I thrive in unfamiliar settings. I was originally drawn to higher education because of how unfamiliar it was to me. As a first-generation college student, I was lost in the college admissions process. When I graduated college, I wanted to continue to advocate for college access. For the past six years, I have worked in college admissions at my alma mater, Scripps College. I simply cannot imagine the person I would be today without my Scripps experience – a women’s college experience – as an admissions staff member and as alumna. I have become confident, courageous, and hopeful as a student, person, and leader.
My Philosophy
While my background and career experience demonstrate my dedication to college access and the field of higher education, I am not solely interested in access to higher education. I am passionate about my college admissions career, but I would feel incomplete with just that. Projects and hobbies outside of higher education complement my sense of fulfillment. I love the complexity of the human experience. My experience as an anthropology major encouraged me to approach the ‘unfamiliar’ from the ‘familiar’ and the ‘familiar’ from the ‘unfamiliar’. What can I learn from those with different life experiences than my own? How can I make a meaningful impact, small or large? For example, what do I learn about human resiliency when I volunteer at Mountain Respite Camp with a group of individuals affected by mental illness? How do I strengthen a community of lapidary enthusiasts that has already existed for six decades? How do I advocate for a student in our selective admissions process? Or, what do I learn when I watch movies about life journeys unfamiliar to my own – such as a competitive cowboy living on a Native American reservation or an aspiring female wrestler?
My sense of purpose stems from my belief that small impacts can feel large. When I strive to make an impact, I often think of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story“. Adichie warns her audience of reducing a person, a group, a community down to one particular stereotype or aspect. I do not believe that anyone has a single story, and I strive to see the complexity of one’s story as I navigate my role in higher education and life outside of it. I continue to learn from what I do not know. While I do not think I will solve the world’s mental health, political divisions, or higher education systems, I know that my impact in these smaller communities can pave the way for global impact.
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie