Diversity Statement;

From an early age, medical bills ruled the life of my family. Whether it was the bills for my dad,
my mom, or me, there was no escape from them. Medical bills hit us so bad financially, my
parents felt the best way to save money was to move to New Mexico after my first year at
community college. When they moved, I stayed behind and moved into a house of people in their
early 30s, so I could finish my last year of community college to qualify to transfer to a UC
school. This was a very difficult transition for a 19-year-old. Most 19-year-old kids either have
the comfort of college dorms or the comfort of living with their parents, I had neither. I was
dropped into the deep end and was forced to learn how to swim in he untreaded waters of
adulthood. Even with this I remained a top student and even picked up a part time retail job and
successfully transferred to UCLA. And ever since 2017, I have been able to adapt to new living
situations every year. In 2020, I moved 4 times all by myself during the worst parts of the
pandemic, but I did figure it out all on my own. My Jewish identity is also a very important part
of me. When I was younger, I hated that part of myself since it usually meant a lot of pressure
since my father was the president of our synagogue for most of my childhood. I was forced to do
everything and had everyone eyes on me it seems. This changed when I got to UCLA though,
since one of the first people I met was very much a part of Hillel. I was curious so I started to go
to Shabbat dinners held there and other events and found myself reconnecting slowly to the
Jewish part of myself that I rejected for so long. I think I would have to face this head on when a
shooting happened at a synagogue in my hometown of Poway. This was a very hard time for me
and the finding community at Hillel helped me dearly though this. I also was able to write about
my experience for Her Campus, a national college girl magazine, which became important on my
journey to finding my love for journalism as well.

Gaps;
The one gap in my transcript comes during Spring quarter 2020. I decided to take the quarter off
to refocus on my mental health and work on writing. It was a great time to refocus my goal and I
was able to finish my passion projects. At the time I only planned on doing a career of working
in tv and film, and I was able to finish two different comedy pilots during that time. I returned to
finish up my education in Fall 2020 and finished with straight A’s though.

Additional Education;
Before going to UCLA, I was at a community college in San Diego, Palomar. This was a very
transformative time for me as a student and helped set up a foundation to graduate with honors
from UCLA.

Honors:
Phi Theta Kappa; Betty Webb & Richard Norlin Memorial Scholarship (English Department,
Palomar College, 2018)