Hi Ritz it's so great to see you! Hello Gabby you too!
How are you?
I'm good, how are you?
I'm pretty good, I'm chillin'
OK, for my first question, I have
what
comes to mind when you think of UC
Davis?
Ooh, yeah, for UC Davis,
definitely the cows.
I think everyone who's outside of
Davis and in Davis just loves the
cows.
They're so cute.
I know. That suddenly pops into my
mind when I think of UC Davis.
And it also helps when people say
Davis is a cow town
Because we have cows.
We have a lot of cows. They're so cute
Literally so cute
I love them
And probably
the water tower as well
because it's very prominent in the
campus wherever you go, you
see it.
And it's kind of like a little
marker. I don't know, like you can
tell where you are at campus because
you're like, "oh there's the water tower"
Right, exactly
How about you? What comes to mind?
I feel like the eggheads, just
because it's kind of like cute and
quirky, I don't know, like
we have eggheads
And I just think it's interesting
<that, you know, they're on campus
I'm like, oh, my gosh, wow
there's eggheads
we did that.
Yeah, we did
Things we did? That.
It's fine, it's fine.
Also probably the squirrels
because they're literally so cute.
I had one try to climb in my
backpack last quarter
and I was like, I don't think this
is a good idea, but you're so
cute. So it's fine.
You can just sit there.
She was like pregnant, I think too.
And it's just like, OK, great.
Hello, mommy squirrel.
Yeah, that's definitely all around
campus.
You can't miss them.
They're so cute though and they're
so freaking friendly.
I love it.
So the next question is
what was the transition like from
high school or community college to
UC Davis?
Um, I feel like for me
it was a little unconventional
because I went to a performing arts
school for seven years and
I'm a STEM major here.
And so it was like different because
I'm used to having three hours of
arts like every single day of the
week. And so I feel like for me,
the transition was,
I don't know, it was a little
different because I was like, for a
minute, I really, really missed
having arts classes because, like,
I'm not taking any right now.
Yeah.
And it was kind of weird not having
that routine where like directly
after lunch you go into arts,
but like, I don’t know, it was really great
and my orientation leaders were
amazing. My advisors were
incredible.
Like, I feel like they're just so
helpful in like getting me used
to kind of like this is how to be
a freshman and this is what you
should be doing right now.
These are some things you need to
take care of.
And I don't know, like I feel like
it was smooth, but it's just
different because I was just not
used to it. How about you?
Yeah, I mean, for me, I didn't
come from a performing arts school,
but I did come from a pretty
different environment.
Um, I'm an international student
here, so I came from Dubai, UAE,
and for anyone who knows Dubai or
any place in the Middle East, it can
be really hot. And so
when I came here, definitely the
change of weather has been something
I'm still trying to get used to.
And the busy life in
the city is very different from the
quaint and quiet and chill laid-back
here.
But I kind of appreciate it now,
like it's growing into me.
And in terms of like leaving
home and leaving my family,
it hasn't been too rough because
I do have some relatives who
I live close to here.
And so they've been kind of my
support system along with my
amazing peer mentors here.
And, you know, the advisors, the
teachers, they're all so down to
help you.
And that just made everything so
easy for me to transition here.
And I think that's for a lot
of students too, it's just a very
welcoming environment
that UC Davis fosters.
Mhm. I love that.
Um, my question
was, what was your on campus living
experience like?
Like, residence
halls or like where
did you live, dining?
Yeah. It was definitely fun.
It was my first time living
with strangers, that now I call
pretty close friends.
And I lived in Tercero
Cottonwood Hall.
Oh sick. That's really, that's
really close to where I live right now.
And everyone knows that Tercero is
close to the cows.
And so that's a pretty interesting
experience.
Sometimes you can smell their
scent during the night,
but, you know, you definitely get
used to it and you kind of enjoy it
sometimes.
The dining commons was amazing.
You know, we had themed
dining experiences.
I remember we had a Harry Potter
themed dining.
That's so cool.
Yes. It was really cool.
And yeah, it was overall fun.
We also...
I think in the middle of the first
year, my first year, we opened
Laditude, so that was great,
you know, eating sushi and different
foods from around the globe.
Um, yeah. But it was a really
fun experience living on campus. How about you?
I feel like I'm kind of getting an
unconventional experience because I
went from being in quarantine
for like six months to
coming into a building with people
that I didn't know, and also
because, like, we're all in singles
right now and so
like we didn't have the whole
roommate situation, which has
been interesting,
but like, I don't know, I really,
really liked it. Like, I feel like.
I've made a lot of personal growth
since coming here, which is really
interesting, and I just, I like it
also just like getting
to explore campus in an
unconventional way, I guess,
because, like, we didn't have an
in-person orientation, so I didn't
do like little tours.
instead we would go on night
walks and it's great.
But I don't know,
the food's also really good.
I feel like Latitude is like so
good, my friends all go, like let's
go spice it up tonight, and it's so
fun.
I also like, I don't know, I
feel like I've been trying so many
different foods like in the D.C.
and it's so good.
And I'm just like I'm a very happy
camper when it comes to food, it's
so good. It is so good.
So next question is, what's
your favorite weird or unique
thing about UC Davis?
Oh, the llamas and the
fistulated cows that we have
is it fistulated? I think it's fistulated.
Anyways, the
llamas and the cows, like in the far
part of the arboretum, just like the
fact that we have llamas on campus,
I think is really cool
and they're pretty cute.
I like them,
but I feel like that's just like my
favorite thing. It's just so random,
just like you're walking in like,
oh, now there's a llama.
Perfect.
And it's just I know they're cool.
I'll go with my friends sometimes.
We'll be over there at like nine
like, hey llamas, and they're like
trying
to sleep.
Yeah.
But yeah, that's my favorite.
How about you?
Me? probably.
Bikes. I think is very unique
here on campus and
squirrels as well.
And the combination is kind of
weird. Kind of unique.
Yeah I remember one of my most memorable
experiences was,
I was biking to class and
then there was a squirrel that just
decided to run in
front of me while I was biking, so I
was like, I don't know where to go.
And I turned right and the squirrel,
ran to the right and
it was just crazy.
I thought I was going to run over
the squirrel I thought I was
going to go into an accident.
But that was definitely a weird
experience.
But it makes Davis what it is.
Also like the little turkey gangs
that'll walk around and I'm just
like, there are so many turkeys
in a line right now.
Oh, yeah. Especially in November.
Also, the fact that there are... like
there's apparently river otters in
the arboretum water.
Oh really?
Yeah. My friend has seen one of them
and I'm obsessed with the fact that
we have river otters because otters
are the cutest thing ever.
Yeah I've only seen the ducks.
What's your favorite UC Davis
tradition or event?
Tradition?
Ooh well, for tradition, probably
patting the egg heads, especially
the one in front of the library,
because tradition
says that if you pat it
before exams, you're going to ace
your exams.
So, I definitely tried it.
And I don't know if it works,
but, you know, it's all
about the belief.
The mentality. It's all up here.
If you believe it's going to work, it's gonna work.
Definitely.
In terms of events,
in terms of the experiences
that I've had. I think the biggest
event that I really
liked was Sunset Fest, because
that was one of the first events
where I really felt like I was
in the college spirit.
And so I look forward to joining
again. How about you?
I didn't really get the chance to
experience that many traditions
or events, but like based
off of what I've seen and what I've
heard, I feel like my favorite
tradition would probably be like
I just like the Aggie Pack cheering
section.
I feel that's so cool. Personally,
like I grew up with my dad, like
watching football and I used to hate
it. And then I started watching it
with him freshman year and I got
super into cheering.
Like very much into football.
I can't tell you the name of
positions, but like I will cheer.
Yes.
And so, like, I don't know, I'm just
it's like my not my thing,
but I just really enjoy it.
So I feel like
Aggie Pack is very exciting for me
and I'm like, I'm definitely going
to join once I can.
How about you?
Well, yeah, definitely attending
sports games and cheering for our
team has been one of the biggest
ways I, you know, show school
spirit.
But yeah, I think just
showing and cheering and showing
your excitement, you know,
rooting for your team is amazing.
Yes!
OK, so what are you studying
and why are you studying that?
Yeah.
So right now I'm studying
neurobiology, physiology and
behavior and I'm minoring in
anthropology as well.
That's so cool.
Yeah. So why I chose
NPB or neurobiology, physiology and
behavior.
I'm a pre-medical student and
I think it's a really good major
to kick-start
your journey to medicine because
you learn a lot about not
only in neurobiology but also
the anatomy of the body
And so that's why I chose the major
and why I chose to minor in
anthropology.
I was in an introductory
anthropology class during summer
session last year, and I
really enjoyed how I got
to see the world in a new
perspective and
really see how interconnected
we are as humans.
And that's, I think, something that
anthropology teaches.
I was just so excited to learn more
and that's why I decided to minor.
That's so cool.
Yeah. How about you?
I'm currently an animal
science major
and I'm hoping
to go pre-vet.
I want to work with large predators
like big cats, wolves and
bears and like rehabilitative
zoos just cause like, I
don't know, I feel like it's really
interesting. And I actually did a
summer program where, like, I was a
camp counselor at a local zoo.
It's like fully rehabilitative.
And I kind of realized, like, that's
what I want to do is like I want to
help, like, large predators.
And like, I don't know if I want to
be a zoologist or a veterinarian per
se, but
I just want to work with, like,
large animals, large predators.
But I'm also currently
thinking about maybe switching to be
an anthropology major on a pre-
forensics track
because like, I don't know, I'm also
super into forensics and I kind of
am thinking about being a forensic
pathologist, because that's also
something that I've always had an
interest in.
And I've been taking a lot of like
environmental toxicology classes and
like intro to forensics as well as
my animal science courses.
So I'm on an in-between right now
and I'm still picking, but I think
I have a little bit of time to
decide so.
No I mean UC Davis is perfect
for those.
Right!
I hope you luck to find the perfect
major for you.
Thank you! Yeah, I really, really
hope I can figure it out.
But the world is full of
possibilities.
Who knows where else it's gonna go,
maybe I might be like go and be
wedding planner now.
OK, this is a concept.
I'll follow that too.
I mean, we have to be open to
anything.
Right. I'm so excited to see
like what the world has in store for us.
Right?
I'm so excited.
All right. Well, I think that
concludes our talk.
Thank you so much for speaking with
me today.
Thank you. This was so fun.