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@kyrakira
Kyra K.
@kyrakira · 0:20

CollegeTalks | A Chat with UCSB Biology Major @vicisabel

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Hello, everyone. Today I'm joined by the very lovely Victoria. Victoria is the fourth year at UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California. She currently studies biology and minors in anthropology. And today we're going to have a little chat with her to get a little bit of insight into what it means to be a UCSB student

#UCSBStory

@kyrakira
Kyra K.
@kyrakira · 0:17
I want to start off this interview by acknowledging that you started your university life during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. And I was kind of just wondering what was that first day like and how did it differ from maybe what you were expecting?
@vicisabel
Victoria Aldrete
@vicisabel · 2:32

@kyrakira

And if you have all of these outdoor locations that are no longer accessible because of the pandemic, you had to figure out how to navigate that and how to make a non academic environment into an academic environment. And adding on the fact that I live with two other siblings, I live with both my parents, and all of us had to cooperate in order to do our own remote work was really hard. But at the end of the day, I was still able to connect with professors
@kyrakira
Kyra K.
@kyrakira · 0:09
Now, moving on, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your major and more specifically, the research that you've become involved with
@vicisabel
Victoria Aldrete
@vicisabel · 2:58

@kyrakira

And it lets you have a more worldview perspective of the things that you're learning and makes you a little bit more socially conscious and culturally conscious of your studies and everything that you're absorbing
@kyrakira
Kyra K.
@kyrakira · 0:15
Let's throw in a little bit of a fun question, especially for people who may not be familiar with UCSD or who are looking to possibly visit sometime in the future. So, that being said, what is your favorite spot on campus?
@vicisabel
Victoria Aldrete
@vicisabel · 1:44

@kyrakira

Outside of the library, there is a reef center, which is the touch tank on campus. You have anemones, sea stars, sea slugs, pretty much everything you can think of that you would find in tide pools. And the volunteers there are so insightful and so smart and brilliant and are able to tell you everything about it, which really makes my marine microbial heart sing. And then the reef center is right next to campus Point, which is our on site beach access, the on campus
@kyrakira
Kyra K.
@kyrakira · 0:23
Okay, so you're now in your final weeks of your undergraduate, and I'm sure that's a little scary, but also, hopefully a little bit exciting to move on to the next chapter of your life. But I was hoping that for this last question, if you can maybe share some motivation or even advice that you got that has served you well in these last past four years
@vicisabel
Victoria Aldrete
@vicisabel · 4:13

@kyrakira

You're showing that trajectory, you're showing that you're working and that, hey, this was just me transitioning in. I think something that might or might not be comforting is that no one really knows what they're doing. I mean, you're coming and you're throwing 18 to 22 year olds, 24 year olds into this pot and telling them to be adults
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