Stephanie Chan

Greetings and Happy Holidays Mr. Ramsey and the ILC,

First off, I want to congratulate the ILC for earning the Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association. The countless hours and great amount of dedication that has been put in from everyone is recognized and greatly appreciated. I know that the ILC will only continue to flourish as the years go by and am thankful for my very own experience through the International Financial Marketing and Investments course during my Brown 2010 opportunity.

Business and Economics has always interested me. Although I am currently undeclared at UC Davis as a freshman, I do have plans to declare Managerial Economics as my major (and possibly minor in Psychology). It seems as if yesterday I was applying to colleges. It's amazing to say that I have already completed my first quarter at UCD. Despite budget cuts, I can say that my experience thus far has been a rewarding one. This quarter, I didn't choose to jump right into major courses. Instead, I chose to explore around and balance two pre-requisites with two GEs. One of the GE's I took was a course called Introduction to Winemaking. Already, the title sounds very interesting and indeed it was. I learned about the fermentation process for different types of wine at various geographic locations, how to determine what type of wine it is based on the label, and the types of fungus that grow on grapes. Ever since then, I have been curious to read wine labels on bottles sitting in my kitchen. With that said, balancing your classes with a few core classes and at least one class that you are personally interested in is not a bad idea. You don't want to overwhelm yourself with strictly calculating numbers or strictly writing pages and pages of essays. Key thing is to find your balance, especially during your first year when you are still learning about your new environment and available resources.

As an active volunteer throughout high school, I immediately explored various volunteer clubs during Welcome Week. I'm part of Circle K, a volunteer and service club that sets up holiday parties for children, serves at food banks, and much more. I'm also part of Na Keiki 'O Hawai'i (Hawaii Club), a club that promotes the Hawaiian culture and weekly lessons on Hula and Tahitian dancing. It's a very fun and active way to de-stress throughout the week from homework and studying. In addition, I have been applying to on-campus jobs, but have not been hired yet. However, I am still on the lookout for more job offerings and internships. Nonetheless, I believe that one should focus on their studies before adding more to their plate. If anyone has questions about UCD or any general questions, feel free to shoot me an email! Once again, congratulations to the ILC.

Have a great holiday everyone.

Best,

Stephanie