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My last entry….

Hello everyone,

It is crazy to say that we have reached the end of Week 10 of Spring Quarter, and this means that we are so close to finishing the school year. Some of you may or may not already be graduated, so this is an exciting summer for you as you prepare for the college school year. I know it is exciting and sparks curiosity, but I also want you all to enjoy the summer. Spend some time with your family, friends, siblings, cousins, with people who bring joy to you. Also, this will be a nice and long summer, so enjoy sleeping a lot! 

I just wanted to thank you all for reading not only my posts, but all of the other bloggers. We loved writing down our stories and advice for you all. I hope you learned something new and feel a little more excited about coming to this university! Being a Zot Blogger has honestly been a huge highlight for me this academic school year. I can not only give advice and share my stories, but I can always look back and remember these memories. 

I just wanted to reflect on a few accomplishments and memories. 

I think one of the biggest accomplishments for me was making the decision early on in my college life to switch my major to Mathematics with a concentration in secondary education. I took a small leap of faith and I am proud that I was able to complete this year as a Mathematics major. I am grateful for the UCI CalTeach program for welcoming me and providing me with a support system. 

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to not only have taken a course with a prestigious professor, but had supportive professors. Starting with Fall Quarter, one of my professors had a class discord and was always, and I mean always available to answer any quick questions on any class material. This was an interactive learning environment because students were able to bounce ideas and learn new information from one another. During my Winter Quarter, one of my professors was new and she told us students from day one that she was there to help us succeed, and she kept her word for the full ten weeks. I think what meant a lot to me was that she intentionally wanted to remember her students’ names and when she would say hi and repeat my name in office hours, it provided a productive and more comfortable learning environment. During this quarter, one of my professors and TA have not only held countless office hours to provide academic support for us students, but have been there for me if I needed extra assistance for days outside of lecture. When I asked for an extra tutoring session or for one of them to check one of my homework problems, they have been active and have gladly been there for me. 

During this school year, I feel like I have majority of the time enjoyed the moment. I have enjoyed birthday parties, gone to formals , the bowling alley, the beach, gone to the outdoor shopping centers such as Spectrum and Fashion Island, going to Mariners Church on Sundays, and enjoyed spending time with friends and family. I have had a really enjoyable year and am content at UCI. 

One of my favorite routines was grabbing cereal at the dining halls with my friends at night. When we are studying, we have our study breaks and this consists of going to the Anteatery or sometimes Brandywine and grabbing a bowl of cereal. It is a light snack and gives us a well deserved brain break. 

I think some of my last pieces of advice would be to take advantage of all of the resources that are available at UCI. I know I have said this before, but please go to your professor’s or TA’s office hours. Office hours are beneficial because you can ask questions about lecture notes, advice for studying for the exams, and can listen to your peers and their questions. Sometimes I go to office hours to listen to my classmates and their questions and this has helped me study for exams. I know that I mentioned this before, but I would also practice consistently reading your school emails. There are always school events taking place or emails about when it is time to register for classes or pay for your student fees. It is always important to be up to date and aware of what is going on. There are Alumni Dinners, Night Markets, and sometimes celebrity guest speaker events that you definitely do not want to miss. 

I cannot believe this is the end of my term as a Zot Blogger. 

Thank you again for sticking with all of us this academic year. 

Enjoy the summer, spend time with your loved ones, and get excited about spending the next four years at UCI.

As always….

ZOTZOTZOT! 

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There is always room for learning, even in adulthood!

Hello everyone! Happy end of Week 8!

I am so excited to share my interview experience with Miss Stephanie Vaca. She is the UCI CalTeach Student Services Advisor, and she has been a wonderful mentor and support system for me during my first year at UCI. If you are interested in a field in education or are curious about the UCI CalTeach program, then Stephanie is one of the best resources to talk to. She is positive and wants to help you out! 

The first question I asked was, “How did you become interested in this field/career?”

Stephanie talked about how her older brother was an inspiration to her as she always would notice him studying psychology, and she was fascinated by his books. She continued with this curiousity by taking community college courses in psychology with a focus on the behavioral branch. She was drawn to the relationship part of psychology and the different ways people interact with one another. 

The second question that I asked was, “Were you part of student organizations while at UCI?” 

Another fact about Stephanie was that she is a UCI alumni. She knows a lot of the same professors that students are currently taking and understands life as a UCI undergraduate student. As an undergraduate, she was extremely invoved on campus. She was a peer academic advisor under the Education school. She was also a member of Jump Start, which was an organization that helped bridge the gap between literacy and education in underdeveloped communities. Not only was she already involved with these two activities, but she was in the fraternity, Lambda Theta Alpha, and she served as the secretary and treasurer.

The next question I asked was, “Did you overcome any obstacles or personal challenges?” 

Stephanie is such a strong individual as she academically overcame the personal struggle of being the first generation student. She learned as a young adult in college about how education at a public university does not necessarily mean that you will be at an equitable opportunity as everyone else. Because she was going through this college experience alone, she had to remain strong and advocate for herself as she did not really have anyone to lean on. During her first year this affected her physical and mental health and she not only would compare herself to her classmates, but felt socially behind as well. However, she did find her community in her involvement in student organizations and they became her support system and her site managers were even first generation students they understood. 

The last question that I asked was, “What do you love about UCI?”

Stephanie loves how UCI broadened her worldview as it is so diverse and is filled with students and faculty members from all different backgrounds and walks of live. She loves how there is always room for growth, even as an adult. She loves that everyday she gets to work with students and not only be an advisor and a mentor, but a learner and listener as well.

Stephanie, if you are reading this, thank you for sharing your story to our readers!

As always…

#ZOTZOTZOT

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A snapshot of my Thursday

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are having a great day and I hope you enjoy a glimpse into my Thursday!

Picture 1: I like to begin my Thursdays pretty early in the mornings because I have Thursday quizzes in the afternoon. I like to wake up early and grab breakfast with some friends who have 8am classes. I usually like to do some last minute studying and catch up on homework during the first half of my Thursdays. Here is me in the Mesa Study Room. I have my setup which consists of my laptop, ipad, and a calculator. 

Picture 2: Sometimes you have those snack cravings. Today, I had a trail mix craving so I stopped by Zot-N-Go which is a mini mart on campus. It has a variety of snacks and I would highly recommend going if you ever want any sandwiches, pastries, crackers, chips, you name it. I wanted to quickly snack on something before going to my math office hours! This office hours is actually called a proof lab because my math class is a proofs class. Proofs is new to me, so any help I could get from the Learning Assistants in class (UCI undergrad students usually 2nd or 3rd years) is a necessity. You can’t really see a lot of my background, but I was in Aldrich Park. I also included a photo of a pink tree. The park is so beautiful year round and in the spring all of the plants are blooming and bright. I would take advantage of walking through the park during a busy week because it can make all of the difference. 

Picture 3: On my way to my office hours, I was in front of the infinity fountain, and if you have already taken a campus tour, then you would probably recognize this as one of the locations that you go to on the tour. This is usually when you go ZOT-ZOT ZOT. I like watching the water pass through the fountain and this is a great spot becasue this college has one main fountain! 

Picture 4: You may be wondering, “Whitney, why are you taking a picture of a stairwell?” I am happy you asked that. I was on my way to my proof lab. It was on the third floor. Although there is an elevator, half of the time it is slower than taking the stairs. If you have a class in Rowland Hall, I would recommend using the staircase if the elevators are busy and if you are on a timed schedule. Around this time of the quarter, there are a lot of Biology and Chemistry labs going on at different times of the day and week so sometimes there could be around 30 students waiting for the elevator. 

Thank you all for reading my post!!

As always….

#ZOTZOTZOT

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Congratulations Class of 2027!

Dear future Anteaters, 

First of all, a huge congratulations for committing to this special university! You should give yourself a pat on the back for all of your hard work! (Also, enjoy your last couple of months of your high school senior year as well:)) 

Although I was an Undeclared major for about two weeks, I want to still reflect and share my tips and advice from this year. This first year in college will always be a core memory in my life life as it was not only a new chapter, but I feel like it was the year that I learned the most about myself and started taking steps toward my journey to my future career. It has been an exciting year and experience in college. I am grateful for my friend group, the UCI CalTeach program, and club organizations on campus. I want to emphasize the importance of getting involved on campus, as it will help bring a healthy balance of school and the social aspect of college. 

While I know it is quite early on to decide what major you are interested in, I want you to know that you have the support of your Undeclared Advisors, and that they are there for YOU. Please, take advantage of them, especially because their offices are on campus in Aldrich Hall. As an Undeclared major, you have the opportunity to explore different majors and take a variety of classes. The advisors are there for schedule planning and will answer any questions that you may have. In college, one of the best pieces of advice I would give to you is to not be afraid to ask for help. It is important to advocate for yourself and ask for help because it can relieve stress and give you insight and clarity in different situations. 

Another piece of advice would be to attend office hours that are led by your professors, TAs, and Learning Assistants. If you are interested in Biology or Chemistry, there are General Chemistry Peer Tutors and they are wonderful tutors because they have most likely taken the same professor and understand the same material that you are learning in class. They also lead helpful midterm and final review sessions. In my experience, attending these office hours have helped me understand class material in a smaller setting and there are usually no more than fifteen students in these office hours (which is way smaller than the 100-300 student lecture halls! ) 

I cannot believe that this quarter is coming to a close, but I just wanted to again say a big congratulations for committing to this university! 

#ZOTZOTZOT

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Spring Quarter here we come!

Hello everyone! We are officially in Spring Quarter! First off, the sun’s presence has definitely helped, especially with transitioning back into the college life after a lovely Spring break. 

My Spring break was much needed after a long Winter Quarter. Aside from catching up with sleep, I visited my high school quite a few times (four times to be exact). You may be wondering, “Whitney! Why did you visit your high school so many times during the break?” Great question! I visited my previous math and social science teachers and also was on car pool duty (which I did not mind at all!) Because I want to be a high school math teacher, I enjoy seeing my old math teachers and updating them about each quarter in college.

 I also went on a couple hikes and went ice skating with one of my close friends (who actually goes to UCI as well:) I also caught up with hometown friends and spent the days talking about our Winter quarters and our favorite memories. Spending quality time with family was also a great plus! Family movie nights and family dinners will always have my heart! 

Here are some photos!

(Here is a photo from a nature hike! )
(This is me before I attempted a turn on the ice rink!)

My specific goals for this last quarter are my time management skills with my three STEM classes and allocating sufficient time to studying for midterms and quizzes. I also want to continue going to office hours even if I do not have a specific question. I realized that office hours are a place where you can sit and listen into other peers and their questions. I also want to practice self affirmation and understand that I am truly trying my best and can pursue through the tough times. 

Because it is my last year in the college dorms, I want to enjoy every moment. I want to have a couple more dinners with dormmates, continue to greet my friends in the morning and at night, and enjoy every aspect of dorm life! 

As always…. # ZOTZOTZOT