Why did you choose to attend Colby?
After I met the Colby softball coach at a camp in California, I visited the campus and instantly fell in love. I really enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and saw a lot of great opportunities that the college had to offer. I loved the sense of community, the academic rigor, and beautiful facilities were a great bonus.
Why did you choose to be a Division III student-athlete?
I knew I wanted to pursue a strong academic school and I knew that going Division III would enable me to still play softball competitively, while also preparing me for a successful career. It provides a perfect balance of taking a demanding course schedule and training for a collegiate sport. I love that even though softball takes up a lot of my time, I have been able to explore my other interests throughout my time at Colby.
What is the best thing about being part of the NESCAC?
The best thing about being part of the NESCAC is that all the teams are incredibly competitive. I love the challenge of facing tough competition that challenges you to play at your best.
What is your dream job/career?
My dream job since I have taken my first computer science course at Colby has been to be a software engineer, and this has somewhat shifted over the years. More recently, I have seen some cool new things in computer science that encourage more discovery in medicine. I would love to find a spot where my work can make an impact in the field of medicine because there are so many areas where technological advancements can continue to positively impact the healthcare field.
What is one positive takeaway you learned about yourself during the pandemic?
The pandemic forced everybody to take a step back and look at what is truly important, and it reminded me to take some time every so often to rest and recover. I was able to spend a lot of time with my family and we were able to grow closer.
What extracurricular activities or service activities do you participate in,?
I am a part of Colby Cares About Kids. I heard about it when I first got to Colby and joined the group because it sounded like a great program. Colby’s students are paired with local elementary school students and we act as both a mentor and a friend for the student. I was paired with my student my first year and I have been visiting him every week since then! Once COVID hit, we started to write weekly letters to keep in touch as much as possible. The kids get so excited when we come to visit, so this program has been really rewarding to participate in and hopefully has a positive impact on the community.
Looking back on your four years, what are you most proud of?
My dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer a couple of days before my 20th birthday, and two weeks before my sophomore season started. He passed away six months later. My mom has been bedridden for years due to a rare condition called MALS. The summer after my sophomore year, I slept on the chair in the hospital room more often than I slept in a regular bed. This was an incredibly difficult time for my family, but I learned a lot about myself and the people around me during that period. I learned how resilient I am, and how strong I am in the face of adversity. Most importantly, I learned how resilient my family is, and will forever be proud of my mom, my sister, and my brother because they are the strongest people I know.
What is your hometown famous for?
We live close to Coloma, where the Gold Rush in California first started. So, our town served as a pit stop for a lot of gold miners who were traveling to California to find gold.
What is something you enjoy doing that you never get tired of?
Listening to good music. I never take a walk to the athletic complex without a good playlist going!
What has been your favorite class outside of your major?
My favorite class outside of my major was “Critical Race Feminisms and Tap Dance” because we learned how to tap dance! The class covered serious topics regarding racism. We were able to have difficult conversations throughout the lecture period and then capped the class out with some dancing! I took it with a teammate, and we were pretty terrible at almost all the dance moves, but we had a lot of fun with it.
Who is your favorite professor?
Bruce Maxwell. He is an incredible professor. He is always crazy busy and works out constantly, whether he is training for a triathlon or running his office hours from “10 p.m. – Late.” He also teaches great courses and cares a great deal about his students. I was lucky to be able to take so many courses with him!
What internships/research projects have you participated in?
I participated in a research project that explored mutualistic interactions by examining how animal and plant species engaged in pollination. My research group built a spatially explicit cellular automata model to examine the behavior of plant and animal species and the benefits of this mutualistic interaction. This was a fun project since we were able to start from scratch and build a cool model that had not been built before. There were a lot of interesting projects I encountered while researching for this project, and it is exciting to see projects in interdisciplinary sciences gain more traction.
What has been the most interesting part of your major?
Something that I really found interesting about computer science is how it can be applied to so many other fields and can make a huge impact wherever it is applied. I especially enjoyed taking a class in Computational Modeling which was focused on building projects that applied to the natural and social sciences. Computer science continues to make leaps and bounds in developing other sciences and I am excited to see what more can come out of this research.
What advice would your 2021 self give your 2017 self?
Take more pictures and videos of the people in your life. Make sure you capture as much as you can, especially moments with the family. Focus on the big moments, but get the ordinary things as well. You’ll treasure them forever.
What is your favorite place on your campus?
My favorite place on campus is Miller Lawn in the spring because I love to hang out with my friends and relax in the sun.
Who has been the most influential person on you during your time in college?
My professor, Eric Aaron, has been the most influential person during my time in college because he provided incredible support during a difficult time. He showed a lot of grace to me during a hard time that I was otherwise not getting, and it meant a lot to me. I am so grateful for the conversations we were able to have and appreciate him so much!
