Posted on by Cesar

What Helped Me Stay Organized as a Student at UW-Bothell

 My time here at UW-Bothell has been quite the journey. I developed many new skills and experiences as I embraced coming and dorming here from my hometown. To me, it is still unbelievable that I will be graduating this spring quarter! Time goes by fast and each time I think of this, I still remember the chaos of my high school graduation and senior night. I knew that participating in the Running Start program at my community college would set me up for the ability to advance in college credits so that I would be able to graduate early. However, it is still shocking to see that in a couple of weeks, I will be walking across the stage. 

 This past academic year has proved to me that time goes by fast and that it is important to take advantage of each given moment. With this being my last quarter here at UW-Bothell, I wanted to share some of my skills and tips that I have developed and embraced throughout my two years of being here. 

Something that I used each day during high school that has stuck by me to this very day is: a planner. I find that by having a planner, it makes everything a lot easier. Not to mention that it can also help you develop other skills like organization, time-management and reduced stress/ procrastination. This can certainly help especially if you are a college student with a hectic schedule filled with demanding homework deadlines. 

When it comes to using a physical or an electronic planner, I personally enjoy a physical one. I like to have the physical copy of my planner so that I can customize it to my liking and so that when I do check things off, it feels more of an accomplishment. Not to mention that for me, having a physical planner is more aesthetically pleasing to have and it keeps me accountable for being consistent with planning out my weekly schedules. 

 

Weekly Planning For Beginners And Pros - Bordio
Image Captured from Bordio.com

Let me take you through my process when it comes to using my planner. To start, I enjoy planning my week every Sunday. This is so that I am aware of what is happening throughout the week ahead of me and so that I’m able to see what I have to get done for that given week. I am also able to prioritize my assignments to see which things require more attention. 

Every day, I like to start the day off by going to the gym. Incorporating weight training into my schedule is a way for me to take time for myself and for my health. I like to set aside about two hours of my morning that is dedicated to this. Within my planner, I write down “Gym @ 8am” for each day, Monday-Friday. This helps me be accountable for getting up in the morning and tackling the day with a good workout. 

Next, I like to write down my scheduled times for my job and for any lectures. With this, and the gym, I like to do a check box on the left-hand side so that once I finish this task, I can sigh relief after I have checked it off. When it comes to class assignments, I like to write them down on the days that they are due during the week, along with the times as well. I find that having Canvas opened to the monthly setting helps me get a clearer picture of how many things I have to do. It also gives me the ability to have some insight the week after to see if there are any important exams, projects, events, etc., need to prepare well in advance. 

Due to the majority of my coursework having deadlines on Sundays @ 11:59 pm, I’ve noticed that the Sunday box within my planner usually has more writing within it. To help manage my time with my classes, and with what I have assigned, I like to color coordinate my classes and assignments. What is nifty about this is that it makes my planner more organized and appealing to the eye. 

Whenever I have additional things that occur during the week, I also like to write them down so that I do not forget. This usually includes any scheduled times that an event or a meeting will happen. As a busy college student, having things written down is important because it helps me manage my time and priorities better. 

 

Photo of my planner for the week of May 20th – May 26th

Having a planner with everything laid out helps me with my routine. I am very routine-oriented, and I like to know what has to get done during the week so that I don’t rush or procrastinate at the last minute. I carry this around with me in my backpack so if there is anything I need to check off or update, I can do so.

Reflecting on how my planner has helped me throughout college, I developed new skills and strengthened some of the skills that I currently have. A new skill I developed is multitasking, and a couple that I have strengthened are prioritizing my objectives, organization, and time management. Some of the skills were ones that I already have, but with the help of a planner, I’ve noticed how it has helped me strengthen my skills because I can get a head start for the week and see which assignment deadlines were high and low-stakes. 

Learning these skills is something that I didn’t adapt to easily. If I were to pull out my previous planner, the resemblance would be apparent as it has taken me time and effort to implement exactly what I was looking for in terms of developing a routine, planning, and organizing. I think we underestimate the power of the planner. It is such a prime way to stay organized and consistent. The nice thing about a planner is that it only suits you and you. It contains your work, schedule, meetings, appointments, etc. A glimpse into your life on paper is the way that I like to think of it.

Looking at the planner example below, one thing that stood out to me was that the creator included a “Rest Day!” on a weekend day. I think this is something that I could see myself doing for the future of my planner because it’s such a great written reminder to prioritize ourselves at the end of a crazy and busy week. 

Some of these techniques were effective for me when it came to using my planner and I hope this blog post can inspire and help any new and current students who are thinking about using a planner or need some guidance to get started. 

Happy planning! 

 

Image Captured from Korrashay.com

 

Resources to help you get started on your planning journey:

Resources for UW-Bothell Students: 

Resources for Cascadia College Students: 

Posted on by monsea

Attending Community College Doesn’t Have to be Shameful

Graduating from high school is a well-known life milestone. At this point in your life, one of the most frequently asked questions that you receive is “What university are you going to?” This question can be intimidating for many reasons. Some people aren’t committed to a university yet, some people aren’t pursuing higher education, and maybe some people are going to their family’s long-time rival university. For me, however, this question was intimidating because I wasn’t enrolling in a university: I was enrolling in community college.

For as long as I can remember, community colleges have been perceived as the schools for delinquent students who will end up working dead-end jobs. Upon further research, it appears that the media consistently portrays community college students as “mediocre, probably losers, and usually unsympathetic,” often making them the punchline of a joke (6). Because of the negative connotation latched on to the idea of community college, I became hesitant and embarrassed to share my post-high-school plans. When I would tell people about my plan, I would hastily add that I planned to transfer to UW Bothell after receiving my associate’s. Now that I have graduated from Cascadia College and am in my second year at UW Bothell, I realize that attending community college is truly nothing to be ashamed about.

One of the advantages of community college (and one of my main reasons for going to a 2-year institution) is that it is much more cost-effective. According to an article published by US News & World Report, the cost of tuition for community college is about ⅓ of the cost of tuition for universities (7). For example, the typical in-state tuition for Cascadia College is slated at around $4,678 while in-state tuition for the University of Washington is $12,224 (4). If you’re planning on transferring to a university after college, another advantage is that many universities have programs with community colleges that allow for easy transferring of credits. This type of education plan is referred to as the 2+2 model (3). Additionally, community college offers great experience and training for jobs. Martha Parham, the senior vice president of public relations for the American Association of Community Colleges, has stated that different career programs offered by community colleges have a “highly applied nature” that “prepares students for entering the workforce” (7).

Now having experienced community college classes and university classes, I can say that the quality of education between these two is the same. One of the other stereotypes of community college is that the classes are not rigorous or of good quality, however this is not the case. During my time at Cascadia College, the classes I took definitely required a great amount of effort, with the material being challenging and engaging. One of my worries upon entering UW Bothell was not being prepared enough for my classes. Because my foundational knowledge about biology was gained in community college, I felt that I would fall behind in the biology classes at UW Bothell. Fortunately, I realized that Cascadia did prepare me for these classes. Many of the topics discussed in classes had already been introduced in my previous classes, and I was able to easily comprehend new topics. Furthermore, the amount of homework between these institutions did not differ greatly, which was another worry of mine.

Despite my good experience with community college, I understand some of the discrepancies that people may have with it. For example, a study found that the percentage of community college students who did not earn a degree and that were no longer enrolled in community college was around 50% (5). That being said, more disenfranchised groups have a higher likelihood of attaining that bachelor’s degree (1). Additionally, a portion of funding for community colleges, especially in Washington state, depend on property taxes (2). As a result, the community college experience will vary depending on the location of the college. Because of this, I also recognize that my experience at Cascadia is not going to be universal for community college students everywhere. I do believe that many of the problems that face community colleges lies within a much larger conversation about federal funding and stigmatization.

In summation, community college has its own great benefits that should not be overshadowed by its 2-year institution status. The knowledge gained in community college has the same educational value as classes from a university. Many benefits can be gleaned from community college, such as work experience and lower tuition costs. While more work needs to be done in sufficiently funding community colleges nationwide and in removing stigmatization surrounding community college, there is nothing inherently wrong about attending community college.

Check out Cascadia College and University of Washington Bothell!

References

(1) Brand, Jennie, et al. “The Community College Effect Revisited: The importance of attending to heterogeneity and complex counterfactuals.” Sociological Science, vol. 1, 27 Oct. 2014, pp. 448–465, https://doi.org/10.15195/v1.a25.

(2) Burke, Ethelda, et al. “Key Facts about Higher Education in Washington.” Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2011.

(3) “Community College.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 28 Aug. 2023, educationusa.state.gov/your-5-steps-us-study/research-your-options/community-college.

(5) Goldrick-Rab, Sara. “Challenges and opportunities for improving community college student success.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 80, no. 3, 1 Sept. 2010, pp. 437–469, https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310370163.

(6) LaPaglia, Nancy. Storytellers: The Image of the Two-Year College in American Fiction and in Women’s Journals. LEPS Press, Northern Illinois University, 1995.

(7) Warner, Andrew. “5 Reasons to Consider Community College.” U.S. News & World Report, 19 May 2022, www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/articles/reasons-to-consider-community-college.

 
Posted on by dilark

How I Learned My Parent’s Language (and how you can learn another language, too)

At the age of 17, my parents had me participate in a Turkish band because they wanted to help me get to know my culture. But as a Turkish American who grew up very divorced from her culture overall, it was a weird experience. When we tried to sing a Turkish song by the name of Cambaz (which means acrobat in English), it became incredibly apparent that I was not raised speaking the language like my other Turkish peers. When I tried to sing the chorus of the song, I was mocked for mispronouncing a word by one of my band members, with the band director lightly joking that I should sing in English. It made me feel like there was no hope for me to ever learn my heritage language or connect with my culture simply because I grew up so divorced from it. My parents chose to not teach me Turkish because after I received my autism diagnosis, they wanted to make sure I assimilated into American culture as much as possible to make up for the differences that my autism would cause. However, having a name like Dilara would give my teachers and classmates a run for their money as they would try to pronounce or spell it and my physical appearance would pique questions from others about where I was from. It’s safe to say that despite my parent’s efforts to help me assimilate, I proceeded to grow up not knowing the culture of my heritage while also feeling like a stranger in the country I was born and raised in. After my failed attempt to learn Turkish with Rosetta Stone at the age of 7, I thought that acquiring the language as an adult would be impossible, but I decided to go for it anyway. And the results I achieved genuinely surprised me. In this article I’m going to go over methods I used to learn my parent’s language and what I would recommend to you if you are trying to learn a second language yourself. 

I started with Duolingo last September because that seemed like the most common sense thing to do since it advertised everywhere. A couple of weeks of practice helped me review the occasional phrases I’ve picked up from the house along with teaching me some basic grammar points. I had heard phrases like “merhaba” (hello) and “iyi geceler” (good night) for a good majority of my life but this was the first time I was learning how to spell them. This seemed to suffice for the first couple of weeks to a month because I was getting a foundation in the language and reviewing what I had learned before. But it eventually showed to not be enough. This is when I started to consult my aunt over the phone to learn more basic phrases that Duolingo wouldn’t teach and even started doing a little reading practice with her. As I was, and am currently living with my parents who are native speakers of the language, I could ask them questions related to grammar or certain words. I would try speaking here and there, but it was clear that I didn’t have enough vocabulary to hold a decent conversation yet. But as I continued to learn the language, a strength of mine that came from having heard the language in bits and pieces started to emerge: pronunciation. Even if I didn’t get enough exposure to the language as a kid to understand it or speak it, I was very familiar with the sounds, and using what I committed to memory came with ease for the most part. This showed up especially when I would read with my aunt over the phone. 

From this point on, I became very interested in second language acquisition. This was when I first heard about a theory called comprehensible input. This theory was founded by Steven Krashen in the 1980s and states that the main way people acquire language is by consuming input that they can comprehend. Any shows you watch and readings you do at your current level can help you grow your language skills. While it’s been a long time since this theory was published and a lot of misinformation about it on the internet, there was a certain part of it that rang true for me as I was going about studying Turkish. If you’re looking to self-study a language and don’t know where to start, I would strongly recommend that this is one of the first steps you take.

Starting off fresh in a language, you won’t be able to consume media for native speakers. Even children’s content can be a little bit hard at first because of the nonsensical plots the shows often contain. But if you go onto YouTube and search [target language] comprehensible input, you will be able to find a variety of videos targeted at beginners in the language of your choice. These videos will usually contain audio visual content where the speaker uses very simple language to explain what simple things are like holding up a toy car and saying “this is a car” in the target language. This is very helpful because it allows you to start making associations to things in the language rather than just translating words to their native language equivalent. It won’t get rid of the process you will undergo of translating things in your head fully, but it will be a very good start at fossilizing the language in your brain in the long run. Keep in mind that as you are working with immersion materials, you can use outside sources to make things more comprehensible if the language material is a little bit beyond your level such as using target language subtitles or an extension called Language Reactor that allows you to see Target Language subtitles and subtitles in your native language to make understanding easier. Along with that, the extension allows you to hover over words to learn their meanings. You can watch videos with native language subtitles as well but I don’t recommend that as much as I recommend the other two things I suggested because target language subtitles allow you to learn how words are spelled and look words up so you can write them down and make flashcards. 

While immersion material in a target language is very important, some deliberate studying is necessary to get the finer points of grammar in the beginning. The more learning materials you go through, be it books or videos, you will start to learn the language more and more, but there are some things that will be a struggle. Such as memorizing vocabulary or grammar. This is where skill building comes in. When you watch a video with target language subtitles and there’s a word you want to remember, it is incredibly important to write it down and review it on a consistent basis to put it in your long term memory. This is the whole idea of a Spaced Repetition System and there are many ways to use one. You could use a notebook or any flashcard system, but one I personally recommend is Anki. It’s a little hard to use at first but it’s really good for reviewing words. The simplest way to make a flashcard is to write down the word on one side and the meaning using a picture or your native language on the other. Either way works. And it’s nice to be reviewing a couple words a day. Mainly adding 10 or less at a time to not overwhelm your brain. In regards to grammar, to learn the finer points of that, you can look up videos, internet articles, and purchase grammar books online to study from.  I personally recommend a mix of all three depending on your learning style but buying a book at some point can be incredibly helpful since there are things you won’t learn from the internet alone. I also recommend talking to native speakers of the language to gain an understanding of the finer points of grammar if you have any questions. Living at home, I can easily ask my parents but if you don’t have access to native speakers in your vicinity, you can find them through apps such as HelloTalk and Italki in which you can contact teachers who speak the language or language exchange partners. 

After about two months of using Duolingo, I decided to quit because I found the repetitive exercises weren’t really adding to my Turkish and I found it to be a bit of an annoyance. From here, I spent my time engaging with immersion materials and skill building. Along with watching videos of comprehensible input, I dove into learning songs as well. This worked for me because I’m a musician and I find songs work incredibly well for me to learn anything, and I found myself acquiring a lot of new vocabulary this way. The only thing that I would caution to anyone trying to learn using this method is that the language used in songs doesn’t always grammatically resemble how the language is spoken as song lyrics use plays on words, sentence structure, and dramatic imagery. But reading and taking apart song lyrics is incredibly useful otherwise. In tandem with this, I would try to contact my aunt to read almost anything I could. We worked with online materials and graded readers in the beginning. I think reading is very important in second language acquisition because when we read, we have to use our imagination to think up the situation that is being described in the text. This can help create associations with new vocabulary words and grammar. All of this will make it easier for you to not translate in your head as much. 

After about three or four months, I was able to start having simple conversations with my parents around the house. It was incredibly hard at first because while I had learned a lot of vocabulary, I hadn’t grasped how to think in the language on the fly yet. But trying to converse in tandem with immersion materials and skill building made it easier for me to think in the language on the fly. I still have to translate in my head sometimes when thinking up longer sentences but when it comes to thinking simple sentences or thoughts, it’s mostly second nature to me. When you start conversing, translating in your head will be an inevitable part of the process, but the more you engage with immersion materials (especially reading), it will become easier. At least, that’s how it’s been for me so far. You want to get the language in your brain as much as possible to the point where you can start thinking in that language. One way of doing that is to watch the same video, episode of a show, or movie, or read a certain text a ton of times. This way, the language presented to you naturally sinks in your brain and you can use it as a spaced repetition system in a way, looking up vocabulary words and grammar structures you hadn’t noticed before on each viewing or reading. 

I wanted to touch on one more point specifically for heritage speakers looking to learn their parent’s language. It is very normal in the beginning to feel a sense of shame related to your abilities in the language. You might be able to understand it but not be able to speak it very well or you might know a couple throwaway phrases like I did. It’s going to hurt in the beginning because connecting to your cultural background is an incredibly difficult process but it can also be very healing. You might feel a sense of guilt for not taking the leap of connecting with your parents culture and choosing to assimilate instead. But it’s never too late to start. And learning your parents language is an important part of that because language is so intertwined with culture. It’s going to feel difficult at first, but it gets better. In the end, you’re not just your parents’ culture or where you grew up, you are you. And you have your own unique experiences and perspective to offer in this world so you shouldn’t feel any pressure to fit into a box. I struggle with not feeling Turkish enough or not feeling American enough, but the best thing I’ve done is to keep going regardless of my insecurities. 

My journey with learning my parents language has been an incredibly complicated one and I’m constantly learning new things day by day. My experiences have taught me not just how to learn a language but how to learn in general. Things like spaced repetition systems and persistence are things that can be applied to learning any topic. The best thing you can do to learn a language is to soak up as much information regarding the language as possible. A mix of immersion and skill building through vocabulary and grammar drills will both take you a very long way. But the most important lesson of all is to never give up. Even when you still find yourself having to translate in your head. Or even when you feel like you just won’t be able to use a certain grammatical structure, it will all pay off in the end. I’m very new to the field of second language acquisition and language learning but it fascinates me as a whole. Once my Turkish gets better, I’m open to learning another language. Potentially Japanese? I do watch a lot of anime. And going to Japan is definitely on my bucket list.

If you are interested in linguistics or language learning yourself and want to go down the massive rabbit hole I went down, here are some resources about second language acquisition and discovering other cultures. 

Some interesting tidbits:

NPR Life Kit, How To Learn A Heritage Language

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/25/1101187823/how-to-learn-a-heritage-language

What I’ve Learned, How To Learn A Language: Input (Why most methods don’t work) 

Duration (minutes): 13:57 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_EQDtpYSNM

Days And Words, Why Language Learners Hate Anki

Duration (minutes): 9:59

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzNizwynP3o

Norwegian With Ilys, How I Learnt Norwegian On My Own

Duration (minutes): 23:04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWQYqcFX8JE

Posted on by dilark

The Magic Behind Creating a Persona Concert

When I first picked up Persona 5 during quarantine, I fell in love with it and developed a hyperfixation on the series. But little did I know that it would inspire me to plan a tribute concert to the Persona series and this feat would be the most stressful, yet exhilarating of my life. To give a frame of reference to people that may not know what the Persona series is all about, it’s a Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) series created by Atlus. Each of the games revolves around high schoolers that explore dungeons and fight enemies with a manifestation of their inner being, referred to as a persona. The series is ripe with psychological themes surrounding confronting the darkest parts of oneself, friendship, and most importantly awesome music. I had started to learn many of the songs from the soundtrack during quarantine and dreamed of putting on a concert once lockdown restrictions were lifted. And as Vice President of UW Bothell’s very own music production club, I gradually started to get accustomed to a position of power that would allow me to make this show happen. The idea was initially rejected by Oliver, the president of the club, for being a niche topic, but with enough persistence, I was able to get the idea greenlit at the very start of Fall 2022. As I was going to be spearheading the project, I would mainly receive his assistance through working with club council and facilitating meetings. I started off a bit slow being overwhelmed by my vision. I had all of these clubs I wanted to reach out to, tons of effects, a live band, and costume changes. But the overwhelm of all of those things distracted me from the bare minimum of what I needed to do to make the show happen. So I talked to my voice teacher and with her advice,  I formulated a new action plan, one that would be so much easier to follow through with. I’d be collaborating with the Digital Arts Club instead of handling multiple collaborations, singing to backing tracks (barring one instrumental song we would be doing), and I would not be having multiple costume changes. 

Resources I Needed to Put The Project On

Music Production/Scoring

The main resources I used for the music production process were Reaper, Musescore, GarageBand, and Google Docs. In a separate google document, I made a list of every song in the set list and tried to look for its corresponding karaoke track. I was able to find karaoke tracks for the songs I would be singing except one which I would need to make from scratch. I organized all of the tracks by set list order and listed what types of modifications they would need or if none were needed at all. This would make it easy for me to keep track of which ones I needed to work on. I was able to download the videos for the karaoke tracks I had found as mp3 files and drag them into Reaper to record background vocals. Before going into recording anything, I listened to the parts of the songs that had harmonies over and over again with headphones to really be able to hear all of the details. I then got a sheet of the lyrics and wrote the notes for the melodies over the lyrics, using different colors to differentiate different parts from each other. I would then do my best to sing each of the parts I had extracted from listening to each track, adjusting certain parts using trial and error until I honed in on the exact sound I wanted. 

 As for music transcriptions, I was going to originally have my guitar teacher in charge of those because music transcription is not my strength at all and I don’t enjoy it. But he was not able to do so for the two songs in the set that were going to have instrumental accompaniment on them. So I was left to my own devices. I downloaded Musescore, which I had not touched in ages, found some arrangements for the songs that I kind of like, and did minor reworking to the arrangements to make them stripped down to the instruments we would need (piano and violin). This reworking process took about a couple months. As I did not have Reaper installed on my Mac, I ended up exporting the audio of each part into GarageBand tracks so the performers I featured and I would have something to practice with. 

Club Collaborations

The first and arguably most important task that would kick off the project would be to hold a meeting with the Digital Arts Club in which I planned to pitch the idea of the show, give an official set list along with rough visuals for each song for the artists to reference, and talk a small bit about featuring one other performer to play keyboard and rap on two songs in the set. Oliver was my rock throughout the initial stages of planning this show and it wouldn’t have succeeded on the scale that it did if he didn’t help me. For reference, here’s a snappy little list of the things that he did to help me prepare for this meeting and beyond:

  1.  Oliver helped me prepare the documentation for the meeting by taking note of what I had already written down and organizing it into a template that I could flesh out in time for the meeting. This allowed me to take the grandiose vision I had of the show that made me overwhelmed in the past and ground it in reality; what can actually be achieved on a low budget by college students. 
  2. He helped me narrow down the initial set list which was massive in my documentation. He encouraged me to only pick a handful of songs I liked. Once we had decided on the songs, we ordered them into sections based on what games they were from (Persona 3 songs would go first, then Persona 4 songs, then Persona 5 songs) and marked which ones would have instrumental accompaniment or feature another performer. After the list was cut down the set had 11 songs, but I was going to have Oliver feature as a violinist for two songs and would later on recruit Joe to do keyboard and rapping parts. 
  3. During the initial meeting, Oliver redirected me whenever I went on tangents regarding music production, recruiting performers, or theatrics. Since this meeting was with the club that was going to be doing visuals for us, everything else had to be kept to a minimum. I didn’t have a lot of experience conducting meetings so this was incredibly helpful.
  4. Oliver took on the role of logistics coordinator as he chose to handle the club council interactions that would allow us to reserve and decorate the space for the event as needed. 

Space Reservations

Oliver had a bit of trouble getting a hold of club council to schedule a meeting for reserving a space for the concert. When we thought we had secured a date, it ended up being moved around a couple times until we could get in contact with them. We showed up with our documentation and I described what kind of stage, decorations, and refreshments we might want for the show. We were looking to hold it in the ARC some time during spring quarter. They gave us a couple dates and times we could reserve the ARC for the concert and the best one was on May 30th. During hell week. The show would literally be put on during the time of the quarter where people are hunkering down to catch up on schoolwork or studying for finals. Neither of us wanted it because we knew we’d be risking low attendance but it was the best option they gave us so we took it. All that was left to do was actually get ready for the show and a big part of that was practicing.

I had scheduled a when2meet with the two of them and asked Oliver to reserve the usability studio in the discovery hall for us to practice. He was able to reserve the usability studio for the next month up until the show, which was good, but also very stressful because we would only have a month to practice. Because we’d be only playing some parts from the musescore arrangements I prepared, I exported the audio of the parts that wouldn’t be played and put them in a timeline on GarageBand so we could play along to them. Before our reservation of the media space started, I was able to get Joe to practice with me on campus outside of the library. Which was pretty fun as we gave the campus a little sneak peek into what we had prepared.

Creating Key Visuals for Artists

Gearing up for the show, I also had to create a more organized mood board of visuals for the artists. I created a chaotic set of potential visuals in the meeting notes, but the artists creating the visuals wanted a more specific set of references to work with so I decided to create a canva presentation which was basically one massive moodboard. Since the entire set list would have three sections categorized by songs from a singular game, I wanted the visuals to reflect that heavily. The presentation I ended up creating consisted of the following: 

  • A slide denoting each section of the set list and a color palette to go with the corresponding Persona game
  • Default visuals for each section
  • Specific visuals to transition from one section to the next.

Both of the artists I had recruited were in their senior year working on their capstone projects so it was very important to emphasize which parts would require the most effort and which ones they could cut corners on. 

Advertising

 As the concert date creeped closer and closer, advertising became a much more concerning factor. And a big part of that was coming up with an official name for the concert. I had always referred to it as the Persona concert but Oliver thought that was uninspired so we sent out a Google form for people to suggest what the name of the concert should be. We got a lot of suggestions ranging from ones that I thought really captured the essence of the show and its set list to very funny ones. Eventually, I decided to make a list of my top 5 and originally, the name I had chosen for the show was at the very bottom of the list. But it rose to the top quickly when I had drafted a poster design that I thought would complement the name well. The next step was to actually make official posters.

 I had planned on designing the posters in Clip Studio Paint as I thought at the time that would make the advertising process go by faster. For reference, the show was over a month away and I was looking at getting 3-4 weeks of advertising. I then had to bite the bullet as I realized I still had backing tracks to finish mixing at the time and tried to lend the task over to the Digital Arts Club. They denied the request to make the poster since they had only agreed to do visuals as part of their collaboration, but redirected me to the Multimedia Graphic Designers. With the help of Oliver, I filled out a form that described what logos we would need on the poster, the poster colors, along with a google drive link of the draft design I had sketched. After communicating with the graphic designer and waiting for her revisions, I got a result I was proud of and it was time to start putting up posters on campus. CEB was advertising a prom event which was happening around a similar time so we made sure to post our flyers next to theirs. We also got sandwich boards, one of which we put outside the library and another of which was outside the ARC. For online spaces, we posted the flier in the Bothell Beats discord, the UWB discord, the Digital Arts Club discord, and other respective UWB club servers such as Husky Gaming Club and Husky Game Dev. I also made sure to post about it on my personal Instagram account once the final draft of the poster was finished along with a very heartfelt description.

What The Show Was Like

Actually doing the concert was an incredible experience. Pretty much all of my friends were there and considering that the show was held during dead week, we got pretty good attendance. The audience gave me such joy and made it such an incredible experience. It was transcendental almost. I had so much anxiety about whether people would enjoy the show, how I would be perceived on stage, but in the moment, it felt like so much of that didn’t matter and all the work I had put in paid off. I did what I always wanted to do: to share music from my favorite video game series with the people I love, to perform songs that mean so much to me. And finally, I finally had the perfect outlet for that. But more importantly, I finished a large scale project which is such a rare accomplishment for me and I had put on a major performance after so many years. I was reminded of what I love about performing, the adrenaline rush of being on stage, the comradery felt in connecting with an audience, and just an overall ability to be myself, physically and mentally. Not just that, but an ability to feel in tune with myself, which is something I don’t get very often being a busy college student. 

Reflection and Conclusion

Most of the things that I wish could have been better don’t necessarily correlate with the end product itself, but more so with the process. I wish I could have started earlier and allowed my vision of the show to be more malleable to constraints and resources in the beginning. I’d rather reverse engineer my way to a possible final result than thinking everything must match the exact vision I have in my mind and forcing myself to be perfect in the process. I think my perfectionist mindset and my executive dysfunction definitely fed off of each other in that regard for the entire project. I also wish I could’ve prioritized this project rather than forcing myself to do a million things at the same time because many parts of this project took up more space in my life than I initially thought I would. I’d also want to make sure to stay in contact with any mentors that could help me during the initial stages. The last thing, I seriously wish I could’ve delegated more tasks to people than forcing myself to do almost everything. While the Digital Arts Club was working on visuals and Oliver was handling a lot of logistics, I was left with pretty much everything else and that was extremely overwhelming. Even in regards to little things like mixing tracks or transcribing sheet music, I think I should’ve accepted help more quickly so I could focus on being a better leader. Even with all of the things that I would do differently next time, this project was a major success in regards to learning leadership skills, helping Bothell Beats cross new frontiers, and most importantly performing the music of a video game series that allowed me to pursue my true self. And yes, that is a Persona reference. 

Posted on by Cesar

My Experience as a First-Generation Latino College Student

Photo Retrieved from the Oswego State University of New York | Penfield Library

The behind the scenes meaning of a student being ‘first-gen’ is much more than what people realize. I find this topic very interesting because people who are first-generation will always have a unique story to tell. First-generation students often feel as if they don’t have the ‘light’ in front of them which serves as a guide for many of them in figuring out what to do with both their educational and personal decisions. They often feel lost when it comes to figuring things out such as college and scholarship applications, FAFSA, moving out for college, etc. The reason why I correlate these things is because I, myself, identify as a first-generation Latino college student and I’ve had to experience this recently. 

My parents migrated from Mexico for a better life filled with endless opportunities than what they had during their lives. Similar to other families, they sacrificed many things and worked tirelessly for everything they have. This is something that I continuously remember whenever things in college, or life for that matter, get challenging. It serves as a motive for me to push myself and work hard so that I will be able to repay them for everything they’ve done for my siblings and me. 

Photo from Unsplash

It really isn’t a joke when people say that high school goes by within a blink of an eye. On the day of my high school graduation, I recall sitting there during our commencement speech as I reflected on all the hard work I had endured. I recall the voices of my teachers saying things like ‘Make sure to keep a good GPA for upcoming college applications’ or ‘Make sure you apply for scholarships to help pay for school.’ I also recalled the additional support I had to seek when applying and filling out these applications. 

When filling these important documents out, I felt lost, and at the time I didn’t know how to manage that because I didn’t have the luxury of having a family member who went through this experience. So, what did I do? I took the initiative to meet with my career counselor various times to ensure I was on the right track when doing these documents. Discussing things like tuition, room and board, grants and loans was always a blur because I’ve never had any previous knowledge about this. It is without a doubt that if it wasn’t for my career counselor and their support, I don’t think I would’ve been able to manage the burden of tackling these things. 

After summer ended, the date of having to move into college came closer. It almost felt like I was in a dream because I’d seen people and heard stories about them moving into college, but I couldn’t realize that it would finally be my turn. I remember that saying ‘See you soon’ to my family was a bittersweet moment. Even though most of my emotions were just nerves about ‘being on my own’ and living away for the academic year, there was a part of me that was still excited and curious about the opportunities that came with the college experience. 

Did you know that The Postsecondary National Policy Institute mentions a study that only 44% of undergraduate students are first-generation Latinos? This came as a surprise to me because, from a bigger picture, I’m a part of this 44% and it’s exciting to see that this percentage is increasing as the years go by. Recognizing this fact is something that inspires me to pursue a higher education. Seeing that Latino students are excelling in academia is absolutely astonishing because a lot of these students are in the same shoes as I am where they too want to become a success story for their families and themselves. The Center for First Generation Student Success offers very insightful facts about the percentages of first-generation students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. 

UW-Bothell Photo

 Reflecting back on everything I’ve done this past academic year,  I’ve made great memories. I maintained a high GPA while being a part-time student at the University of Washington-Bothell/ Cascadia College library attended events hosted by the Outdoor Wellness Program and LSU, and established lifelong friends in just a couple of months, and even got close with my roommates. During the initial months of this year, I was studying in different locations to see which one was my favorite and with that being said, my top location will have to be the library because this is where I made a couple of my initial friendships. I’ve learned and grown so much in just a few months and it’s certainly hard to believe that summer is nearing.  All of these memories and experiences are ones that I will cherish and remember forever.

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, Remezcla does a splendid job of shining the light on the stories of a few Latinx students.

Additional Resources for First-Generation Students: