Tag: Scholar Voices

Although my academic career at Pitzer College has come to an end, my learning journey will not. Two weeks prior to graduation, the foreseeable future was ironically still abstract and difficult for me to grasp. It brought me a feeling of excitement and nostalgia, encouraging me to reflect on my last four years at Pitzer College and six years as an Earl Woods Scholar.

With graduation on the horizon, I cannot help but reflect on my personal growth over the last four years. College has definitely served as a formative experience in my life – one where I’ve had several opportunities to critically engage with my identity.

We called ourselves “The First Five.” That summer of 2008, Avni, Omar, Pau, Stephanie and I (thought we) were the coolest kids at the TGR Learning Lab. In our pre-planned, color-coordinated outfits, we assisted teachers and students in building mouse trap cars and launching rockets.
Interspersed with all the fun, we learned from community and business leaders how to build our résumés, network with professionals and present with confidence. I’m not entirely sure, but I think that was the last time I ended a presentation with an awkward grin and a “…So yeah.” In my current position as an Academic Counselor at UC Irvine, I enjoy mentoring students through college and toward their graduate school and career goals.

Computers have always enthralled me. As a child, I was spellbound by my family’s old Dell computer. For nearly a decade, I would go onto different websites solely to learn more about computers. It didn’t always come easily – like when I installed a virus trying to make a website – but I ultimately grew very comfortable behind a keyboard. I sought to understand the mechanics of computers, and I built my own computer the same year I took my AP Computer Science course. My passion for computers has led me to many exciting opportunities.

For a long time, back to my high school days, I remember wanting to become a civil engineer at my dad’s advice. I’ve had my eye on this particular goal in large part because I had a strong desire to help communities by designing and implementing safe civil infrastructure. As an Earl Woods Scholar and with the support of my family, I set my dreams in motion when I was accepted as an engineering student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

This fall, Yeon Jin Lee will begin pursuing her MFA in the Film/TV Production Program at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. And what’s more, Yeon Jin already has a short film out, Driving While Undocumented, which is not only based on a true story, but points a spotlight on a topic that shaped her own life and the lives of many more in the U.S.—immigration.

Earl Woods Scholar and University of California, Irvine rising sophomore, Ruben Triscareno spent the summer interning with the Tiger Woods Foundation. Based at the TGR Learning Lab in Anaheim these past few months, Ruben joined the academic support staff, assisting in all aspects of our STEM and college access summer programs. Read on to learn some high points from his summer, including what he gained from his experience helping out during our High School Summer Academy.

In our latest Scholar Voices feature, we hear from Earl Woods Scholar Christopher Camacho, a rising sophomore majoring in computer engineering at Boston’s Tufts University. This summer, Christopher returns to his hometown of Santa Ana, California and brings with him his passion for computers and technology in hopes of providing much needed resources to his community and peers. Learn more about Christopher’s student-led computer science pilot program at his alma mater, Santa Ana High School, and how he hopes to introduce and engage more students in the field of STEM.

In this month’s Scholar Voices series, we hear from recent Temple University graduate and Earl Woods Scholar alum Mariah Green. Full of ambition and brimming with a deep desire to leave this world better than she found it, Mariah poignantly reflects on the undue responsibility many first-generation students feel to accept high-paying, less-fulfilling career paths […]

Earl Woods Scholar and Boston College sophomore Felix Lee writes in to our college voices series this month offering a very real glimpse at the current racial tensions affecting students of color on many college campuses across the U.S. Lee chronicles his own experience partaking in “Blackout,” a peaceful protest at Boston College and explains […]