- I think if I could go back five years and give myself,
or someone my age, a piece of advice,
I think it would be to go outside
of what you're comfortable doing.
I know I wouldn't have discovered research.
I know wouldn't have discovered, you know,
being an ASU 101 instructor,
I wouldn't have developed that passion
for teaching, research if I hadn't gone a bit outside
of my comfort zone.
- Growing up in Arizona, I got a lot of funding from ASU
and without having to worry about money,
I was able to study abroad twice.
Those were the best experiences of my life.
Studying international relations,
I was able to get out there and talk to other people
and communicate with them in their language,
which also fueled my love for language.
- I've been given a lot of the freedom here at ASU
to explore my interests.
Being in an environment of free thinking
And letting me expand upon what I think is important
has definitely just given me the confidence to keep going
and preparing me for my future.
- Sara Beaudrie
That's what motivated me to come here.
This advisor, this mentor and now I could call as a friend.
She has provided me unconditional support
to not only be able to succeed at ASU,
but also to be able to represent ASU after I graduate.
There's this idea in Spanish that says,
"Poner el nombre de ASU en grande"
What that means, is that we make sure
that I am representing ASU well.
- Having Mai in my life has allowed me to see
that the holistic Rachel, the whole learner,
the whole scholar brings something unique,
not just to academia,
but to digital education and only I
can make the impact that I can make.
To my past self and to anybody considering
doing the big, scary thing,
I would say burn the ships,
get there, and close off your exits.
When you feel empowered,
I think it's easier for us to happen to our world
than for our world to happen to us.
- If you ever want to see how far you can push yourself,
get a doctorate.
There was always someone or something in the back
of my head that said, "No, push forward.
You can do this."
And I'm glad I get to celebrate it
with my family and my friends.
- When I was a little girl,
I've always had a dream to go to college in America,
and I did not allow anything to stop me,
not even my financial background at that time.
I continually walk toward it.
And today I am a graduate of Arizona State University.
- I specifically came to ASU because I love the opportunity
to learn about sports in a deeper way.
There's a lot of sports programs out there,
but none are similar to ASU's
where it's all about sports law and business.
Whether it be working with college athletes in football
or teaching children in a foreign country,
that's my way of just giving back
and using sports to connect the world.
- One way that that really helped me in my project
is that I was able to get people who live in all parts
of the country to participate in the same event.
Access to the online space
really has the ability to transform things
and make different kinds of activities
accessible to more people.
- I'm so inspired by ASU.
Everyone here equipped me with what I need to know,
and it didn't matter if they didn't have the answers,
they knew someone that had the answers,
and the connections and the insight.
And the knowledge that I've gained
while attending this school has just been,
it's been a blessing.
- I think it's good to just keep pushing.
And even if something seems challenging usually
at the end, it'll better you.
It'll better your knowledge. It'll better you as a person.
- When I think of my son, Blake, and I think
of students like him who are also sitting
in classrooms, not being able
to access the curriculum, it's heartbreaking.
And I think when teachers can meld academic demands
with compassion, they can really make a huge impact
on a child's life.
- As someone with a physical disability,
I encountered my own challenges firsthand in the lab
and courses that I'm in.
So having that personal experience drove my passion
for wanting to make a difference and wanting
to change the ways in which we construct
our education system for students with disabilities.
- I will be looking at how I can grow
and expand my interest in having my own
media production company that would be consulting
between performers and technologists
and being the intermediary between the two.
I really love seeing how things can come together
in new and exciting ways.
And I also love connecting people together.
- Right now I'm in the Cronkite Sports Bureau,
but I'm also covering stories on underserved communities
and communities of color.
My grandfather used to say, "I taught you how to read.
Now you can accomplish anything you want in this world."
And so now here I am getting my master's degree.
- I always want to
represent and be an ambassador of ASU around the world and say,
"Hey W. P. Carey really teaches the global perspective and really engages
all its students beyond the content and creates this wonderful community."