Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: San Diego, California
How long have you been walking backwards, leading tours? One year
Major: Nutrition Science
Minor: Psychology
Why did you choose UC Davis?
I chose UC Davis originally because it was an academically renowned school with a college town, student-centered environment. I also choose UC Davis for the friendly, welcoming people, the hundreds of easily accessible resources, and the campus's dedication to diversity, equality and inclusivity.
What is your favorite thing about UC Davis?
The people. Davis is full of unique, friendly and helpful people that will blow you away. They are the easiest people to make friends with, whether you sit next to each other in a class or just bump into each other on the Quad. The people of UC Davis are what make the campus such a vibrant and happy place.
What is your favorite thing about Davis, the town?
My favorite thing about living in a college town is the community's focus on the students. Living on or off campus, it is likely that you are living near other UC Davis students that understand the balance of studying and socializing. The downtown food is college student favorites — burritos, pizza, poke and more. Even the biweekly farmers market feels like a student social event, full of friends picnicing in the grass with their favorite food truck food and fresh produce. Although the town of Davis is larger than the campus, it feels like all of it is welcoming to all students.
Tell us about your favorite class or professor.
My favorite teacher is Dr. Fetter. I had always been very interested in nutrition, but fearing the intimidating reputation of STEM majors, I avoided it in my degree exploration. However, Dr. Fetter's NUT10 class completely flipped my mentality. Not only did the material excite and engage me, Dr. Fetter did as well. She constantly consulted students, connecting our lives to the subjects we studied. She broke down complex topics with great, accessible analogies. She not only valued the education we could gain from the class, but the real life skills that would improve our health. It was there that I realized I also wanted to help people make better choices for their health. So, thanks to Dr. Fetter, I gained the confidence to declare a major in Nutrition Science with an emphasis in public health the next quarter, and I have been invested in it ever since.
What challenges have you overcome as part of university life?
I had to overcome a lot of self-doubt when I first entered UC Davis. I heard about so many others' amazing accomplishments as I got to know them: this SAT score, that many AP courses, whichever great achievement they had achieved in their years prior to Davis. And while it was fascinating to be surrounded by such driven, inspired people, it was hard not to compare. I suddenly began to feel like my accomplishments weren't nearly as impressive. It hit even harder as I struggled in my classes. However, I refused to let my college experience be ruined by self-doubt. I overcame these struggles by reaching out for help, and luckily Davis offered a lot of help. I frequently attended tutoring, spoke with various advisors about improving my work ethic and started getting involved with fulfilling projects. By the end of my fall quarter, I already had multiple accomplishments to be proud of, as well as a confident, positive attitude that propelled me through the rest of the year.