IMPROVEMENT
Autumn 2018
I began the quarter terrified and humbled: a big school with the best of the best in every class can be a bit intimidating. My first mid-terms didn't go as well as planned and I found myself wallowing in self-pity. I knew, though, that was not a step in the direction I needed to take: I had to study harder and figure out how to use the resources available to me to my benefit.
Hope prevails: my second mid-terms proved much higher scores and reminded me that I can work hard and see the rewards!
PODCAST
You Thought You Were an Environmentalist
In my Environmental Justice composition class, we spent all quarter developing a podcast. I worked in a group with two other students and we explored the question: How does climate change disproportionately affect women of color? I struggled at times with finding unique evidence, as we were expected to contribute 15 minutes of discussion each and my group had chosen such a narrow topic of women of color’s health as a result of climate change. However, this helped me hone my research skills and learn to get creative in gathering evidence. I was also able to produce something really cool and new! It felt kind of weird but neat to open Spotify and hear my voice, and it was fun to share with people!
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My podcast group was also featured in an article for the UW Geography Department! They talked about the series as a whole and then asked us about our individual experiences creating the podcast. Here's a link to the article!
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And here is a link to the podcast itself! Ours is Series 1: Episode 7
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Immigration Cartoon
I took an immigration class this quarter and learned so much about a topic close to home– both from my identity as the daughter of an immigrant and living in Washington state with such an impressive immigrant population.
One assignment asked us to create a cartoon applying a concept from class. I chose social illegality, the phenomenon in which immigrants experience a form of social exclusion regardless of their legal status due to native perception of immigrant characteristics as illegal. This cartoon depicted people with varying skin tones and clothing or uniforms, asking if you can tell who is “illegal” based on looks alone– the implication is that you cannot, as even if there are stereotypes you would like to rely on, these alone cannot inform you of someone else’s story.
