Hi! I’m Alana, and I’m a sophomore from Woodridge, Illinois. I feel like every other time I explain where I’m from, I use the phrase “suburb of Chicago” in place of Woodridge. This is to avoid agitation from real Chicagoans (who hate when suburbians claim they’re from Chicago) while also confirming that I did not grow up in a random cornfield. 

To get to Caltech, I drove 45 minutes to O’Hare airport, and then 4 hours later, I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan. Because of the songs I grew up with, I found that I romanticized California a lot when I first came. For the first week, I was blasting “Party in the USA,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Another Day of Sun,” “California Gurls,” “California Love,” “California,” “California,” and… “California.” More on music in a bit.

At Caltech, I study chemistry and geological and planetary sciences. This past summer, I worked in the Blake lab studying protoplanetary disks, the material around a young star that could potentially be incorporated into a planet. 

Aside from academics, I’m involved with Caltech’s rocketry organization, PARSEC. I don’t actually build the rockets, but I am in charge of their project management and business ventures. I’m also on Page House’s social and athletic teams, and I’m one of the outreach officers for Chemistry Club. 

When I do find myself with free time, I love visiting museums, thrifting, reading, and journaling. My most recent museum is the Chicago Art Institute (one of my favorites!). My most recent thrift find is this really cool bag I negotiated from $35 to $20. My most recent read is “The Elegant Universe.” My most recent journaling session is… this blog post!

My favorite thing I did my first year at Caltech was create playlists for each term. I tried to include songs that related to the events going on in my life at the time, as well as songs I was simply obsessed with. Because of that, my playlists can be a bit jarring, with multiple songs from Charli XCX’s brat being in the same space as “Waiting Room” by Phoebe Bridgers (here’s my Spotify profile if want to check them out). I also love curating playlists for events, and I will never say no to karaoke.

I keep busy, but I’m excited to share this busyness with you! That’s all folks… for now.

-Alana Nisperos