Meet Our 2017-18 Scholarship Recipients

Thanks to your continuing generosity over the years, we are very pleased to announce that this year, RFSA is awarding a total of $45,000 in scholarships to 18 accomplished UT students! Each student is selected by the Office of Student Financial Services on the basis of academic merit and financial need and will receive $2,500 for the year.  RFSA has been awarding these scholarships every year since 1988,  funded by the earnings of an endowment with a market value of $921,685 (as of 7/31/2017).  Available income from that fund varies, depending on prevailing interest rates and market conditions.  Our 2017-18 RFSA recipients are shown below, along with their amazing and inspirational responses.

In addition to undesignated donations, the scholarship endowment benefits from gifts made in memory or honor of family, friends and colleagues; in celebration of particular events; and estate donations. Please consider making a contribution to the scholarship fund – it will make a difference in a student’s life!

Contributions, made payable to “The University of Texas at Austin”, may be mailed to:  Carol Barrett, RFSA Coordinator, Texas Exes, P.O. Box 7278, Austin, TX 78713.  Or to donate online, go to: http://giving.utexas.edu/RFSA2012 and complete the information requested. If you are donating in honor or memory of a person or event, write that information in the “notes” section.

Nadia Quintero

What is your hometown?
Pharr, Texas
Why did you choose your field of study?
I decided to pursue a major in finance and economics because I enjoy learning how to make a business plan successful given the limited resources or data that is available.
What are your career goals?
After graduation, I plan to attend law school. My goals are to be a professor and open my own law firm.
What or who has influenced you the most so far in your life and how do you plan to benefit from
this influence going forward? It could be a relative, friend, a public figure, an event, an
organization, a sport—whatever you feel has been most important to you.
My parents have influenced me the most. With all the love and support that they have given me, I have gain many skills that will help me become a leader. Their beliefs in obtaining a higher education has influenced me by inspiring and guiding individuals to reach their educational goals.
What does receiving a scholarship mean to you?
Receiving this scholarship means that I am one more step closer in achieving my educational goals. I am motivated to continue reaching for my dreams. Without worrying about financial constraints, I am more focused in my academics and giving back to my community.
Outside of class, what are your interests – hobbies, volunteer work, etc.?
I volunteer as a mentor in the Economics Peer Mentor Program. I recently started my fifth semester as a mentor. I enjoy helping and guiding students achieve their academic goals. In addition, I enjoy dancing and spending time with my family.
If you had two extra hours in a day, what would you do?
I would take the time to cook some of my favorite recipes. I usually grab something fast to eat and if I had more time, I would like to cook a more time consuming meal.

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Jarrod Chatham

1. I have lived in Texas for 11 years in Tomball, a large suburb north of Houston. I was born outside of Los Angeles, California.

2. Filmmaking has always been an endearing passion for me. I believe the ability to communicate stories through moving images is the power of filmmaking. By working with cameras and collaborating with others I am able to create something meaningful. Besides film, I am interested in animation especially stop motion and enjoy creating unique characters and animating them to life. From making miniature sets out of cardboard to sewing fabric on puppets, I am very much involved in the creative process of this unique medium. The spontaneity and the artistry that goes into film and animation are what drive me to take an active role in these fields.

3. After graduation, I hope to work as a character animator at an animation studio. Outside of my UT classes I also in a mentorship program where I interact with Pixar and Dreamworks animators and learn their invaluable insight about the industry. After building my skills here at UT in editing, cinematography, and screenwriting, I wish to use those skills in my own filmmaking to become a successful filmmaker in the next 10-15 years.

4. Enrolling at Moody College at the age of 16 was a new and overwhelming experience for me, and having my parents and my identical twin brother nearby has helped me immensely. My family is what motivates me to make the most of my experience here and pursue opportunities that will help me become more equipped for the future ahead.

5. Being able to have the funds needed to continue my education is essential. Given that my parents are financing my tuition and my brother’s, this scholarship will alleviate some of that enormous pressure. This scholarship will help me to continue my studies as well as my aspiration to become a filmmaker.

6. Besides film and animation, I am an avid knitter and enjoy making hats, scarves, and little stuffed animals. I am also an artist, double majoring in the Fine Arts department in Studio Art. In my spare time I create concept sketches for future projects. Additionally, I am also a competitive swimmer on a year-round swim team with sectional times in 100 & 200 breaststroke.

7. I would work on personal projects and develop new film ideas. Being creative on a daily basis is important as it allows me to relax. I often keep a little book so I can put my ideas down.

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Parker Chatham

1. My hometown is Tomball, which is situated in the suburbs of Houston.

2. Film-making has always been a defining passion for me. Whether it is designing the visual look of a set or creating spunky storylines, I enjoy creating films that inspire others and communicate a powerful message. Besides film, I also admire animation and studying the little nuances that make up our emotions and movement. Being both a stopmotion and 3D animator has opened my mind to the ways movement is constructed and how hard work and artistry can enrich a story. Unlike film, animation allows me to creatively manipulate movement and personality in characters that would be considered unrealistic or cartoonish for live action.

3. I plan to become a successful film director and character animator in the future. More specifically, I plan to pursue a character animator position at Pixar or DreamsWork studio after I graduate from UT. From there on, I hope I can direct moving films in the future once established in Los Angeles.

4. My parents and my identical twin brother have always pushed me to reach the greatest potential that I can achieve. Being here at UT has allowed me to find an even larger group of talented individuals who care about my success.

5. With this scholarship award, I hope that I can ease the enormous financial burden that my family faces on a constant basis. Enrolling at UT at the age of 16 and with my brother also being accepted to Moody College, I knew that tuition costs were going to be a looming problem.

6. Besides film-making and stopmotion, I also consider myself to be an artist and am double-majoring in the Fine Arts Department. In my spare time, I enjoy illustrating my own short children books and drawing horror comic strips. Both activities allow me to experiment with story-telling with images and text. I also like to swim and participate in the local LongHorn Aquatics Swim Team.

7. I would enjoy spending my extra two hours working on film projects, whether they are my own or others’. For me, collaborating with others in creating a meaningful film is something I always wanted to do at UT because I can contribute my creative vision to the project at hand.

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Nina Sport

I was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas (though I graduated from Grapevine High School).

My journey to the Program in Comparative Literature at UT was a long one! When I started school at UT Arlington I declared a Biology Pre-Med major, but I quickly realized a career in medicine was not a good fit for my personality or interests. After taking a year off of school to work full-time and reflect on the kind of life I wanted to build, I made the decision to double major in French and Spanish because it promised a future of travel, stimulating conversation, and 3 times as many books to read. In my final semester I was simultaneously enrolled in an upper-division French poetry course and a Latin American poetry course, which fueled my inclination to compare these literary traditions. I began to realize that I could make a career in academia, but felt it was in best interest to gain work experience before making a 6+ year commitment to a PhD program . Upon my graduation from UTA, I accepted a position at Fort Worth Country Day School as a French and Spanish teacher. I truly loved it, but I longed for the intellectual stimulation of literary/cultural studies. I ultimately decided to apply for a PhD in Comparative Literature because it was the only program that did not require me to sacrifice either language, or to place one above the other in importance. I chose this field of study because I believe that there is nothing more important in the world today than fostering mutual understanding between people from very different cultures. I think the act of comparison, while revealing the differences between cultures and concepts, invites people to see the similarities and inter-connectedness of the human experience. In the words of J. William Fulbright, “International educational exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that men can learn to live in peace–eventually even to cooperate in constructive activities rather than compete in a mindless contest of mutual destruction.”

My current career goals include:

• Accelerate my degree progress such that I will be eligible to apply for a Mellon Fellowship in the Spring 2018 semester. I want to work on a non-traditional/interdisciplinary dissertation project with a digital component and the Mellon fellowships would allow me the time and funding to learn to code. (Current – defend prospectus by September 1, 2018)
• Adapt and send my Master’s Report for publication as an article (May 2018)
• Obtain permanent funding for Reading World Literature, a program founded by Comparative Literature students in 2014 that I co-direct, teaching world literature to incarcerated students at the Travis County Correctional Complex. There is demand on the part of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office to grow our program and there is a great deal of interest in participating on the part of the UT academic community. It has been a truly unique, and important, experience for me as an educator, administrator, and member of the central Texas community.
• Receive an offer for a tenure-track faculty position at a Tier-1 research institution like UT (Spring 2022)
• Adapt and publish my dissertation project on literary animality/narratology, either as my first book for as a series of articles (2022-2026).
• Publish the young-adult fantasy novel I am writing in my free time. (By 2027)

The single most influential person in my life is unquestionably my maternal grandmother, who helped my mother to raise me. My Nanny is from a rural part of Arkansas (Malvern) and grew up in a family that did not believe women were worthy of education. She never graduated from high school, had married, and had given birth to 4 daughters by the time she was 22. Upon her devastating divorce, she had to work 3 jobs at a time –for 20 years– to keep her family housed and fed. The sacrifices she made to ensure that my mother and aunts could have a better life, and more opportunities, than she did are beyond my comprehension. Then, at age 55 when she was finally able, she went to school and became a licensed real-estate agent. My Nanny taught me that the key to success is learning from each failure and having the resilience to stand up every time I fall down. She taught me not to make the same mistakes twice, and that it is never to late to accomplish my goals. She taught me that money is not a replacement for love, joy, or laughter. She taught me that strength is a small, daily choice to keep going in the face of adversity, especially on days when that choice does not come easily. As I advance in my academic career, the integrity and tenacity she instilled in me have been invaluable because — more often than not — success does not arrive upon the first attempt. In order to succeed in the academy today, you must be able to transform almosts and failures into learning moments that bring you one step closer to your goal, with at least an idea of what will not work. You must accept criticism of your work with aplomb, instead of seeing it as a direct reflection of your value as a person. Most of all, you must be a person that others want to work with and a person that can be trusted to get the job done. None of these parameters come from a book, but from within and from overcoming hardships. I am privileged beyond measure to have a role model who gave me the tools I need to accomplish my goals, but who also taught me to live my life in love and in gratitude. I am deeply inspired by my Nanny’s journey; without her, I would not have been the first woman in my family to earn a bachelor’s degree, and I would not be able to be the first to enter graduate school. I will always carry her lessons with me, and when I arrive at more Firsts I will remember where I came from and dedicate myself to honoring her legacy by advocating for others so that they may be The First, as well.

Receiving a scholarship is a lot like validation, or an affirmation of the time and dedication I pour into all of my work. Financially speaking, it is very difficult to be a graduate student and it is difficult to produce high-caliber work when your labor is often uncompensated, or when the source of your funding is contingent upon teaching. To receive this scholarship is to be valued for my commitment to my students (both at UT and at the TCCC), my scholarship, and my pursuit of leadership roles within my program. To receive a scholarship is a sign that I am going in the right direction, it is an encouragement to maintain my forward momentum, but it is also an opportunity to connect with a new UT community. I am so thankful to be given a seat at the table, so to speak, and I look forward to demonstrating a return on the RFSA’s investment in my career.

In terms of extra-curricular involvement, I co-direct Reading World Literature and teach classes at TCCC. I am also the curriculum committee representative for the Graduate Association for Comparative Literature Students (GRACLS), which involves advocating for our students and keeping them informed on curricular matters. Outside of university life, I enjoy writing creatively most of all. I have found that my creative pursuits stimulate my scholarship by virtue of feeding my soul. I enjoy an active lifestyle with my husband Josh, our pitbull Daisy, and our Birman [cat] Dunstan. We enjoy trying new cuisine and travelling together, especially with regard to taking road trips on the weekends. I enjoy going to museums with my friends and family, but what I look forward to most of all in my free time are the informal “family dinners” hosted by friends, which give me the opportunity to share a meal, conversation, and some wine with my loved ones.

With 2 extra hours in the day, I would be sure to take a luxurious bath in the evening and then spend time reading popular fiction/fantasy before bed. I used to re-read the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings book series yearly, but have had so little time to read non-academic texts since starting graduate school that this tradition has fallen by the wayside. I have been reading The Fifth Wave by N.K. Jemisin for nearly 3 months now and am sadly only about halfway through, so to read at my leisure would be quite an indulgence.

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Shreya Dhar

I was born in Wichita, Kansas. My family moved to Houston, Texas, when I was very young. Later, we moved to Kolkata, India.

I chose mechanical engineering as my field of study because Physics and Mathematics have always been my favorite subjects and I am interested in the applications of science in everyday life. My goal is to become an engineer, to design innovative solutions to problems we face and to make a difference in the world through my work.

My parents have influenced me the most in my life by encouraging me to persevere and work hard. Receiving a scholarship not only helps me financially, but also motivates me to do well academically.

Outside of class, I enjoy painting, playing tennis and table tennis, swimming and cycling. If I had two extra hours in a day, I would spend it doing what makes me happy, such as painting, cycling, learning new things or just taking a nap.

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Dante D. Garcia

I was born and raised in Nashville, TN (but don’t worry – I was born to two Texans!).

I chose to study mechanical engineering for a few reasons. Growing up, I had always excelled in math. I won various awards, competitions, and I had perfect scores. In addition to math, I discovered in high school that I had a knack for physics. I always loved learning how things worked! My biggest motivation to choose mechanical engineering was my first high school job at a local go-kart track. I loved messing with the go-karts, and soon became one of the go-kart mechanics.

There are a few fields of mechanical engineering that I would love to enter for a career. The automotive/combustion area was my first thought due to working on go-karts, but now I am interested in automation, mechatronics, and semiconductor fabrication. I will be excited for any engineering opportunity, and I hope my work can have a global impact!

My parents have undoubtedly been my biggest influences. My dad is the hardest worker on the face of Earth, and my mom has been the most devoted person I’ve ever known. They are the perfect role models. I love you guys!

This scholarship is a sigh of relief! I am humbled and honored with the donation. With my classes lately, I had been struggling to live comfortably and earn good grades. I now have the opportunity to put all of my focus toward school, afford some leisure time, and also eat something a little tastier than ramen noodles!

Outside of school, I love making music. My dad is a professional musician, and I have spent a lot of time learning different instruments and recording/production processes. I also do some music things around Austin for extra cash! Outside of music, I am in a few engineering clubs and work with a materials engineering research group.

If I had two extra hours in a day, I would make sure to get my workout and guitar time in (trust me – I do enough homework as it is!).

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Vasilios (Billy) Sotiropoulos

I was born and raised in Athens, Greece and came to Austin, Texas last year.

I am currently studying Mechanical Engineering and planning to pursue the Business Foundations Program due to my interest in STEM and the start-up that I would like to one day run. I want to know how my company functions but also know everything about the product so in my opinion, engineering and business would go hand in hand. I aspire to work in the engineering industry for a solid five years, go back to school and get my MBA and later on create my own company.

The people that have influenced me most in my life would have to be my mom and dad. My mom has taught me that it is possible to start your way from the bottom and rise to the top where ever you find yourself and my dad, on the other hand, has taught me that regardless the toll that you will face mentally due to to being a business owner, it is all worth it for the gratification and reward you will get from it.

Receiving a scholarship is an immense honor and I cannot thank the UT retired faculty and staff enough for granting me this award. It is a big help for both my family and me financially and thankfully a burden has been lifted off our shoulders thanks to the generosity of the UT retired faculty and staff.

Outside of class I am involved in Longhorn Racing, an engineering design team, where we build a Formula 1 race car from scratch and compete with it against other schools all around the world at the end of the year. It is a great way for me to get hands-on experience with engineering.

Furthermore, I am the Vice President and Recruitment Officer for the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) Fraternity, which has definitely helped my leadership skills as well as broadened my connections. I also enjoy fundraising for TKE’s philanthropy, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and other places like Habitat for Humanity, since it is a great way to give back to the community.

Lastly, what I enjoy doing in my free time is either playing soccer or hanging out with my friends. Regardless of my hobbies, if I had two extra hours in my day, I would use them to sleep because I am a procrastinator and lack a good night’s sleep, but if I knew I had those extra two hours in my day, I would probably procrastinate sleeping too.

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Weijun Tang

• What is your hometown?
o I am from McAllen, Texas.
• Why did you choose your field of study?
o I chose to major in accounting because it is the language of business, and I think it will help me better understand the business world.
• What are your career goals?
o My career goals are to become a certified public account and work in the Big Four accounting firms.
• What or who has influenced you the most so far in your life and how do you plan to benefit from this influence going forward? It could be a relative, friend, a public figure, an event, an organization, a sport—whatever you feel has been most important to you.
o My father has influence me the most in my life. He had taught me how to be a responsible person; I acquired the character of hard-working from him.
• What does receiving a scholarship mean to you?
o Receiving a scholarship means less financial burden and more responsibility. I am thankful to be a recipient of this scholarship. It not only helps me paid for my educational debt but also motivates me to work harder to achieve my dream. I will continue doing well at school and not let the people who had help me down.
• Outside of class, what are your interests – hobbies, volunteer work, etc.?
o I like to read novels on my free time. Also, I like to travel and learn about different cultures. If I have a chance, I would like to go travel out of the country.
• If you had two extra hours in a day, what would you do?
o If I have two extra hours in a day, I would like to use that time to learn a different language. I think language is the most powerful tool a human could have.

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Andrew Han

To tell you about my background, even though I was born in Los Angeles and have a US citizenship, I was raised in Seoul, Korea most of my life. I went to elementary, middle, high school and also studied at a Korean college called Gachon University. However, I also lived in New Jersey from 1999 to 2001. I was literally a native speaker during that time that my daily language was English. I miss those days when I was really confident in speaking and writing in English.

I am currently studying International Relations and Global Studies. One of the main reasons why I was interested in this field is because my parents have influenced my thoughts and experience. My father used to work at Korean Air and he was meeting with a lot of people all around the world. Also, my mother is working at FORCA (Foreign Company Association) which is included in Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy in Korea. She is a general-director and interacts with the representatives of the Foreign Companies which are stationed in Korea. I found interesting as they were meeting people from all over the world and admired my parents. Additionally, thanks to my parents, I was interested in that area which led me to apply for a twinning program with a school in Singapore during my sophomore year in high school. It was a great opportunity to broaden my perspective of looking at the world. The twinning program was really interesting to meet people from different background and culture which made me learn that I didn’t know about. It was one of my unforgettable experience to introduce Korean culture and learning their culture. I liked the interaction with them that I still keep in touch with them through facebook. I hope to be a capable person in this globalized period and want to understand about the global orders.

My career goals have always changed. While I am still interested in international relations, I felt I would need to have a skill specialized in one area. Since the field of IRG (International Relations and Global Studies) covers a wide range of areas, while studying at UT, I wanted to have a chance to study in a different area. The field I found interesting was computer science. I heard that it is really competitive and I wanted to challenge myself. The fact that I am already here in UT is already challenging but without any challenge, I strongly think there is no other way to develop myself. I am currently enrolled in the computer science certificate program and try to engage in other organizations in UT. Eventually, as of right now, I wish I can get a job related to computer programming. This is my first-semester taking a computer science class and I am really enjoying the course even though it is complicated. I am not sure yet what I will eventually end up but I wish I can become so-called a “nerd” and professional in this computer science field. Having a global perspective and working as a computer programmer will be a good influence in the information technology industry as globalization is in process.

There was a specific turning point which influenced and changed my life. It was when I was in the Korean army. All Korean men are required to join the military and I wasn’t the exception. However, my experience at the military was different from the majority of Korean men. I had an opportunity to work with the US army. I was a KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army) which represents the Korean army to the US Army acting as a military diplomat. It was really hard to get into the program because it required a specific English proficiency skill which is proved by an officially approved test like TOEFL. Not only passing the test but also needed to be lucky because based on the eligible men, the Military Manpower Administration conducts a lottery which is opened to the public and nominates the people who were chosen to join the KATUSA program. People who apply for KATUSA are usually so-called elites in Korea, going to renown schools not only domestically but also internationally. I met people who are smart and intelligent while I was in the army and they influenced me to seek to apply for schools in the US. Whenever I was having a conversation about the life in the US, I envied them that I really want to experience college life in another country, especially in the US. They helped me out in planning to apply for specific schools, including UT, and the military experience was a chance for me to prepare to enter UT. Also, as I was working with the US Army, I had a chance to talk with them which helped me to improve my rusty English skills. I am not much fluent in English compared to the past, but I feel like it got much better. Many Korean men think this mandatory military service is a waste of time. However, in my case, every moment was unforgettable for me and I really enjoyed it. I learned so much when I was serving the army and it motivated me to look at the world in a broader perspective. Without the experience, I can’t imagine what I will be doing right now. I feel grateful that I am studying here in UT even though there are some hard moments. I am so excited what I am going to confront in the future while I am studying here in the United States.

Receiving a scholarship means so much to me. Since I am already 24 years old and became an independent taxpayer, I feel more responsible for taking care of myself. Since I am considered as an out-of-state student, I am paying my tuition three times more than Texas residents and that is a lot for me to afford even though I include my financial aid. As I am a grown-up, I want to have an ability to take care of myself and one of the ways is to receive a scholarship. I thought a way to get a scholarship is to study hard and get good grades. However, as expected, it is not easy. Since I have been educated in Korean most of my life, I am having a hard time catching up with the materials and assignments. I need to put more effort than any other students. Also, I needed to get a part-time job to become a Texas resident which was harder for me to study. Whenever I am back from work, I passed out and did not have a chance to study. It was really stressful but I am satisfied with my grades for the last two semesters. Especially, this RFSA scholarship is really meaningful to me as it is the first scholarship I received. Also, receiving scholarships makes everyone happy around me and I know I need to put effort for that to happen. It motivates me to work harder which is a great influence to challenge myself.

Outside of class, I am one of the members in KSO (Korean Students Organization). It is a social organization not only for Koreans but also for students who are interested in Korea. At first, honestly, I participated in this organization to meet Koreans because I was suffering from homesick since I did not have any people I knew here in Austin besides my roommate. I was disappointed that there were few native Korean speakers like me. However, it was actually better for me that as most of them were not Korean and I had a chance to make new “American” friends, especially who interested in Korea. It was a great chance for me to boost my English skills and know how college life goes. I participated in many social events and had fun with them. Also, currently, I am one of the Korean Workshop Committee. We have Korean Workshops every Mondays and teach students who want to learn Korean and I teach basic Korean. I feel proud of myself that I can teach someone something useful. Whenever they understood what I was teaching, I was happy that I am giving useful information.

If I had two extra hours a day, as of right now, I want to utilize that time as reading books. To be honest, I do not enjoy reading books. Whenever I read books I get bored easily if I don’t underline or analyze each sentence. For the extra two hours, even though I focus 100% on reading or not, I want to invest more time on it so that I can store up knowledge which will be a good influence. I know it will be hard to read two full hours, but I am certain that I will get used to it as I got used to my life here in the US.

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Nicole M. Pagliai

• My hometown is Austin, TX.
• I chose my field of study (Instrumental Music Studies) because I have loved music so much in my whole life and I couldn’t see myself making a career out of anything else.
• My career goals are to become an elementary school music teacher and possibly go to graduate school for music therapy.
• My parents have really influenced me to pursue a musical career path. They never discouraged me at all from majoring in music and I will benefit from this encouragement and trust whenever I feel doubt about my choice.
• Receiving a scholarship means that my parents are less burdened to pay for my school and that I have the means to pursue my passion in life: music.
• Outside of class, I have other musical activities such as marching in the Longhorn Band and playing piano, but I also write in a journal and knit.
• If I had two extra hours in a day, I would probably take that time to just relax and not stress, as my days are quite busy.

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Julianna Masabni

1. What is your hometown

a. College Station, Texas

2. Why did you choose your field of study?

a. My parents’ experience living in Lebanon catalyzed my passion for dental public health. Because of limited resources in Lebanon, My parents were not able to receive proper oral health care until they moved to the United States, so they instilled in me a commitment to practice proper preventative care. As I got older and learned more about dentistry, I realized that I enjoyed the opportunity to educate individuals about how to take care of their oral hygiene and make them feel good about their smile. My major, Health Promotion, taught me that there are many people in America who unfortunately cannot go to the dentist and receive preventative care because of lack of health insurance or limited availability of dentists in lower income areas, for example. This cemented my desire to be a dentist, but specifically to be one that works to increase accessibility for my community.

3. What are your career goals?

a. After graduating, I hope to attend dental school and receive my D.D.S. I hope to become either a pediatric or a general dentist with a focus on community health. Eventually, I would like to receive my Masters of Public Health so I can do research on how to alleviate inaccessibility to oral health care.

4. What or who has influenced you the most so far in your life and how do you plan to benefit from this influence going forward? It could be a relative, friend, a public figure, an event, an organization, a sport—whatever you feel has been most important to you.

a. Working as a Resident Assistant in the Division of Housing and Food has influenced me most so far in life. Every interaction I have had with a resident, a fellow RA, or my supervisors has shaped me into who I am today. I have discovered new passions through the job and learned more about myself as a leader and as a person. I am privileged with the opportunity to encourage my residents as they accomplish amazing things and to be a consistent and reliable support system when times get tough. I am an RA in Kinsolving, an all-women residence hall, and being surrounded by so many strong, resilient women has inspired me and provided me with so many positive role models. Being an RA has made me a happier and more relaxed person as it has taught me more about mental health, how to deal with stress, and how to handle conflict healthily. It also has taught me about myself, my work style and my role in a team. These are all skills and knowledge that will benefit me going forward. I know that I can use the skills I learned as an RA to be a successful dentist that is inviting and supportive to their patients. Going to the dentist is scary and so is living away from your parents for the first time and my experience helping my residents through that will translate to my future in dentistry.

5. What does receiving a scholarship mean to you?

a. Receiving this scholarship means so much to me in multiple different ways. It reminds me how privileged I am to attend the University of Texas because of all the opportunities it has provided me. It tells me that there are people out there who believe in me, which further inspires me to work hard and dedicate myself to my studies. It means that I can graduate from college and, hopefully, attend dental school less stressed about the financial side of it.

6. Outside of class, what are your interests – hobbies, volunteer work, etc.?

a. I’m involved in Texas Sweethearts and have not only had the opportunity to become friends with strong, dedicated and passionate women, but also have been able to volunteer at Austin Child Guidance Center, different parks in Austin, and various UT service events. I spent my summer volunteering at Phoebe’s Home, a domestic violence shelter serving women in the Bryan/College Station area. I love dancing and my involvement in Roustabouts Dance Company has allowed me to continue my 18 year long passion. I also love trying new food and spend a lot of my free time going to all the unique food places in Austin.

7. If you had two extra hours in a day, what would you do?

a. If I had two extra hours in a day, I would spend them with friends completing my Austin bucket list. Especially because I am graduating in May, I want to go to all the interesting places in Austin and try all the cool food. Austin is my favorite city and I want to experience all it has to offer with my wonderful friends that I met at UT.

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Areefa A. Rahman

1) What is your hometown:

My hometown is Houston, TX.

2) Why did you choose your field of study:

I chose my field of study because I believe chemistry has many of the solutions to the world’s problems. By using chemistry to examine the problem, it can be analyzed throughly, which can lead to finding the right solution. In addition, I find that chemistry is a lot of fun!

3) What are your career goals:

I hope to do research in chemistry to solve environmental problems. Living eco-friendly is tailored into my lifestyle and I believe that by using chemistry, I can make taking care of the environment easier for people. This way, people can effortlessly take care of the environment and help preserve the value of nature forever.

4) What or who has influenced you the most so far in your life and how do you plan to benefit from this influence going forward:

My parents have always encouraged me to dream big and work hard to achieve those dreams. They’ve constantly demonstrated the importance of hard work throughout my life and I feel as though I can conquer anything using this strategy.

5) What does this scholarship mean to you:

Receiving the RFSA scholarship has greatly impacted to me by motivating me to keep working hard to achieve my goals. I feel so honored and blessed to receive this recognition. It has also been financially relieving and I appreciate it greatly. Thank you so much.

6) Outside of class, what are your interests:

I enjoy hiking, climbing and making short films. I love being outdoors and exploring nature.

7) If you had two extra hours in the day, what would you do:

If I had two extra hours in a day, I would spend it learning a new language.