SOPHOMORE COHORT: Honor

Olivia Castillo

Plan II and Physics

After one year of college, I am even more uncertain about my future career. Majoring in Plan II and physics with a business minor and Uteach certificate, I have been exposed to so many different fields that I can see myself enjoying as a future career. My favorite class was Lee Walker and Mark Strama’s Civic Viewpoints in which we investigated civic engagement through people who were making impactful contributions to the world in their various careers.

While in college, I am seeking to continue pursuing the passions I cultivated in high school. I became a Co–Director of Women’s Resource Agency, a branch of student government dedicated to empowering women and other gender minorities. Additionally, I became an officer for Society of Physics Students where I do a lot of departmental advocacy while hosting weekly meetings to foster a welcoming environment for physics undergraduates. The Walker Fellowship, another organization I participate in, centers on community service as well as learning how to design and execute sustainable, long–term civic initiatives. Not only have I absorbed so much, but I also get to serve the Austin community with a wonderful group of peers! Furthermore, I decided to participate in the Uteach program where I taught elementary kids animal behavioral science and studied the science behind effective teaching methods. Last, I undertook two internships related to legislative politics. My first internship was for an advocacy organization where I worked on grassroots mobilization and the beginning stages of policy development. For my second internship, I worked directly for a Texas House representative and was exposed to the inner workings of the legislative branch. Although I enjoyed the experience, it helped me narrow my future career options by teaching me what I did *not* want to do. Together, these jobs provided valuable insights into the legislative process through opposite perspectives.

Despite pursuing many familiar interests, I also actively stepped out of my comfort zone this past year by taking classes unrelated to physics, embracing new experiences, and going with the flow. For example, much to the surprise of my family, I decided to do an intensive summer program through McCombs im which I am taking five three–hour business classes. The workload is atrocious, but I am gaining insights into how business run and meeting great people outside of my circle. Similarly, Professor Loehlin focused his Plan II World Literature course on theatre and forced us to perform! I would not have signed up for his class if I knew he would do that, but it ended up being one of the best academic experiences I had this year and unlike any English class I’ve experienced. As someone who is mildly afraid of heights, I did not expect to LOVE bouldering, but it is something new I tried that I now force all of my friends to try. Finally, I simply embraced the general experiences and opportunities that college life presents. From jumping off a bridge at Barton to attending guest lectures offered at UT, I’ve immersed myself in the vibrant college culture.

I am excited for what the next couple of years will bring, and I cannot wait to spend them with my
Dedman family!

Anjali Krishna

Liberal Arts Honors, English

I’ve been in love with stories my whole life — from bedtime folktales to scholastic journalism in high school, my identity as a storyteller took me everywhere. I became an enthusiastic reader, a writer, a reporter, and now, a student of English and Art History at UT.

I spent my first year of college understanding language in a way I’d never learned it before: as a living thing — beautifully changeable at times and terrifyingly volatile at others. I read about the English’s post–colonial versions and dialectical differences with Professor Marie Garnier. I discovered that translation isn’t an exact science through UT’s French department. I found history to be a changeable story while studying The Iliad and its many retellings with Professor Adam Rabinowitz. As a Signature Course Undergraduate Assistant for Professor Rabinowitz in the fall, I’m thrilled to help students discover new perspectives on the stories we consider concrete.

Writing for Spark Magazine in the Spring, I had the opportunity to apply this critical lens to a field I’ve more newly found love for. After I took an art history course in my senior year of high school, however, I realized words weren’t the only way to tell stories. Art, in all its visual beauty, held as much interpretive power as my favorite novels. Inspired by Frida Kahlo’s “Self–Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird,” which is in the possession of the Harry Ransom Center, I wrote a piece painting Frida in a new light. Rather than portraying her as the one–dimensional feminist icon she is often reduced to, I wrote her a flawed artist, escaping pain and bad decisions into a painted disreality. I can’t wait to read and edit a new generation of similarly spirited writing as an assistant print editor for Spark in the fall.

I’ll spend the end of this summer in Oxford, taking classes on the Brontë sisters and Shakespeare, exploring the historic campus and hopefully, a few other cities in Europe. When I return for the fall, I’m excited to continue studying art history as my second major, volunteering at the Blanton Museum, and writing about music for Afterglow ATX.

While I’m not sure where my interests will lead me as I look for ways to intertwine a newfound love of art with my lifelong passion for writing, I’m grateful to be taking on my future with the support of the Dedman community.

Drew Wessels

Liberal Arts Honors, International Relations & Global Studies, Economics, and Middle Eastern Studies

This summer has been nothing if not interesting. In May, I immersed myself in the world of global finance on the IRG Maymester in Singapore, I zipped through the clogged streets of Saigon on a motorbike on my first ever solo trip, and broke bread with countless intriguing individuals such as one woman who swore she could telepathically communicate with animals (she insisted one of her cats was demonic). Life for me really could not have been any more enchanting then.

However, when my journey took me to Israel–Palestine on the Clements Center Beyond Borders trip, the harsher realities of life began to weigh heavily on me. Driving through checkpoints in the West Bank with guns trained on our vehicle; visiting villages where mothers instruct their children on how seconds determine their survival during missile attacks; and standing before the ancient walls of Jerusalem, a city that has been attacked 52 times and seen the rise and fall of dozens of empires, I couldn’t help but feel that we are but another chapter within the dark story of human history – that endless tale of death and destruction, families torn apart, and a world consumed by fear and enmity. Providing relief from these depressing scenes and thoughts, though, were the incredible people I met who gave me hope that this time around we can be different. I heard from individuals who protect their communities not through violence, but through nonviolent resistance – people who though have every right to seek revenge, have transcended their traumas and accepted that the only productive way forward is through reconciliation and civil institutions.

Diplomacy encompasses some of the most fundamental obstacles hindering societal advancement at large, such as ego, mutual mistrust, and cyclical patterns of conflict with all the enduring pain they bring. My aspiration to pursue studies in diplomacy and conflict extend beyond merely becoming a proficient professional in the foreign service. Inspired by the individuals I encountered this summer, I believe now diplomacy is also a journey towards personal growth, a means to foster profound understanding of others and cultivate harmonious coexistence, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

I can’t wait to return to UT this fall to explore this train of thought further and to join the Dedman community, where I anticipate we will empower one another to push the boundaries of humanity in each of our respective ways!