Square one
I have always considered myself an outsider, not in the traditional sense of a someone from another culture or someone with disdain for their neighbor; but an empathetic observer of the people and cultures that made up the world around me. As an only child, I was raised in a world of adults. For some reason when other kids weren’t invited, I was welcomed and seated at the adult table. Our world consisted of people from every walk of life and represented many different cultures and creeds. To me this was all very normal, they were all just interesting people with whom I was swapping opinions. Age, education, ideology did not matter to them nor me. My family will tell you that I was born with a high level of empathy for other, and this community of odd balls, visionaries and nerds helped to cultivate my care for others and taught me how to turn it into action.
As I grew older, with many great examples of people who made a difference in their own way, I found myself gravitating toward individuals who have high-reaching goals and a positive mindset. It turned out, I found many of my closest friends in the people that others seem to ignore for one reason or another. Many of my closest friends had recently immigrated to our community from abroad, which worked perfectly, as I am someone who lives for cultural exchanges and they were looking for someone willing to introduce them to their new home. I have a strong belief that together we can better our understanding of the world around us by sharing ideas and discussing goals and aspirations. The only way we will ever see change in the world is if we learn to communicate better, so we can see that we are more similar than different. Back home and on campus, One of my favorite things to do is exchange culture, ideas and traditions with my friends from out of state and abroad because I believe that we become stronger when inclusive and accepting of others. During my solo immersion trip in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, some of my most vivid memories are of my conversations with cab drivers. By simply listening, questioning and having empathy, I was able to live vicariously through their stories and learn so much more than I ever could from a textbook or class. I found these men to have incredible life stories and a unique view of their community that they have developed over years of interacting with people of all social and economic groups. As a sophomore in high school, this experience helped to define my young perspective of the world as I learned that we are not as different are society will tell us. I am a visual storyteller. When words fail me, photography and videography add another dimension to the stories I choose to tell, empathy. To me, a successful film or photo connects the viewer to my subject on an emotional level and helps them develop their empathy for the subject. After spending the past summer working with and being mentored by an award-winning documentary filmmaker, I learned to take my art to the next level in regards to production quality, messaging and impact. Through classes at SCU and experience with professionals in the field, I have gained an intimate knowledge and experience working to complete a film project from beginning to end. My mentor, Steve Michelson, instilled a belief in me that film and photography, as an art, can have a powerful impact on the way we perceive one another, an organization, or a culture. This being said, to make media that matters, there must be a call to action. A great many fantastic projects have been created that generate awareness about a topic; however many fail to actually effect change. Creating channels for empathy and prompting the viewer to start a path of impact and participation, I have found are two key requirements for a successful film or photography project that have the potential result in real progress. As a child, I spent the vast majority of my time creating new things. Whether it was taking over the living room and building vast cities out of legos, designing cars and buildings in my sketchbooks or talking to family friends about businesses and technology, I was always creating new things and discussing ways of making existing things better. My mom, an interior designer and stager, and my dad, a contractor who builds and designs homes from scratch, are incredibly creative people and fostered a deep love for design and empathy within me. I recently went back home to visit my parents, and after 5 minutes of being back home, I told my mom that they did such an incredible job of fostering a creative environment that it most likely had a negative impact on my ability to focus within the mold of the public education system. But, it, more importantly, set me on the creative, empathic and innovative path I walk today by pushing me to think outside of the box and to look for stories and opportunities in places others would not. The experiences I have gained at Santa Clara University have proven to be as diverse as my interests but maintain a common theme of social justice. After going through a difficult transition into the college environment, I decided to pursue studies that fit my passions rather than what was going to get me the job, because, in truth, I am not looking for a job, but rather career where my passions meet the greatest needs of society. Today, I have nearly completed my degree in political science, a minor in entrepreneurship and am working on minors in innovation and film production. It is incredibly difficult to boil down to a few points what drew me to the Global Social Benefit program. I enjoy learning about and experiencing cultures other than my own more than anything, and with this program, I will have the opportunity to do just that also with elements that will test my skills and fuel my passions for business and film/social documentation. It is the ability to shine a light on social entrepreneurs halfway around the world who are doing incredible work for their communities in sustainable ways by using innovative business models. I am excited about the future. The possibilities, the people I will meet, and the work I will do. I strive to live my best, most creative life. |
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