St. Olaf College Experience

St. Olaf College is where I have had my most profound and impacting experiences interacting and appreciating diversity. In my freshman year, I was assigned to live in a triple dorm room with two other girls, one was a Caucasian from California, and the other was an international student from Vietnam. The vast distinction between us was affirmed from the varying accents that flaunted a richness of cultures to the different paradigms formed from unique experiences. In order to build a strong relationship filled with memories we had to extend ourselves to understand each other despite our differences, appreciate and respect what made us unique. Attending Africa Night, Choir performances Lunar New Year celebration, and so forth were some of the ways we supported each other, opened ourselves to new experiences and solidified our friendship.

I am a mentor in the TRIO Educational Talent Search Program. This program is dedicated to educating first generation high school students on the importance of college; and I feel privileged to be part of this experience. My mentees and I exchange weekly letter and
Olaf campus. I hesitated to take the job because it meant taking on more responsibility than I was used to. I was responsible for finding a housing option, paying for my housing, and preparing my own meals among other things. Furthermore, I had no prior painting experience so I felt incompetent for the job. The first week of the job was the hardest because of laborious work of learning the ins and outs of painting. Lots of paint was spilled on the floor, walls taking twice as long to paint, and walls were repainted more than twice that week. However, as the days turned weeks, and weeks turned into months I felt more confident in my painting skills, work became more enjoyable, and I was able to adapt to my living situation. Additionally, because I was responsible for my own meals I learned to cook and even enjoyed doing