Be yourself and prioritize yourself. It’s easy to get lost in the sauce. So many new people, opportunities, freedom, and it’s all very exciting. But don’t lose yourself in the process. Everyone’s weird so you’ll find your people and your friends that are weird like you. It’ll suck to pretend to be someone and think you found friends who have the same interests just to later find out that they don’t. Being yourself will lend yourself to a happier college experience.
My parents. They’ve always been there and never forced a vision for my life. They never told me what I had to do. My parents didn’t force me to be a doctor. They allow me to be myself and achieve my goals. They also remind me to do things for myself. They ground me when I’m out of my depth, and they give me a reality check when needed. But also my friends have been there for me. I have great friends. I don’t try to rely on others, but friends are there for me whether I ask or not.
Always trying to make my parents proud. They were immigrants and sacrificed so much so that my brother and I could do what we wanted and achieve our goals. I want to do things that make them proud and exemplify the way they raised me. I’m also self motivated and know that I have the potential to succeed. I want to be able to provide a life for my parents similar to how they provided for me. I want to make them happy.
Make more and new friends after graduating. I’m introverted at my core and talking to strangers will be difficult. But I’m excited about meeting new people in a new city and exploring.
Being BUILD director. I learned a lot and was challenged a lot as a leader in both good and bad ways. I became a much stronger leader, which was good because I value my leadership abilities. I grew as a person and learned a lot about myself. I learned to work with peers and friends on a professional level. Also worked with adults, such as admin, parents, other people in the community. Also worked with the 80 kids coming to campus for the first time. Just trying to make a home for them and push them to learn more about themselves. BUILD also allowed me to meet my friends and it set the foundation for my entire Duke experience. I wouldn’t be the same without BUILD, and I might not have done DUU.
Project BUILD. I’ve been involved since my first year, and it’s a huge part of my journey as a leader and person. I found a lot of community, and learned a lot about myself being the leader of the organization. I was a part of club volleyball for a bit, which was nice because I played volleyball my entire childhood. So I’m glad that I got to continue. I was able to meet people that I probably wouldn’t have met, and it was a great way to release energy and it was so much fun traveling to tourneys. It was competitive but not stressful. I was also involved with undergrad research, specifically volunteering at multiple psych labs.
In my free time, I like to loiter first floor perkins. I also love to read, especially Percy Jackson. I reread it every summer. I like to watch tv shows and hang out with friends. I also like to explore and enjoy local food.
I want to be a doctor. Not sure about what kind yet. I have a lot of thoughts about it. I love being a Psych major,and mental health is very important to me. Also, I’m very interested in ER doctor because I got to shadow my uncle. Maybe even pediatrician. Also been watching Greys recently. I wanna focus on equity also and maybe even work at a teaching hospital in the long term future. I just want to help people feel better.
They are not. I’m premed majoring in psychology with minors in global health and biology. There’s no alignment and I kinda like it like that. DUU allows me to get creativity out in a productive way, and I’m able to utilize different parts of me. All the skills I learned in DUU will help in my academic endeavors. In DUU, I always worked with administrative things, which I think will help with career goals
The people. Everyone is really hardworking and passionate about why they’re in DUU. Everyone gives 100% to their work, which is a common thing between everyone. This made it really easy to work together and be friends. I love the advisors, and they’re our friends. Tea was my advisor last year and is one of my favorite people. She was basically the therapist I never had to pay for. She was always there for me and listened to my problems. Other people have helped me grow. There’s so much diversity in backgrounds, interests, and leadership styles in DUU.
Currently I’m washed up. But this year I was executive VP. I love to describe my position as the grout of DUU, and how it fills in all the empty spaces of DUU. I help the president a lot, and I’m basically the right hand of the president. I fill in any gaps that any chairs have and help wherever needed. I was focused on supporting, especially in this virtual year. Usually, Frank would be serious and logistical in meetings, so I would try to keep things light and fun. I help in the community aspect also and got a lot of behind the scenes info. I was a big part of a lot of decisions and basically just worked with Frank very closely.
So I got involved because I was harassed by an upperclassman at the activity fair and went to the first GBM and learned about the FIP, which I did. I was drawn to DUU because I did student council in high school, but at first I thought I wanted to do DSG because the student council at my high school was like the student government. I also went to high school with Liv McKinney, who was actually student body president. But I think I was more comfortable with DUU because a lot of BUILD upperclassmen were in DUU and I got accepted into the FIP, which I loved.
DUU has helped me grow as a leader, and I’m able to be creative and make a tangible difference but also learn a lot of professional skills. I’ve met so many awesome people, who have made me want to stay in the community. Overall, I’ve grown a lot as a person but also as a professional and adult.
