HONORS EXPERIENCES.
AACRC TransitionsDuring my freshman year of college, I had the privilege to be apart of the Transitions Class of 2017. The Transitions program is run by the AACRC and its purpose is to increase retention and provide resources for African American students as they navigate their college careers. They do this through workshops, mentorships, and other social and academic activities to ensure that we successfully adjust to college. Transitions students get connected to faculty, staff, alumni and others in order to provide a fundamental support network and UC family.
I was able to participate in different programs, gained a mentor, and had the opportunity to give a speech on behalf of my peers at the annual Kuamka Ball. The Transitions Program helped me to find myself, establish a support system, and provide a foundation for my campus leadership and the impact that I want to make. I learned from the village keepers, the movers and shakers, and the innovators, and now it's my turn to go leave my mark. I plan to invest in the next generation of incoming students to help them develop as scholars, campus leaders, and young professionals through mentorship and connection to all of the resources and relationships that I have. |
The David Project
My trip to Israel is one of the most moving life experiences that I've had to date. I got the chance to travel to Israel with an organization called The David Project and went with campus leaders from across the country. We learned about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, world religions with a focus on judaism, and general middle east history and politics. This experience was not only educational, but also inspiring and humbling in so many ways.
While the curriculum of this experience was loaded, the most important takeaway was the relationships that I built and stories I got to hear from some amazing peoples' lives. I will never forget going to the Western Wall, climbing up the ladder of a home in the middle of Jerusalem, going to "the shook", floating in the Dead Sea, roaming the desert, or living in a kibbutz for a few days. These memories just begin to crack the surface of how amazing it was spending time with these bright and intelligent people. I learned some incredible lessons while on this trip. One of the biggest things that was revealed to me is that even though life gets hard, sometimes its easier to look forward when you can look back and appreciate how far you've already come. This was said by the Student Body President at MSU when she shared her tremendous story with us. I will always cherish these friendships and experiences and feel a connection to the land of Israel because of this trip. |
Facebook Internship
My Facebook Internship this summer was incredible. My biggest takeaway was that "the company you keep is more important than the company you work for", and in this case both were more than I could've ever asked for.From the new projects that I worked on, the additional people that I got to meet, and the overall level of productivity and satisfaction, these last four weeks felt great. My manager was a major factor in making my experience positive, as well as my intern pod as a whole. We even got a chance to work on an additional project where we used our dog-fooding credits to collaborate with Casa Marianella and help them run a campaign to garner donations for their nonprofit work in Austin. Also, Black@ATX was been instrumental in helping my peers and I to feel welcomed and a part of the Facebook family.
Skills That I Will Take With Me
• Work Prioritization: No matter what role I get into, I will have to learn to balance my time and prioritize the projects I'm working on by time sensitivity and importance/impact. Furthermore, if I am working with a book of business or any revenue drivers, I will have to apply a level of prioritization there as well. The Facebook tiering system of Revenue vs. Opportunity and Qualitative vs. Quantitative is a framework that I will definitely take with me.
• Presentation Skills: Most of my experience in presenting has been on more specific things or through a very analytical approach. My manager helped me to develop presentations that are high level in nature, but bring in enough supporting details & context to be the most effective for the audience. Additionally, I have become more comfortable in my delivery by having a chance to present to my manager and other managers.
• Team Collaboration: Working on team projects during this internship helped me understand how to utilize the strengths of each member, align on strategy, and trust teammates to deliver their contributions. Because everyone on our team was so talented, I learned to contribute where I could and also let others' skills accommodate for my areas of opportunity such as aesthetics and creative.
Skills That I Will Take With Me
• Work Prioritization: No matter what role I get into, I will have to learn to balance my time and prioritize the projects I'm working on by time sensitivity and importance/impact. Furthermore, if I am working with a book of business or any revenue drivers, I will have to apply a level of prioritization there as well. The Facebook tiering system of Revenue vs. Opportunity and Qualitative vs. Quantitative is a framework that I will definitely take with me.
• Presentation Skills: Most of my experience in presenting has been on more specific things or through a very analytical approach. My manager helped me to develop presentations that are high level in nature, but bring in enough supporting details & context to be the most effective for the audience. Additionally, I have become more comfortable in my delivery by having a chance to present to my manager and other managers.
• Team Collaboration: Working on team projects during this internship helped me understand how to utilize the strengths of each member, align on strategy, and trust teammates to deliver their contributions. Because everyone on our team was so talented, I learned to contribute where I could and also let others' skills accommodate for my areas of opportunity such as aesthetics and creative.
Sydney, Australia
After disconnecting for the last couple of weeks while traveling to Sydney, Australia, I’ve been able to learn immerse myself in another culture, taking the furthest trip I’ve ever been on in my life. I traveled to Sydney for my INTB 5022 course, Economics of Immigration. This course had a large focus on studying the advantages and disadvantages that immigration has on local and nation economies, specifically in Australia as a country made up of many immigrants. Throughout the semester, this course allowed me to learn more about the history of Australia, the nature of their immigration environment, their policies, and general things about the culture. The class prepared me well to actually travel to the country somewhat informed so that I could ask thorough questions to the different speakers and have some background knowledge. Having this experience in Australia was particularly interesting because it’s the first time I’ve been to another part of the world that felt so much like America. The city is very westernized since it was colonized by the British in the late 1780s.
Some of the highlights from the experience were:
The most beneficial session for me was hearing Michael Combs, CEO of CareerTrackers and CareerSeekers, speak to our class for about an hour and a half. Michael was genuine, intelligent, and clearly an accomplished and respected leader. Hearing his story about how he grew up in Colorado, went on to be an executive at HP, and then resigned and dedicated his career to finding opportunities for indigenous people and refugees, was inspiring to say the least. Seeing the type of leader he was and how he was willing to create his own path and dedicate his career to such impactful work really stuck with me. I followed up with Michael afterwards, and we have a Skype call scheduled for next week to discuss more about his path and his companies. As I look at post-grad opportunities prior to law school, this is definitely the kind of work I could see myself doing for a short-term period to make an impact on society, so I look forward to connecting with him soon.
My two experience goals were to spend time at the University of Sydney on my own, as well as visit the Indigineous Business Association. I was able to see the IBA at one of our lectures and I visited USyd two of the five extra days that I stayed in Australia with some friends. Going to the University of Sydney, exploring their campus, and spending some time with students was very insightful and makes you realize how different, yet still similar our experiences are as students. I enjoyed seeing what college life was like at their school and was even able to slide in to one of my friend’s International Marketing lectures. Additionally, my personal goals for the trip were to try a new food everyday, as well as watch a film or read a book about Australia prior to travelling. Between nibbling on indigenous herbs and plants, eating Tim Tams for dessert, trying kangaroo and duck, Australian sausages and bacon, and various different Asian dishes, I definitely had my fair share of new foods. Prior to the trip I was also able to listen to the audio book, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, where he speaks about his five trips to Australia and gives a lot of history and experiences of the land.
Three takeaways from this trip that will last with me throughout my life:
Some of the highlights from the experience were:
- Meeting with John Glover, CEO of Oz Migration, at the Hill Shire City Council to talk about Australian immigration and contracting immigrants for employment
- Meeting with an Indigenous tour guide at Watson’s Bay for a guided walking tour and learning about the history of the area and the traditional indigenous land owners, their culture, beliefs, and way of life.
- Seeing the Sydney Symphony Orchestra play at the Sydney Opera House
- Visiting The Trading Circle, a nonprofit run by CEO Bindi Lea that prepares asylum seekers and refugees to start their own business
- Meeting with Michael Combs, CEO of CareerTrackers and CareerSeekers, companies that have strategic partnerships with large corporations to employ indigenous Australians and refugees, respectively
- Visiting Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park, where we got to pet kangaroos, emus, a koala, and a tasmanian devil, as well as see some other native animals
The most beneficial session for me was hearing Michael Combs, CEO of CareerTrackers and CareerSeekers, speak to our class for about an hour and a half. Michael was genuine, intelligent, and clearly an accomplished and respected leader. Hearing his story about how he grew up in Colorado, went on to be an executive at HP, and then resigned and dedicated his career to finding opportunities for indigenous people and refugees, was inspiring to say the least. Seeing the type of leader he was and how he was willing to create his own path and dedicate his career to such impactful work really stuck with me. I followed up with Michael afterwards, and we have a Skype call scheduled for next week to discuss more about his path and his companies. As I look at post-grad opportunities prior to law school, this is definitely the kind of work I could see myself doing for a short-term period to make an impact on society, so I look forward to connecting with him soon.
My two experience goals were to spend time at the University of Sydney on my own, as well as visit the Indigineous Business Association. I was able to see the IBA at one of our lectures and I visited USyd two of the five extra days that I stayed in Australia with some friends. Going to the University of Sydney, exploring their campus, and spending some time with students was very insightful and makes you realize how different, yet still similar our experiences are as students. I enjoyed seeing what college life was like at their school and was even able to slide in to one of my friend’s International Marketing lectures. Additionally, my personal goals for the trip were to try a new food everyday, as well as watch a film or read a book about Australia prior to travelling. Between nibbling on indigenous herbs and plants, eating Tim Tams for dessert, trying kangaroo and duck, Australian sausages and bacon, and various different Asian dishes, I definitely had my fair share of new foods. Prior to the trip I was also able to listen to the audio book, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, where he speaks about his five trips to Australia and gives a lot of history and experiences of the land.
Three takeaways from this trip that will last with me throughout my life:
- While society sees immigration and refugees as a liability in most cases, there are several ways that they can be assets–economically, culturally, and politically. As a global society, we should put as much effort into providing asylum for those who need it as we do to using immigration for capitalistic labor interests
- History gives us information about the past, present, and the future. Learning so much about Australian history showed me the parallels to America and other countries. Once you understand the past, it starts to unravel why things are the way that they are now. Three courses I took this semester were International Relations, International Politics and Economics of Asia, and Economics of Immigration. Having completed these course prior to this trip was extremely timely because my level of education of the region’s political and economic environment was very sharp and allowed me to make a ton of academic and real-world connections throughout this experience.
- To experience things you’ve never seen, you must put yourself in a situation that you never have before. When I went abseiling in the Blue Mountains knowing that I was mildly afraid of heights, I had no idea just how terrified I would get as we bounced off of cliffs between 800-1500 feet in the air, traversed through the mountains, and hiked a dangerous hike back to the top. For all four hours I was a nervous for my life, but I also saw the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen in my life of the mountains and rainforests in the national park. While I can’t say I’d do it again, it was definitely worth it.