家乡: Puyallup,佤邦
专业: 心理学与社会学
My mom is an elementary school teacher and my dad is a pastor. 在我成长的过程中, I always appreciated the opportunity to watch my parents work in their different disciplines — my mom in her classroom and my dad in the church. Certain aspects of their professions began to intrigue me, which is why I decided to pursue degrees in 心理学与社会学 and become an elementary school counselor.
When I was a freshman in high school, my older sister decided to attend SPU. I had the chance to visit her while she lived on 3rd Hill, and even had the opportunity to attend Decade Skate. When it came time for me to start looking at colleges, I didn’t want to follow in my sister’s footsteps just because SPU was familiar. But after multiple college applications and visits, SPU was the only place that felt like home.
Because of SPU’s welcoming environment, I was able to get involved with things that interested me. Walks to Gas Works Park and spontaneous trips to Portland led me to be a student ministry coordinator during my second year and a resident advisor for my third and fourth years. Attending hall events, playing intramural volleyball, and even going to Guatemala with SPRINT (西雅图 Pacific Reachout International) have all allowed me to develop deep relationships with the people around me.
Growing up in a Christian home made it easier for me to get stuck in a rut with my faith. Since the Bible was already so familiar to me, it felt like I was hearing the same things repeatedly. But SPU has forced me to realize that I still have room to grow, especially in my faith. I’ve learned to approach church, 祈祷, and reading the Bible as an opportunity to learn something new and gain a new perspective.
Examining the Bible from an academic point of view is largely due to the influence of my professors. Last year, I enrolled in Dr. Paul Youngbin Kim’s Cross-Cultural Psychology class, and it was one of the most life-changing classes I have ever taken. 我很感激博士. Kim created a safe and discussion-centered environment, especially in a class dealing with sensitive subject matter.
I’m looking forward to engaging in more meaningful class discussions as I plan to attend SPU’s 学校心理咨询 研究生项目. I’m eager to take the knowledge I’ve acquired over the past four years and apply it to new classes, and ultimately to a career in counseling.