Occidental College
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Spanish
Minor: Public Health and maybe Math
Student Self Identifies as: Biracial: White & Asian Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m on a [varsity sports] team, I’m in the Peer Health Exchange, the Public Health Club, and Planned Parenthood.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: White & Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public High school in San Antonio, TX with a graduating class of about 400 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Spanish
Minor: Public Health and maybe Math
Extracurricular Activities: I’m on a [varsity sports] team, I’m in the Peer Health Exchange, the Public Health Club, and Planned Parenthood.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
My sport has for sure. A lot of my close friends are on the team, and I’ve met a lot of other people through them. It’s been a big part of my life in general so I was lucky to continue it in college. The Peer Health exchange has been a defining part of my experience at Oxy. I’ve met a lot of people through that club, and it makes it feel like you’re making a difference.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your Spanish major?
We read a story once a week, we listen to an hour of some type of Spanish news and have to write a page and a half of what news we learned and a reaction to it. Our major grades are exams and writing compositions.
Is there anything that you feel the Spanish department does especially well or poorly?
I think there are amazing professors in the Spanish department. They are organized, concise, and have good communication skills. Being able to communicate in Spanish to an entire class where a lot of the students don’t know it is really impressive. I do think there are a lot of adjunct professors in the Spanish department. They’re responsible for the introductory classes, which can be kind of difficult because it may not be their main priority.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s super supportive. In every Spanish class, it’s a good community. You learn so much about each other like what you eat every day and what sports you play. You have no choice but to get to know the people in your class. We all study together and everyone is really nice.
How accessible are your professors?
Really accessible. They’re always asking us to go to office hours. They encourage us to go and talk about anything or even to practice our conversation skills.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
So far, I’m happy with my choice. I haven’t gotten into my major yet, but I’ve committed myself. I got into Spanish because I really wanted to become fluent in the language and understand the culture better. My main interest is public health and there’s a large Spanish population that needs public health help, so I think it would be advantageous to know Spanish.
How was managing both your sport and coursework?
It’s been good. It’s not just difficult between the sport and school, but fitting in a job kind of makes it difficult. You have a set schedule and it keeps you focused so you keep chugging along. It’s not too much work.
Reasons to Attend
1) The class sizes are really good and the teachers are understanding. Everybody wants you to succeed. [The average class size is 18.]
2) It depends on where you come from, but I learned a lot about the culture and the opinions here. There are very different views in Texas than there are in California.
3) The campus is beautiful, and it’s not too big. It’s comforting.
4) I think L.A. is a great city to go to college in.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It depends on what you want to study, but they don’t offer everything. There are very specific majors.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Bell Young with two roommates.
Sophomore: An off-campus house.
How was transitioning from San Antonio, TX to Los Angeles, CA?
San Antonio is a pretty big city. People don’t think about it that often, but it’s one of the largest cities in America. It has the same big city feel and there’s a strong Hispanic culture in both places, so there’s some continuity there. The weather in Los Angeles is much better than San Antonio. It was a pretty easy transition, but the traffic was probably the hardest part.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel like it’s pretty safe. I’m now living off-campus and I realize I have to be more cautious walking home at nighttime and when carrying valuable things.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
There are fun places on York Blvd. that I like going to. I don’t go to Oxy parties too often, but I think everybody is willing to hang out if you reach out. There’s a free event at the MOCA every Thursday night. There are art shows and performances. There are lots of free opportunities around here.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Occidental? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
There are lots of options, but getting around to them is difficult. With school we get tired and you need time to unwind over the weekend.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I took the Cultural Studies Program (CSP) with one of them my freshman year and I wore a Spurts t-shirt. She asked if I was from San Antonio and she just so happened to be there the year before teaching with City Year during a gap year. I met my other close friend because she was roommates with that friend.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
I’d say it’s kind of difficult to get out there sometimes. People get comfortable in their routine with the people they know. It’s a small community and you know everybody, so there’s little excitement of meeting new people.
How would you describe the student body?
The student body is self-aware. For the most part, a lot of people know what they’re place is in what they are contributing as a young person in this society. I think we know our place and know how important we are, but we know how unimportant we are.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
There’s a good coexisting environment at Oxy for the most part. It’s a very social-justice like the culture here for the most part.
How do you like the size of Occidental in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 2,055] students?
I think it’s a good size. It’s smaller than I anticipated it feeling. There are still people out there I haven’t met. It’s just hard to get to meet them, but I think the small environment is good. It’s hard to meet people because I live off-campus now so I’m not lollygagging on campus or the library. There is less interaction there.
How would you describe the Asian community? How strong is it?
I haven’t been too strongly involved in it.
Careers
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I took an aptitude test at the career center to see what I naturally gravitate toward according to the test. It helped me focus in on what I’m aspiring to do in my future as a career. They hold functions for alumni who have gone to graduate school and come back.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’m currently in Biostatistics for Public Health and I’m learning how to use R to create graphs using code. We also use a lot of Excel.