Hi! I am a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst studying English and Legal Studies. I work as a Peer Mentor for first year students and serve on the English Department’s Student Advisory Board.
Coming from a family of people all in the medical field, English was never something that I was able to fully explore. Instead of poetry and grammar, I spent much of my early days studying anatomy, calculus, and the periodic table. It was not until high school that my passion for literature and writing was finally able to breathe.
My junior year English teacher always left books on my desk she thought would interest me. She wanted to encourage me to pave my own path and not just follow the one that had already been made for me. The conversations we would have after each book I finished became, in many ways, life preservers for me. They made me believe in my worth as a person and showed me who I could be. These were some of the first times that I felt truly seen and validated in my pursuit of literary knowledge. I hold each of these moments close and carry them with me everywhere I go.
Through studying English, I have begun to build the bridges that I hope will help connect the parts of me I have yet to explore. I also believe that books and writing allow us to heal, create bonds with people we will never meet, and strengthen relationships with those already in our lives. I have found that words have the unique ability to cross the limits of time and space. They exist everywhere we are. Each one of us is made up of stories. It is my hope to be able to share mine with you.
