I am about to graduate from UCI, to be exact, in September 2012. My high school graduation was long long ago. I did not walk on graduation Sunday, as I am still a little shy sitting among my much younger peers. I did attend the Social Ecology Honor Ceremony to receive my honors student certificate; it was a smaller crowd. I cried, not only because of my own sense of accomplishment, but also, I was deeply touched by other students’ UCI journey.
I thought that I have been working hard, as a transfer student, a first generation immigrant, and a mother of 3 year-old twins. I have been content with my GPA, until the moment when I heard the stories of some of my fellow honor students. UCI helped me, and many others, to become the persons that we had wanted to be. I wished that I had done more, a lot more, to leave an impact on UCI, to pay it forward.
What I had gained at UCI exceeded my expectations. Above all, I experienced the joy of learning, built my confidence in learning, and acquired the method for future learning.
A few months ago, as I was reading a non-course related marketing book, I realized that I have not been consulting my dictionary for a while. I had not started learning English until I was 20 years old. The lack of English proficiency had been my biggest huddle in my academic journey. My past two years’ study in UCI improved my English tremendously so that I can finally enjoy reading in English.
I do still remember, however, how awkward I had felt when I first came to UCI. Things started to change when I visited the Transfer Student Center. I had the chance to get to know my peers, to support and get support from them. I realized that I was not the only non-traditional student who had struggled during the transition period. Sharing with other students opened up other avenues in my life. I find that UCI cares about students’ experience, learning in particular, and that learning opportunities are everywhere.
Thanks to those dedicated professors who required a high standard in both students and themselves, I felt both of my energy and learning ability being challenged in their classes. In my attempt to satisfy these professors’ requirements, to match up to their teaching effort, I gradually became a passionate learner. I have approached many professors during their office hours, seeking a broader perspective, and am always further inspired by their insights and knowledge. In addition, I have followed several of their suggestions and have taken classes in other disciplines during the summer section– not only freeing limited time during the regular quarters, but also enabling me to take honors classes, even further breaking my own pre-conceived academic boundaries and directing me toward a broader, but more fine-tuned academic path.
I heard that UCI was research oriented before I came, and now I can tell what that means. I have participated as a subject in UCI Experimetrix (UC’s social science research participation pool) as much as I could to further my understanding of what researchers actually do, and this has fortified my desire to conduct my own research projects. I have learned both a variety of study designs in the Experimetrix pool, as well as experienced the thinking processes of the participants. UROP and the Social Ecology Honor Program allowed me the chance to try my ideas.
I had a few words to express my discontent in some aspects of my UCI life. The most serious one stems from the commercialized UCI dining environment, best exemplified by the high price soft drinks offered in UCI’s wending machine. Is UCI so profit driven, turning the busy students and faculties to its captive consumers, condoning the aggressive business practices-double retailing? I don’t know and I would really like to know.
Nevertheless, after two years of studying psychology and social behavior at UCI, I find I can understand myself better, relate to other people more socially, and understand better the things around me. Overall, I enjoyed my life as a student, and I am grateful that UCI had changed my life perspective.
Rao Fu Borden
Psychology and Social Behavior