麻豆影院

Benjamin Varga (BusAna, InfoMgmt鈥�24)

Parker, Colorado

鈥淭he on-campus professional business fraternity called Alpha Kappa Psi really influenced my time at CU. Meeting the upperclassmen in that fraternity was my first opportunity to make CU a little bit smaller. I made great friendships in the dorms and everything like that, but being pretty intentional about it and having to go through the process and then getting welcomed with open arms and shown a whole new subset culture of CU 鈥� that was a super cool way to feel a little bit more niche and find a little bit more of a closer circle, especially early on, which is really important.鈥�

Jessica Valadez Fraire (ElEdu鈥�24)

麻豆影院, Colorado

鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening in Palestine has been really impactful to me. I鈥檝e seen more of a community effort to educate ourselves about issues that are happening not only in our communities, but outside of them and how they鈥檙e all connected. I鈥檝e been part of a lot of circles and community spaces where we鈥檙e having critical discussions about injustice, oppression and colonialism, and we鈥檙e starting to build a broader community among a lot of different people that are struggling with issues similar to ours. This has taught me to educate myself and pushed me further into learning about the struggles of other communities and the responsibility I have to spread that message, including using my privilege in being a citizen here, the power in that and the responsibility I have to doing more.鈥�

Elijah Parkes (IntlAf鈥�24)

Superior, Colorado

鈥淚 initially fell into a leadership role in the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� student government, and from there, it allowed me to challenge myself as a leader and do things I never would have been able to do otherwise. Being president of a college student government was not something that I would鈥檝e ever predicted for myself, but I now can鈥檛 imagine my college career without it. And working, networking and helping other people like my peers be leaders as well has been really, really rewarding.鈥�

Matt Guerrero (Math, Phys鈥�24)

Parker, Colorado

鈥淚 struggle a lot with transitioning back into the civilian world after being in the Navy, even now after four or five years. One of my very best friends runs an organization here in physics called COSMOS, the Community of Support for Marginalized and Other Students, which is a diversity-focused group within physics. And because he was one of my best friends and also a veteran, I ended up doing my best to support him in any way I could. And that flipped a switch in me to actively pursue diversity-related issues within STEM, particularly that people who are from underprivileged backgrounds or backgrounds of color don鈥檛 generally get the same attention as people who aren鈥檛.

I鈥檓 half Filipino, half Ashkenazi Jew, and I鈥檝e never really fit in anywhere. As a veteran who鈥檚 joining the civilian community, it鈥檚 difficult to find people you trust and can relate to. This group helped me not only recognize that a lot of people might feel like that wherever they come from, but also that it鈥檚 possible to relate to people who don鈥檛 know exactly what you鈥檝e been through. And through that, I鈥檝e tried to be that person who can do that for others.鈥�

Madison Tallman (Mus鈥�24)

Colorado Springs, Colorado

鈥淐OVID was the biggest event that defined my growth the past few years. That鈥檚 because of how much it affected music specifically. Music is all about collaboration, so missing that element of it, I did see a lot of people struggle with that. I feel like I really just pushed through because I was like, 鈥極nce this is back to normal, it鈥檚 going to be so rewarding.鈥� It really was. And one thing it did for me 鈥� and in high school too because I had so much time to myself 鈥� was really allow me to reflect on what I wanted to do. It was reassuring in a way that, yes, this is what I want to do even though I鈥檓 not able to do these things collaboratively. I pushed through it, and I think it made me stronger in the end.鈥�

Hazel Hays (CompSci鈥�24)

Aurora, Colorado

鈥淭he fight for LGBT rights, especially to do with transgender rights, is a community issue that has shaped my personal growth while in college. It鈥檚 a big topic for me being transgender myself. That鈥檚 been the big defining thing lately for me. It鈥檚 mainly that they are my rights and so they鈥檙e something that I have to fight for.鈥�

Nathan Thompson (Jour鈥�24)

Lafayette, Colorado

鈥淒ue to illness in 2020, I couldn鈥檛 leave my room for two months. It was a lot of time in forced isolation. That really forced me to develop my inward perspective, become more comfortable with myself as a person and develop my own voice and my own self-confidence too. So that was interesting because my network was really small. It was just me and then maybe three or four friends for a while who were really formative in shaping me into who I am today. And I also think mentors too, and a lot of the photographers and professors that I鈥檝e been fortunate enough to get to know and connect with deeply have really helped me and inspired me to continue to work hard and carve out a space for myself as a self-sufficient photographer.鈥�

Shivank Chadda (Math, Phys鈥�24)

Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

鈥淒uring COVID, interestingly, there were a lot of bad things that were going on, but one of the good things was witnessing that the internet is a good place to get your education. And coming from islands where I didn鈥檛 really have internet for 18 years, and right when I started at CU 麻豆影院, I was very lucky to get the internet right at that particular time. And then in January 2023, my brother and I started a YouTube channel on science, 鈥淒octor Chadha,鈥� where we make physics videos based on dynamics and stuff like that. We were able to get 200,000 views per year and around 1,300 subscribers.鈥�

Megan Finnigan (EngrPhys, MechEngr鈥�24)

Superior, Colorado

鈥淢y entire time in my undergraduate career has been shaped a lot by climate-related issues. I鈥檝e been involved with Engineers Without Borders and other environmental organizations on campus, and it鈥檚 something that has driven me to continue to study science and learn how I can make a difference. When I was in Rwanda I met this woman who, when I shook her hand, I noticed she had a Ralphie tattoo on her wrist, and we connected over that. It鈥檚 really cool to be part of a global community where people are looking out for each other and can unite over these shared experiences.聽

Two years ago, my family and I were part of the Marshall Fire, and while we didn鈥檛 lose our house, I saw a lot of my neighbors lose their homes, and we had extensive smoke damage at our house. And that felt like a very real experience of a natural disaster, largely attributed to the effects of climate change and drought. That further ignited the flame in me to keep pushing and pursuing a career where I can make an impact.鈥�

Brandon Dixon (Soc鈥�24)

Castle Rock, Colorado聽

鈥淏eing locked inside the house around my family 24/7 during a dark time really motivated me and gave me a different perspective on life. Just the uncertainty of it all and being around my loved ones at that time showed me that as long as you are around good people, anything can happen.鈥澛�

Hassan Almatrood (MechEngr鈥�24)

Saihat, Saudi Arabia

鈥淚 was studying at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, and I chose to come to CU 麻豆影院 because I always heard from people 鈥� especially from my brother because he knew people who graduated from CU 麻豆影院 鈥� that there is a good community in 麻豆影院. I heard that the university culture is good and there is a balance between studying and social life, which is something that I would appreciate. So I chose to be here and it was correct. I鈥檓 glad that I came here.鈥澛�

Joy Liu (Chem, PortugSpan鈥�24)

Aurora, Colorado

鈥淐OVID definitely made me have a broader outlook on things. I am just more aware of how many different things are tied together. I feel like if I am worried about something, it鈥檚 like, 鈥榃ell, it could be me being upset about this, or it could be tons of other things happening,鈥� and I need to learn how to understand why it鈥檚 happening and then learn how to deal with it.鈥�