This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCSB chapter.

Name: Kathleen

Year: 4th Year

Major/minor: East Asian Studies, Applied Psychology

Hometown/country: Hong Kong, China

Relationship status: It’s complicated

Hobbies: Singing, cooking, taking pictures, reading, decorating, handcrafting, practicing calligraphy, traveling, horse riding, playing badminton, bungee jumping, and shopping.

Why did you decide to major in East Asian Studies?

I actually love the Asian culture, and I felt that choosing this major will help me appreciate and learn more about my own culture. It gives me the opportunity to learn about where I come from and the East Asian Studies major also requires me to learn about the relationships between the East Asian countries, which is important because it helps me better what can happen politically in the future.

How long have you been singing for?

I have been singing since I was four or five years old. In terms of training and singing professionally, I’ve been singing for 12-13 years.

Do you have any special experiences you would like to share?

I was lucky enough to be chosen as the student conductor of my secondary school choir for four years. This is very special because it doesn’t usually happen that often. Usually, students get chosen for 1-2 years only, and they tend to be third or fourth year secondary school students, but I got chosen in my first year of secondary school. Because of this, I got the chance to conduct the whole student choir and direct the whole school to sing the school song during ceremonies and assemblies. I have also been the host of many school ceremonies, and was the coordinator or a leadership staff member of seven different organizations by the third year of secondary school.

When did you first start cooking?

I started cooking in secondary school, in the 7th or 8th grade. My mom used to go work, so I had to learn to cook for myself and found out that I really enjoyed it. I love cooking because I love eating and trying new foods. My father also loves to try lots of different types of food, and he would take my brother and I around to try new things and I think this influenced me greatly. These opportunities gave me a sense of what tastes good and what doesn’t taste good, and how to make my food taste better by using different ingredients.

What do you like to cook the most?

I don’t like really have a particular thing I love to cook the most. I feel like it is more dependent on what I feel like eating and who i am cooking for, like my friends and family, because cooking is a way to share one of things I love with others.

Why did you decide to come to UCSB?

Super far from home!
I made my final decision when I was visiting the campus. As I was getting closer to UCSB, I saw the beautiful coastline and fell in love with how pretty it was and I also loved how the campus was right next to the ocean.
To me, UCSB was exotic because the environment is totally different from my culture and what I am used to.
The campus looked really nice and I thought the bike lanes were pretty unique and sort of cute.
I also discovered Downtown State Street and thought it would be great to go to school at UCSB since it’s so close to Downtown.

Do you like to travel and what countries have you been to?

I love traveling and I have been to Canada, to a couple states in America, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Mongolia. I haven’t really had a chance to travel by myself but when I do, I want to visit many more countries! The next place I know I want to go to is London.

Have you studied abroad before?

YES! I studied abroad in Hong Kong. I chose Hong Kong because I was from there, and I lived there from a young age. I had a lot of options to choose from, but I wanted to go back to Hong Kong because it is super fun and with the new things I’ve learned, I knew I would see everything differently and my experience would be very special and different.

What do you miss the most about Hong Kong?

Fish shu mai, the snacks there are great and the public transportation is the best! You can get around in a very short amount of time. They also have a huge central library where there are ten or twelve floors with different kinds of books; I like to stay there for the entire day reading whatever I find intriguing.

Do you recommend studying abroad to other students?

Yes, studying abroad in a different country gives you a glimpse and better understanding of the world. It lets you see what other countries have to offer and allows you to appreciate different cultures, and even pick up another language while you are abroad! I am also an Education Abroad Program intern so I definitely know a lot about the programs and often hear about how rewarding they can be.

What is something that you want to do before the end of the 2016 year?

I have always loved apple cider but this year, I’ve been drinking a lot more than usual and I want to create a dish that uses apple cider in it.

What is something you want to do before you graduate?

I want to try sky diving because it looks really fun. I wanted to do it my freshman year but haven’t gotten around to doing it yet so this is the goal that I have this year.

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Crazily Unique – Kathleen