EMPRESS

About me: Despite having assignments breathing down my neck at all times, I enjoy baking desserts I shouldn’t be eating, playing piano pieces I can barely complete, sleeping my problems away, singing ukulele tunes to the cows on 23rd Terr, and hunting for cute Squishmallows at Five Below! When I’m not eating a ton of sweets, I’m studying my hardest for a brighter future or volunteering to give back to my community that given so much to me. Additionally, I love learning about microbiology and being able to share my findings with people of all ages to enrich their lives through outreach programs! Think about it: there’s a whole other world functioning right in front of our eyes! It’s just too small to see. I think knowledge is power and I find it invigorating to learn even a fraction of how the world around us works at the microscopic and theoretical level (though that info can be quite dense). 

I like to believe I’m a compassionate, hardworking, and ambitious individual, thus I strive to reflect these characteristics in all aspects of my life whether it be through EMPRESS, my professional development, or even through my friendships I make.

Rapid Fire Favorites: Disney movie: Meet the Robinsons, anime: Your Lie in April, Kpop groups: Twice and Day6, boba order: honey oolong from Teastory. 

Why EMPRESS? I chose EMPRESS because it offers so many holistic opportunities to grow. Not only was I able to find a group of people who support each other and foster emotional growth/mental health, but I found a group who helped me grow professionally with leadership opportunities and a growing network of our alumnae/members. EMPRESS has given me the tenacity to speak up, be listened to, and work collaboratively with both like-minded and unique individuals who challenge my teamwork skills to create amazing things.  

Above all, EMPRESS has given me a home. Before finding the group, it was hard for me to make lasting connections in the UF community despite being active in it. I felt like I had to change my genuine personality and I exhaustively stretched myself to fit a mold I obviously couldn’t fill. I felt very alone, unsupported, and only cared about academics for a time. I thought undergrad was only another useless hoop to jump through to achieve my goals. Ultimately, EMPRESS taught me life at any stage is worth enjoying and I couldn’t be more grateful to them for enriching my life and reinforcing the importance of living in the present. 

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Favorite EMPRESS memory? My favorite memory is when we did our impromptu sisterhood retreat over Zoom. Because of the pandemic, I wasn’t able to have the regular new member experience so that meant not having the paramount bonding event in person. Despite that, we made it up by having something smaller over Zoom for the new members and for those who were available. There, I got to form deeper connections with the members and had a blast talking about the most outlandish and funny things. I found that even with these unprecedented circumstances, EMPRESS finds a way to stick together and carry on.