From training at the National Circus School in high school to pursuing a major in Urban & Environmental Policy (UEP) and rediscovering my hometown, my path to Occidental has been unique and gratifying.
Top image: Rosalie appears on the right.
Following my dreams to Montreal
I left the American school system in ninth grade to move to Montreal by myself after being accepted into the National Circus School. I have always been passionate about the environment, but after moving to Montreal for circus school, my fascination intensified. I was exposed to a completely new kind of urbanity compared to the sprawl of Los Angeles. Cities have far-reaching effects beyond their boundaries, while also having the potential for immediate local policy changes and citizen-driven initiatives in comparison to navigating policy at the state or federal level. Although I opted not to pursue circus arts professionally, the city of Montreal left a lasting impression on me.
Soon after, I earned my GED and an associate in arts degree at a college in Western Massachusetts before even considering Oxy as an option. I didn’t transfer because I disliked my old college; in fact, I loved it. But it was a two-year program, and I was ready for the next step. This also meant that, yet again, I was leaving the comfort of what I knew for something completely different.
The Occidental decision
I chose Occidental specifically for its Urban & Environmental Policy Institute and UEP major. No other college that I looked at had something quite like Oxy’s UEP program, where I knew I could gain both a practical skill set and theoretical frameworks for a career in policy. I was scared that L.A. was only the place I associated with childhood, and that I would not fit in as a college student. But Oxy has shown me a new side to L.A. and a new side of myself.
My transition to Oxy
My mom has always been quick to joke that I always had difficulty with transitions as a child, but never have I felt so quickly integrated and at home in a new place like I have at Occidental.
From the start, the academic transition was quite smooth, given that all my credits from my old college transferred to Occidental and the registrar always answered my many, many (endless) questions. Even before school started, I had met with the UEP department chair, Prof. Matsuoka, and was emailing back and forth about a class all UEP juniors are required to take in the fall. This meant that in my very first semester at Oxy, I already had an internship with Jobs to Move America, a policy center rooted in racial and economic justice and community organizing, which was also fully integrated into my major. By December I was planning an independent study on feminist political ecology and extractivism.
Beyond the classroom, I was surprised to see how much joining Occidental’s ultimate frisbee club team (WAC) would mean to me. Never would I have thought that going to the first practice of Oxy’s frisbee team with a fellow transfer friend would have brought me such joy, deep friendship, community, and, of course, a newfound love for frisbee. Clearly, there is something here for everyone. I soon found that, at Oxy, I fit right in.
My life at Oxy
I can assuredly say transferring was the best thing I could have done for myself. It has brought such richness to my life by offering me a major and professors that I love, a sport and community in one, and incredible friends to boot. I could only describe my transfer student experience at Occidental as a success.
So, to all future transfers: Join WAC frisbee! But I’m biased. Maybe instead I should say: join a club, with a friend or by yourself, and don't be afraid to try something new—take that next step. You would be surprised by what you will find in those unexpected places or within yourself.