school academic experience to fluctuate negatively, who has somehow made it to the collegiate level by the grace of her God, who has battled insecurities and imposter syndrome, who has vivid accounts of people telling her that she can't prevail, who has endured much…should have emerged differently. I am blessed to have supporters who have truly seen my potential to engage and see spaces differently, even when I don’t notice when I do myself. The personal connections, educational travel experiences, and even the unkind obstacles that shaped my undergraduate experience all contributed to my growth not only as a person but as an intellectual. 

I sought to find a new place, a new people, to call home, where I can curate new understanding and indulge in conversation with like-minded individuals who also craved the change that birthed my educational desires. 
I found a home and community at UW Bothell. My professors are nurturers of perspective, my peers are champions of storytelling, my students are advocates of opportunity, and my bosses are practitioners of patience. Each negotiates the diversity of life experiences against socially constructed presumptions of what is appropriate, needed, and understood. Within the Cultural studies program, we use the curriculums literature to add value to storytelling and acknowledge how it adds perspective to differences. Currently, I am taking a course titled Gender and the Politics of Numbers, this analysis of economics introduces us to the complexities behind the numbers and surveys that drive access in the global and national economy. My classmates and I share agreeable and disagreeable moments and share our testimonies that individually validate our intersectionality on the topic. It showcases the multiplicities of our learning and the diversity of students at UW Bothell. Although our conversations can contain controversy I am able to understand as I unlearn, learn, and rethink how they capture knowledge, whether it is common or not. 
Conversations have a similar impact across UW Bothell and UW Seattle campus’ as I interact with students from the Black Graduate Student Association(BGSA), Native American Graduate Students, Graduate Student Equity and Excellence(GSEE) Outreaching Grads, and other graduate students from a variety of programs. I've had the unique opportunity to engage with others in creating a short series on Anti-Racist Pedagogies. Collaborating with Cinema and Media Studies students to spread awareness and tools on how to engage and practice research that various scholars have curated on the matter validates the cross-departmental need to engage and uplift literature that acknowledges the abilities and open-mindedness of anti-racist policy and practice. 

Being a student at the University of Washington is unfathomable to my past self. The resources, experiences, and curriculum that the university presents, in a way, mends some of my missing pieces. Because the change I was seeking was primarily educational during my undergraduate experience, reflecting now I have not given myself the opportunity to fully re-indulge in other things since the beginning of the lockdown. The university’s recreation services have taken me out of my comfort zone to the mountains where I learned alongside graduate and undergraduate students in nature as we snowshoed the beautiful landscape for which Washington is known. GSEE helped me unplug from the deep studies and reconnect with others on the same journey, establishing many relationships, from the Masters of Social Work program in particular. BGSA pushes me off campus to connect and engage with the Black community, such as spending time at the Northwest African American Museum grand opening. And Dr. S Charusheela merges academic and self-exploration through our independent research project, which will be presenting research on intersectionality and feminist economics in Cape Code, South Africa this summer, further extending the positive reach that UW has. Although my studies, curriculum, and professors are exquisite in encouraging academic enrichment, what has been learned and observed outside of the classroom has become salient in defining my overall experience. 
    Even now, at the age of 23, I sometimes cannot comprehend that I am here. UW Bothell and those on my application review committee recognized something in me as they dissected my materials. They noticed my potential and provided me with the tools to unlock and understand it. I am extremely grateful for the experience that I have had thus far with my professors, advisors, and cohort, who also recognize the leadership qualities that I possess as they selected me as their Graduate Student Liaison(GSL). It is because of what I have learned from them that I am now pursuing a career in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion outside of higher education spaces. They have shown what it means to be part of an educational academic community, it's where we share knowledge, resources, initiatives, workload, passion, and more. I have a long road ahead of me, but I will forever retain the knowledge and possibilities discovered from this dawg pack that I found at the University of Washington. 

With graduation in sight, and in recognition of my past I affirm this journey as part of my 17-year-old self's wildest dream.