Who am I?
Well, back in the 4th grade, I was a bright-eyed little kid who loved rocks, Kobe Bryant, basketball, cheeseburgers, and pasta. After looking back at that video, I understand why I am the person I am now. Being from Los Angeles, nature looks a little bit different than say living near the mountains in Colorado or amidst the greenery of Portland, Oregon. Since I couldn’t look up towards the mountains or look out at vast forests of greenery, my eyes gravitated towards the ground. No matter where I would go, my eyes would scan the ground in hopes of stumbling across a “cool” rock that I would add to my collection. Yes, you read that right. I collected and still collect rocks to this day. As an aspiring geologist, I knew that I had to keep my rock identifying skills sharp. Now, every great rock collector has a favorite rock, and I found my favorite rock and so much more while at the beach with my dad and sister. Going to the beach was always a special occasion, especially since our favorite beach to go to was about a 45-minute drive away. This was our favorite beach because it was never very crowded which made exploring tide pools and enjoying the sun a great family bonding experience. On one particular visit,
I was walking around the tide pools and stumbled upon a giant rock with a quartz vein in it. I remember how I felt seeing the sun bounce off the rock, making the quartz sparkle. I must have been around 8 or 9 years old, but at that moment, I recognized just how beautiful nature is. Surrounding this giant rock were sea snails and hermit crabs and sea anemone. This one immovable, inorganic object was supporting so much life. The rock didn’t have to do anything special; in fact, all it had to do was be there. Although this rock is not physically in my collection, seeing this rock led to my first realization that I wanted to be there and support our environment.
*Photo from a biology field trip to Davenport. Similar to the tide pools I saw as a kid.*
Who do I want to be?
Fast-forwarding to my Junior year of high school, I took an environmental science class to further my understanding of our world and its systems. This class helped me realize the extent to which our environment is interconnected and how it takes a multidisciplinary approach to solve our environmental issues. Being a product of Jesuit education— 8 years once I complete my college experience—, I’ve always enjoyed approaching problems from multiple perspectives and have internalized the Jesuit values of making a social impact that improves the lives of others. As I moved deeper into the environmental science field, the human component became more and more apparent. Environmental science is just as much about people as it is about the environment; through this realization, I discovered that environmental science is a field that can fulfill my passion for and belief in helping both people and the environment. While environmental science provides me with a physical science background and perspective, I knew I needed a social science perspective as well, leading me to political science. I would be remiss to not mention that my general interest in politics, specifically law and policy-making, also played a big role in my decision to add a major in political science. With the skill set of both a social scientist and a physical scientist, I have had quite a few aspirations float across my head. I could be an environmental lawyer, a non-profit founder, or even President of the United States. The funny thing about my mind is the fact that I perceive all three of these aspirations as being a part of a linear journey rather than existing as separate paths. Furthermore, after countless hours of career discernment throughout my life, I’ve realized that each and every career I’ve considered has an underlying theme: service to others. I believe that my vocation is to live a life that is in service to both our world and its people. Both my academic career and lived experiences have shown me that my strong communication and interpersonal skills make me an effective and respected teammate and leader; so, why not try and make real change? A social entrepreneur believes in taking direct actions to change existing systems, shifting the equilibrium of our world in a way that benefits the most underprivileged and marginalized. Within my heart, I hold the values of a social entrepreneur. The GSBF fellowship is an opportunity for me to develop those internal values and desires of social entrepreneurship into external actions.
Why do I want to act?
Action research, a key component of the GSBF fellowship, is an experience that I am very passionate about pursuing, especially after my experience conducting research in Tanzania while studying abroad. In the classes leading up to our fieldwork experience, my research professor through the School for Field Studies told us that we are collecting data and doing our research projects, not for ourselves, but to bring information back to the community and have an impact.
After conducting countless interviews on people’s perceptions of birth control, their use of firewood, and their observations of environmental changes, our research groups split off, wrote our respective research reports, and prepared for our community presentations.
A key component of these presentations was a section that offered solutions based on the data that were specific to the varying problems. Hundreds of community members filled our small dining hall and listened to each group’s presentation. At the end of each presentation, community members would ask questions about the information or comment on the viability of the solutions presented.
This experience taught me that it is important to share research findings with the community you are conducting research in so that they can benefit from the information. While being able to share the information I gathered with the community was a good feeling, I wanted to act on the data. Action research is an opportunity for me to do research and act. Moreover, this action is not temporary. Action research provides sustainable action by placing agency in the hands of the beneficiaries. Through the GSBF fellowship, I will have the opportunity to make a real difference and develop social entrepreneurship skills so that I can continue to make lasting change.