Hi there! I was born and raised in Eastern Washington before moving to our lovely Emerald City to study at the University of Washington. The UW was big, but I was lucky to have friendly professors and inviting programs that made me feel connected and at home. For me that is a great goal for us in Academic Support Programs: to make every student feel supported and at home.
I loved my undergraduate experience, where I studied English and the Comparative History of Ideas, and decided to continue my studies. In graduate school, I spent a lot of time thinking about how American universities can better welcome a diverse student population and offer classes that reflect an equally diverse curriculum. Graduate school was difficult, but truly rewarding. In 2008 I received my PhD in the English Department at the UW.
Over the years I have studied in Italy and Spain and taught for two years at a large public university in Southern Morocco. As I know how exhilarating, mind-opening and challenging it can be to live and learn in a country and culture that is not your own, I am grateful to be part of a team in Academic Support Programs committed to helping our students from all corners of the world succeed.
Outside of school I love playing and listening to all kinds of music (I’m a drummer), checking out art, cooking, and getting into the beautiful Washington State out-of-doors. I love hanging with my family and friends. After seeing some amazing parts of the world, I can say that Seattle is one of my favorite places to be.
Please come visit me in ASP and let me know how I can help you at the University of Washington!
Growing up I was born and raised on the island of Oahu, Hawai’i which taught me about the values of community and family. From a young age, I learned so much from the community around me and strive to bring a compassionate heart everywhere I go.
I decided to move to Seattle to pursue higher education and learn from a new community of people. I went to Seattle Pacific University (SPU) where I studied psychology and learned about subject areas that I was passionate about. My college experience taught me that in order to be successful in higher education, I needed the community of people around me. From being involved on campus in many different organizations that sparked my passions in sharing my culture, service, and event planning, I learned about the field of Student Affairs.
From there, I decided to continue my educational pursuit at Seattle University where I graduated with a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Student Development Administration. During my time in the program, I had the opportunity to intern with Academic Support Programs. I am thankful to continue working with ASP and support the Academic Success Coaching Program. I continuously learn and am inspired by our peer Academic Success Coaches who work to support students and create intentional spaces for students at UW.
I value community, collaboration, and compassion where I believe that each person has their own strengths and that working together to achieve our goals truly makes a difference. In my free time, I love spending time with family and friends, trying new food places, watching tv shows, and working on new art projects.
Please feel free to reach out, and let me know what I can do to best support you at the University of Washington!
I grew up along the American Southwest, from California to Texas. I have a soft spot for desert landscapes and greatly miss the dry heat each time Seattle summers roll around! After dropping out of the University of Arizona, I moved to Seattle in 2015 and worked for a couple years before completing my associates at Seattle Central and then transferring to the University of Washington. I graduated with my BA in Public Health-Global Health in 2020 and finished my Master in Public Health (Epidemiology) in 2022, both at the UW.
I've been with Undergraduate Academic Affairs in a few different roles throughout my time at UW- first as a FIG Leader focused on supporting transfer students and then as a Reinstatement Coach and Student Assistant with Academic Support Programs. I've been incredibly impressed with the sincere dedication towards students that UAA staff have shown and am delighted to continue to support this work in a more direct professional manner. Greater educational achievement is directly linked to improved health outcomes, so working at the intersection of educational equity and public health is a prospect I'm excited to undertake!
I'm a first generation Muslim woman in my second year at UW! A lot of my background is in activism, specifically gender-based violence work and intersectionality within that space. I really enjoy learning in and out of the classroom so you can always ask me what I'm researching on my own at the moment. I also grew up around the Seattle area and I love exploring new places to eat all around here. I've recently picked up embroidery! I can only really make plants right now, but that's alright. I also really enjoy hanging out with my cat, reading out loud with my friends, and putting together cool outfits. Like a lot of students, I found myself overworked and exhausted while virtual learning. I was on Zoom for too many hours a day and found it very difficult to separate my school and home life. I was taking on a lot of responsibilities at once. Eventually the stress got to the point where I felt like getting the grades I wanted in my classes was impossible. I had to take a step back and reflect on what wasn't working. I needed to learn how to delegate work to myself and other group project members, figure out how to schedule time for myself, and I had to advocate for myself to my professors. I learned that balance is really important and attaining it often means asking for help.
Hi! I’m Cathy, a first-year Masters student in the Genetic Counseling program. I’m always so inspired by CLUE’s nightly productive atmosphere and am here to support our tutors and students. Outside of class and work, I love writing book reviews for diaCRITICS, a diasporic Vietnamese literary magazine, and going to boba cupsleeve events with friends. Come say hi to me and the front desk manager!
I believe that each student has the ability to succeed, and that a productive learning environment will help as many students as possible realize this ability. I can facilitate student learning by supporting tutors to ensure each session runs smoothly, whether this means resolving tech issues, relaying communication from students to tutors, or helping tutors find solutions to other problems. I will also strive to maintain an environment conducive to student growth by making CLUE a welcoming place for all students.
I enjoy hanging out with friends and family, watching movies/tv, eating, shopping, and travel!
Last year I took ART 190 for to fulfill some VPLA credits. I honestly underestimated the difficulty level of the class (for someone like me who has never taken a formal drawing class but enjoys art recreationally. I started out finishing all the assignments during class, never spending too much time on them. Then, when my grades began to reflect that, I started taking the class more seriously and would spend hours on each project, and at times my grades still didn't reflect that. I got really frustrated and down on myself, but what I learned is that you should put your best foot forward in every class, no matter how easy or difficult you perceive it to be, and if you're doing your best that's all you can do! I shouldn't have underestimated the class at first, but I also should not have gotten down on myself for receiving certain grades when I was doing all that I could. Have grace with yourself and try hard things!
