Learning statement

My UW experience has cut across many expanding and interconnected themes in my life. I’ve chosen to distill them into four categories – design, ecology, activism, and community. I’ve represented these themes through a flower – since I am studying landscape architecture and have a love for plants. This flower is intended to be of the Erigeron genus – native plants of this genus that look roughly like this flower grow both East and West of the Cascade Range, a connection which mirrors my own ties both East and West of the Cascade Range. Design and ecology have been the focus of my academic studies – through my major in Landscape Architecture and minor of Environmental Studies and Resource Management – while I have explored activism and community in many other ways, both outside of the classroom and through Honors and other courses.

It’s hard to tell where one of these themes ends and the other begins, and they all inform each other. My attempt in life is to bring each of these elements further together – I see them as my life’s work and want to express them through various facets of my life. I am most confident in Design and Ecology – hence, I put them first in my portfolio – yet as I progress through UW, I’ve found Activism and especially Community critically important, although I struggle more to grow them in my life. Each of these ‘petals’ is part of the same ‘flower’. I’ve explored these themes within the classroom and beyond, and all sides of my learning experience are documented in this portfolio. Work outside of the classroom – whether in jobs, with clubs, or personal projects – often represent opportunities to put my ideals and ideas into practice.

As I encounter struggles and challenges, some ‘petals’ fall away. This can be painful, but it is part of the seasonal cycle and needed for continued growth. This flower of my UW experience is cross-pollinated with many other ideas, from other professors, readings, and my diverse experiences. The growth and change above the ground stems from a diverse root system under the ground. Even before changes are visible above the ground, roots have expanded throughout the soil and found new ways to grow. My understanding and ideas change before I have the chance or exert the willpower to put those ideas into practice.

All of this growth and change within UW is forming the person I will be when I leave UW. I expect this uprooting to be painful, yet provide interesting opportunities for exploration and growth. The contexts I am in will be different – although I’m not quite sure where I will go, I think it will be a less progressive place where it may be more difficult to build connections with others with similar values and with more institutional barriers to the work I want to do. I will also have to grapple more strongly with the need to make money to support myself through my work – my projects will have to be more built and less theoretical, in ways that will probably be at times refreshing and at times frustrating. Through it all, I hope to carry these four themes – Design, Ecology, Activism, and Community – with me.

Click the petals at the top of the page to get started. The pages can be read in any order, but left to right is the intended order.

Texture courtesy of Eva Elijas.