collage of student faces

Jules Pugh 24C

Photo of Jules Pugh“Something near and dear to me is swimming! I took the PE 112 and 212 courses with John Petroff and Cindy Fontana, the varsity swim coaches, and ever since, I have not stopped swimming. I swim because it keeps me calm. I'm comfortable. I can hear my own thoughts in the water. I can go at my own pace, and no one's telling me what to do. The water is autonomous, and it allows me to do whatever I want. That's why I love swimming!”

 

 

Darby Osborne 26C

Photo of Darby OsborneDebate was my favorite activity in high school, and I feel like I learned so much from it. It helped me learn how to better communicate and how to properly form an argument. Debate gave me the opportunity to learn about so many important issues and topics, and I always knew I wanted to continue my engagement with it in some capacity. The Atlanta Urban Debate League immediately seemed like a great way to do this, and pairing debate with community engagement is the perfect combination for me.”

 

Rebecca Urato 23Ox 25C

Photo of Rebecca UratoI grew up in North Carolina, so growing up in the South in a relatively small area was hard for me to explore the person I am in the LGBTQ community. Here, I'm able to get more comfortable with being myself. In terms of my personal life and my identity, I am able to more freely and openly express myself, and explore my gender identity and sexuality.”

 

Claire Bowman 25C

Claire Bowman PictureI have been interested in research for as long as I can remember. My favorite classes have always been those where I’ve worked hands-on to solve a problem. I’ve always seen myself working as a scientific researcher. Getting involved in that field as soon as possible is super important so that I can start to develop the necessary skills and gain useful experience to help solve big issues. I joined SIRE, a year-long research program, to help me in that mission, and I am excited to get to work!”

 

Prayaag Oruganti 25B

Prayaah Oruganti PictureI have been playing tournament golf since I was 11. I came here to Emory as a student-athlete and I was a pretty solid player in high school. For me, it was about continuing to get better and to see if I could get good enough to play after college as well. Since then, I'd say being on both the golf team and the Student Athlete Executive Board here have greatly contributed to my growth. I'm one of the four who represents the student-athletes on the administration and conference levels which has helped me to take a step into a leadership role more seriously. My best friends on campus are on the golf team, the basketball team, the baseball team, the track team, and the volleyball team. They're also my support system here. We do homework together. We hang out on the weekends and we also go to each other's dorm rooms just to talk. There's a bond that we have over our similar lifestyles including traveling a lot and representing the university. For me, that community on campus has been the most special.”

 

Carly Wilson 26C

Carly Wilson Picture“Though it's my first year, I have been able to join sports teams, like club soccer. Since I don't have much experience going to the gym, joining club soccer has given me the opportunity to continue to stay active, and play a sport I've always loved because it helps me feel energized. The connections it has helped me build are important because many of the members on my team are upperclassmen. As a freshman, it can be easy to get stressed out about classes but the upperclassmen on my soccer team reassure me that these feelings are normal and that most people experience them.”

 

Miracle Onuorah Ejidike 21Ox 23C 24G

Miracle Ejidike Picture

“Though it's my first year, I have been able to join sports teams, like club soccer. Since I don't have much experience going to the gym, joining club soccer has given me the opportunity to continue to stay active, and play a sport I've always loved because it helps me feel energized. The connections it has helped me build are important because many of the members on my team are upperclassmen. As a freshman, it can be easy to get stressed out about classes but the upperclassmen on my soccer team reassure me that these feelings are normal and that most people experience them.”

 

Amal Umerani 23C

Amal Umerani “During the past four years, I've learned a lot, but the biggest thing I've learned about myself is that I am confident. Serving as Co-President of the Pakistani Students Association, I've learned to be a leader, even if I don’t have the answer to a situation that a student in my club is asking me about. I will say, "Oh, let me get back to you on that," or "Let me ask someone else." Working in this role as a President I've learned a good amount about respect and understanding.”

Tina Zhen 26C

Tina Zhen

I've learned that I am much braver than I thought I was. I had to fly 20-plus hours to get here and transfer three times from my hometown of  Saipan, which people are often surprised to learn is a small island in the US. In Saipan, there are limited resources. We don't have direct flights to Atlanta, so I had to go to our nearing island Guam. I then had to fly to Japan and into Newark. From there, I finally made it to Atlanta. It was hard to say goodbye to my family and friends back home because whenever there are breaks, maybe people here can fly back to their families who are a few hours away but I can't. It was difficult for me to decide to go to college away from home, but I think I made a great decision and I feel like I'm brave for doing so, and I don't regret anything.”

 

Paris Bates 23C

Paris Bates“I'm a transfer student so I initially went to a different school. It was a really small community and not at all that diverse. I realized that I wanted something a bit bigger because it reminded me too much of high school. I ended up transferring during the year of Covid. As a result, I spent my first year of Emory online. Things turned around for me when I started to actively engage in theater. Even though it was online, that's where I met a lot of friends and started growing my community at Emory more. I think all of the faculty members in the Emory theater department have been mentors to me. They've all been helpful with me trying to find my path in college, and then trying to give me opportunities that I can find after I graduate. They've always been a rock in a sense that they make sure that I don't get too nervous about life after graduation, especially now that I'm a senior. They’re like, “It's okay to do theater after graduation. You'll find a way!”

Noor Aldayeh 21Ox 23C

noor aldayeh“I'm Syrian, and Jordanian-Palestinian, and I grew up in a really white neighborhood and had a lot of shame in my culture. I had immigrant parents which complicated things even more, but coming to Emory I found a cultural community that I never had access to before. I am able to advocate for things that are happening in the countries that I'm from, and I don't think I'd be able to speak about or advocate for my cultural identities as explicitly as I do now if I hadn't met other people from those identities here."

 

Shaan Bhasin 25C

shaan bhasin“One way in which I've been able to bond with my friends is through deejaying. I play a lot of music in my room for my friends, and we just have a really good time. I love playing music for them because it helps me to shape my own little community in my room. I just think that the idea of deejaying to me is just symbolic of community and camaraderie. I think it's so much more than just playing with a little button, and I love that!”