By Emily Glory Peters
During , weβre highlighting student leaders as they share how their ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ experience helped them use their voice and act on new ideas.
Julia Brock β22 is not afraid of a challengeβyet, like all virtues, it took time to build that confidence.
As a first-year student at ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄, she had toyed with the notion of majoring in something completely outside her comfort zone: politics and Middle East and North African (MENA) Studies. A chance conversation with a non-ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ student made her question if it would be too difficult. Ultimately, she couldnβt be dissuaded.
βGrowing up in a post-9/11 era, I had wanted to remove myself from its narrative and learn about perspectives of the MENA region I hadnβt been exposed to: poetry, art, religion, cultural phenomena. On the politics side, I wanted to look at how to create substantive changes, craft policies, or help communities in that region,β she said. βBy my sophomore year, I decided to dual major in both areas, and I absolutely loved it.β
Even before deciding on her major, the senior admits that she had a βone-track mindsetβ of what she could and would do after college. Yet, as she connected with a diverse group of ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ students and faculty, her perspective on her potential expanded.
βI thought working for the government would be the best way to enact change,β she says, βbut I learned there are so many options I could pursue. The beauty of ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ is that it opens these options to me.β
Trying new paths with help from CP&R and the Laspa Center for Leadership
ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄β student resources have also been key to helping Brock crystallize her interests.
With support from Career Planning & Resources (CP&R), sheβs completed three internships, including one last summer for which she received a donor-funded grant while working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). In her role helping individuals apply for US citizenship, Brock remembers being shocked at the amount of paperwork, patience, and seemingly endless steps in the process. All of it only motivated her to envision how she could help in the future.
βMy internship with IRC gave me a closer look at the specifics of immigration law and the meticulous detail needed,β she says. βIt was an experience I wouldnβt have had without the grant from CP&R, and Iβm grateful because it gave me a new perspective on potentially becoming an attorney.β
Brockβs inclusion in a Leadership Immersion Trek to Washington, DC, with ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄β Laspa Center for Leadership also sparked ideas for how she could make a differenceβnot just in the future, but in her current life at ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄. Supported by donor gifts, treks bring ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ students to new cities to take a deep dive into leadership, and Brockβs trek focused on womenβs influence on public policy. The experience inspired her to join the Laspa Centerβs βScholars in Actionβ program, designed to provide students with leadership positions on campus.
βIβm leading the centerβs Civic Engagement Initiative, which is a nonpartisan effort geared around getting students registered to vote,β she says, noting the challenge of moving the project online during remote learning last year. Working with her fellow Scholars in Action, she helped develop new communication tactics and a website to help students register to vote, serve as pollworkers, and connect to critical voting resources.
βMy hope is that future Scholars in Action will build on those resources and expand them, both in California and nationwide,β she says.
Finding the confidence to speak with boldness
As Brock explores how she can combine her academic interests, leadership skills, and desire to help others, she acknowledges those who have helped made that exploration possible. The investment of the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ community, she says, is part of what makes such a meaningful impact.
βΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ opens doors for students, and donors funding opportunities like internship grants and treks are ways to help students pursue their dreams and have the economic resources to make them a reality,β she says. βMany of us go on to do projects or theses based on these experiences; some work in those fields for decades. Thatβs not possible without outside support.β
Yet community influence extends beyond its impact on ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ studentsβ future careers. For Brock, the people that support ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ are ultimately supporting a rare college environment where studentsβincluding herβgain the confidence to be their truest selves.
βΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ has allowed me to develop my voice and have a better understanding of who I am and what my values are. Here, people feel they can make comments that donβt need to be softenedβthey can be a statement. That inspires me,β she says. βComing into ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄, I knew I had ideas to share, but didnβt necessarily feel I could be as bold. Iβve developed that muscle now, and know that I can propel a conversation in a productive wayβand explain why others should listen.β
Now through December 31, we invite ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ alums, parents, and friends to make a gift to set students like Julia up for success in 2022. To give today, please click . Thank you for your support!