Today is officially my last first day of school! Well of school at UCLA anyway. Starting my spring quarter at UCLA as a senior today seems unreal because the last four years have gone by in the blink of an eye. In my head, I still sometimes think of myself as a freshman, in a brand new school with a million things to do and no clue where to start. Fast forward to this year where I’m wrapping up a graduate degree and I occasionally raise my hand to ask a question! I want to share some thoughts and emotions as I begin the last chapter of my college experience.

I remember clearly my first days on the UCLA campus. It was 75 and sunny every day. I felt like I was on top of the world, remnants of my high school senior mindset I suppose. I was taking classes in massive lecture halls with 200 other students. Those “intro” classes like Math 32B and Chem 20B forced me to grow up pretty quick! Putting my education in cruise control and coasting by wasn’t really an option anymore. I practiced working extremely efficiently, never overworking but making sure to get the job done right the first time. There were a million things to do on a brand new campus, and I wanted to get involved in as many as I could.

Not really relevant but it was also the first time I got a 50% on a test and still got an A+ in a class… thank god for curving

Now I’m finishing up a concurrent undergraduate + master’s degree and, honestly, a lot of it is still the same! The weather is still 75 and sunny every day. I still feel like I’m on top of the world, among the most senior students on campus. I love learning about the physics of the universe and making sense of how the physical world came to be.

And, a lot of it is different as well. These days my classes generally only have 35 students. They are fellow graduate students, pursuing master’s or PhD degrees and experts in their fields. My peers are deeply motivated to learn the content, not for a grade or for a degree but because it’s pivotal to their research and understanding. I learn more from my classmates’ questions and comments than from the professor sometimes.

For example, this morning I got to my classroom early and got into a heated conversation with another student about aspherical lenses and optical aberrations for 30 minutes. It was totally unrelated to the lecture we were about to have. His background in optics and my experience with materials made for a very interesting dialogue. I am very thankful that now I have the ability and confidence to have deep technical conversations with domain experts and hold my own!

The way I dedicate my time and choose my pursuits has also changed quite a bit since my freshman year days. Surrounded by research labs, club projects, and recruitment opportunities, I wanted to dive into it all. I joined a litany of clubs and made close friends. Now, I have a method to my madness. There are few pursuits to which I dedicate my time and I try to maximize my impact through these. I have stayed deeply committed to Bruin Supermileage Electric where we are building the world’s most efficient electric vehicle. I currently serve as the President of our team and we are in the final push to finish our vehicle before competition in two weeks. And for the next few weeks, I’ll also be working hard on my MBA applications!

I’m sad to be wrapping up so soon. It truly does feel like college has flown by. We lost almost two years of the in-person experience due to COVID-19. Even then, I grew I lived independently for the first time and made unlikely friends. I’m happy to be graduating and starting a new chapter. I’ll be returning to Microsoft to start full-time work and I’ll be moving to a new city really soon! After graduation, I am going on a long traveling spree across the United States and abroad to Iceland and India! For these, I’m very excited! I’m also scared of leaving all that I know. LA has become home and I finally feel like I have gotten to know the city well. All of my college friends will be heading off on different paths and I hope that we will remain closely connected for years to come.

As I wrap up some of my bucket list items in Los Angeles, I will definitely be enjoying these last few months to the fullest! I have loved my college experience and I have no regrets about my time here. I’m deeply thankful to my friends, family, peers, professors, and everyone else who touched my life over the last four years at college. Here’s to one last quarter!