My long, arduous time at Caltech has finally come to an end. Along with seeing everyone else’s graduation posts on Instagram, I’ve spent a lot of the last couple weeks relaxing from the sprint of the past four years and reflecting on everything that has shaped me into the graduate I am today. After starting Caltech amidst a pandemic (and having a completely virtual first year), I’ve seen myself change with the institution. It’s wild to think that just four years ago I was a frosh, and now I’ve graduated and left my leadership positions in clubs and student government. That being said, such changes exemplify the impact my classmates and I have left during our time here. Caltech has been an extremely formative experience, and I don’t think I would’ve turned out the same or left the same impact if I had gone to another university.
A recap of my last term and finally being “a senior”
To briefly outline the “Senior” activities during third term, there were Senior Celebrations hosted by the Alumni House, final fundraising for the Senior Gift to the Caltech Y, and lastly, Senior Trip to Catalina. This doesn’t include various House senior events, such as Page Cocktail Party, where each senior names and designs a cocktail. The senior Celebration held at the President’s House was a lot of fun; there was food and lots of different photo opportunities. They even had a photo booth, and I was able to take pictures with friends and Professor Faber. Each year, the senior class votes on a fundraiser for the class gift, and this year we chose the Caltech Y! Specifically, we helped support their Summer STEM Experience program, and Page donated the most money of the houses. Senior finals are a week earlier, so the last week of term (week of commencement) was full of activities, starting with the senior trip. Every year the class votes on a location, and this year we chose St. Catalina Island. Along with bonding with my senior friends, I went snorkeling for the first time and went on a hike/walk with friends to explore the island. Catalina was very fun, albeit busy, and the rest of the week wasn’t any less busy. I had to pack away my life at Caltech, welcome my family to LA, present my senior thesis project in materials science, go to the President’s Garden Reception for all graduates, attend various dinners and meals with friends and family, and end the week with Commencement. The celebration of four years of work condensed into one week of high intensity activities and events was a little overwhelming. But overall, it helped me appreciate what Caltech gave me and also look forward to what the future holds.
What do I wish I did differently?
Understandably, I think about this a lot, and the two things that stick out to me are that (1) I wish I explored Pasadena and LA more and (2) appreciated my classes for learning more. Pasadena and LA have a vibrant culture that I was only just able to explore, such as seeing the different cultural neighborhoods, going to events held by local organizations like the library, or attending various queer events around LA. I didn’t manage to go on a single hike this year, but I discovered a lot of fun bars and restaurants in Old Town just last term. In terms of the academic regrets, I got too focused on completing sets rather than learning the material. By senior year, I was really enjoying the material for the materials science knowledge but ended up too busy with extracurriculars and academics to appreciate the courses as much as I wanted. That being said, my love for learning is part of why I’m applying to graduate school, so it’s working out in the end.
My favorite parts
The community I have built through the houses and general small school nature has allowed me to form incredible lasting friendships. Even while I was studying abroad, I maintained these relationships and built friendships with people abroad as well. Both Page and Avery were incredibly welcoming houses and hosted lots of fun events throughout the years that helped me build these crucial bonds and friendships.
The research, of course, was remarkable. Completing two senior theses (in materials science and English) helped me develop my independent research skills in very personal and interesting projects. Specifically, my research in both materials science and English has given me incredible mentorship from faculty and research group members that has proven useful in navigating my post-graduate choices and how to operate in the professional and academic spheres. The ease of undergraduate research at Caltech is almost unparalleled with any other school. Because of such great research, I am planning on pursuing a PhD after graduation. The image above is a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image I took in the completion of my thesis project, which is just one of the analytical techniques I developed during my thesis.
The most surprisingly impactful part of Caltech was participating in outreach through the Caltech Y and Techers for Sustainability. I’ve tutored with the Caltech Y since I was a frosh, and I managed the social media and did data analysis for the organization last summer. I developed an appreciation for educational outreach through tutoring, and working with the Y was great. The board members and staff care so much about their programs and enhancing the Caltech student experience. Through Techers for Sustainability, the campus sustainability club, we did a few STEM outreach activities such as volunteering at the LA City of STEM and the Caltech Earth Day Resource Fair, where we explained renewable energy with solar cars and wind powered toys. These outreach opportunities ended up inspiring me to look into service programs for my gap year after graduation.
What am I doing next?
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. Unlike most of my peers who were interested in PhDs, I didn’t apply to graduate school in the fall of my senior year and will be doing so in the upcoming fall instead. This was definitely the correct decision personally, and now I’m planning on doing service for a year while I apply. In the meantime, I’m taking time to rest and just generally enjoy life now that I have officially graduated. It was a long journey, but unforgettable.
