Shaped By Change

When telling my story of resilience, I found it difficult to express my journey
two-dimensionally, but who said I had to use a flat canvas? The choice of hand-crafting a three-dimensional canvas allows me to depict the challenges that I have overcome. The triangular pyramid was specifically chosen due to its ability to always land with a vertex pointed up and its four faces allow me to showcase the depth of my journey. Triangles are also the strongest geometric shape, perfectly depicting my resilience through adaptability and versatility. All of which are key attributes of myself and the 3,751 transfer students of the Fall 2024 cohort.

On the first face, a rubber band. Taking a look at the definition of resilience, it is thecapacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness and the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape. In many ways transfer students, like myself, arejust like rubber bands. I have personally been stretched so thin for so long and I experienced pressure that felt like it would crush me. I didn’t know if I could go back to being a normal rubber band, however, as rubber bands do, I took my original form once again. I am a rubberband in not only its properties of resilience, but also in its innate ability to keep it together.

The next face depicts a door frame with “no turning back” written across its threshold and between the concrete leading to the door, a flower emerges. This depicts the complexfeelings I felt about leaving home for the first time. To move so far away from the only place you’ve ever known is a daunting task. This bittersweet image tells my story of how I embarked to a city where I was a stranger to everyone. I knew that once I closed that U-Haul door, I would no longer have “my room” and this wouldn’t be “my house.” In this moment of leaving, there truly was no turning back, but beyond the door lies hope, a promise of something beautiful. The myriad of changes ahead of me were an opportunity for my adaptive transformation.

On the next face, I wanted to share my feelings of Imposter Syndrome: when the work seems insurmountable, the achievements I have received seem like a fluke, and I feel I don’t belong. I used the infinity triangle to showcase impossibility. Many times within Imposter Syndrome, I aim to achieve the impossible by getting perfect scores while maintaining a job and extracurriculars. By the use of a hand reaching through this impossible object to some far light, Iexhibit how I want to reach for this impossibility, while showing that this goal is unattainable.Throughout my journey, I have become comfortable with discomfort and use mistakes to growand learn. I have learned to be patient and kind with myself through my journey in academia.

On the final face, my identity: a cluttered desk piled with things to do. Many books,papers, projects, and empty coffee mugs take over the desk as there is never a time to “clock off” from being a student. You can see The Code Breaker, a book I loved for not only its scientific content, but also its tale of the determination of Jennifer Doudna, the woman who co-discovered CRISPR. In high school, she was told that “Girls can’t do science.” Her story tells the tale of “I did it anyway.” Doudna is my role model and I resonate with how she faces difficulties. I established this resolve in my pursuit to be a professor who can give students the opportunity to discover through research. In this field, there are many times when results are not what you calculated and you have to keep trying with determination and resilience. I was born with a hard-head and persistence has been my strong suit, making a career in research perfect for me.

This project allowed me to express myself and tell a story I haven’t told yet. In a room of 300 students, it’s easy to feel insignificant and as if your story doesn’t matter. I’ve overcome countless difficulties which have molded me into who I am today. Heartbreak, grief, exasperation, elation, and triumph have been thoroughly felt through my journey. By sharing these stories, I hope to inspire others to establish resilience and overcome their own difficulties