Let the Summer Begin!

By: Kayla Tejero

 

The month of June is full of celebration for me as this is my birth month! As I turn 21 this year, I see myself with a lot of big things happening. In about two weeks as I write this article, I can finally legally drink. I am so excited to be able to order a drink at a bar or a nice restaurant. These past few days I have been orienting at the hospital for my student nurse internship. It is hard to believe that I am going to graduate this December with my BS in Nursing. It feels like just yesterday when I first started college with my general education classes. Surely, this internship will allow me to gain more hands-on experience and further my understanding of what the role of a nurse entails. I feel a bit uncomfortable and anxious, but always remind myself that going out of my comfort zone allows for growth. Life is not meant to be stagnant, but rather to constantly be better and evolve. On top of this working at the hospital for my internship, I am also working at my retail job. Life is all about work then play. Despite having a lot of things on my plate, I can not forget about spending quality time with friends, family, and engaging in self-care activities (like spa days). I am sure most of us, especially my fellow college students can relate to the relief of it finally being summer. We can work, spend more time with our loved ones, and travel. Let us hear from our four featured college students for the month of June!

Kamryn Reyes says, “Growing up I struggled a lot with being half-Asian and half-Mexican. I still face a lot of hardships and adversity in college simply because I am mixed. I plan to use my major to become a therapist catered towards fellow mixed kids to provide a safer, simpler, and culturally responsive environment for them to be in.”

Rouen Marv Quinones says, “I want to be a model to other Asian-Americans everywhere that you don’t have to be as tall, as athletic, or intelligent as everyone else to make your mark. I participated in track during my highschool years. Although I wasn’t all that good starting out, I kept at it, and. soon enough all of my competitors who were well above my height and physique were scared to race me.”

Jillian Kristin Paguiligan says, “As an Asian -American student, my goals have simply been to recognize the privilege of my education afforded by my immigrant parents who have always found ways to put me in a position to succeed. Understanding that I am a product of my parents’ American Dream has given me the motivation to work hard in my academics with two goals in mind: to work hard to provide stability for myself and to work hard to give back to my parents + family in the Philippines; my achievements are simply not my own, but most definitely shared with my entire family.”

Julia Gomez says, “While in school, as an Asian American, I want to combat the stereotype of Asians being the perfect student. While I strive for success and steer towards the goal of doing the best in my classes and maintaining high grades, I want to encourage myself to be okay with mistakes and failure here and there. I need to remind myself that failure does not equate to shame and inferiority among my classmates. After graduation, I would like to spread this message to the younger generation of Asian-American descent who suffer from the extreme pressure of being a model minority and face the high expectations of their family.”

Kamryn Reyes, Freshman
BS Psychology
Oakton Community College

Rouen Marv Quinones,
Freshman
BS Economics
University of Illinois Chicago

Jillian Kristin Paguiligan,
Year One
Doctor of Occupational Therapy
Midwestern University

Julia Renee Rosales Gomez,
Junior
BS Nursing
Lewis University