I am a Junior, what’s next?
In memoriam: Juan Jose Morris III
“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” — Warren Buffett
The end of Spring 2020 marks almost three years of me studying at Florida International University. Since I wrote I am a Sophomore, now what?, I have been recognized as the Homecoming Prince, SGA STEM Scholar, SAGE STEM Scholar, won the SGA Undergraduate Excellence Award, nominated for Student Employee of the Year, completed an Alternative Breaks service trip, visited 3 new states and the capital, casted my first vote, went on a radio show and lost a close friend.
In Summer 2019, I went back home to India after 1½ years to cast my first vote in the 2019 Indian General Election. I went on to interview with radio shows, newspapers and online media agencies to talk about the importance of youth participation in democratic elections. Since childhood, I have been passionate about the role of political leaders in shaping the country with aspirations of running for office someday. I also visited the world’s largest statue — Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India.
In Fall 2019, I started my second year as a Resident Assistant (RA) overseeing a diverse group of student athletes (namely the 6 times C-USA Champions, FIU Swimming and Diving Team) and upper-division Honors and high-achieving students. As a returning RA, I was able to mentor the new RAs and serve on the Resident Assistant Advisory Board helping the Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Life make the RA position more intentional.
Moving from a first-year only community to a mixed demographic was a big challenge as former RAs had seldom expressed the lack of interaction from upper-division students and athletes. However, I was fortunate to build a strong bond with my residents early on by implementing more passive relationship building techniques. To my surprise, the athletes attended all my events and even went the extra mile to get to know me. I had several learning moments with my residents, notably Maha Gouda (a 2016 Olympian, selected for the 2020 Olympics) and Megan (a model, an art director and a high achieving student). They taught me how to be humble and modest even in your most successful moments and never settling for less than your ambition. Whenever I would think I had achieved enough, they would inspire me to go out of my comfort zone and tap into my potential.
Furthermore, I got the chance to work in the same staff with two of my former residents. It gave me immense pleasure to see them grow into amazing student leaders. I also had the opportunity to organize Parkview Hall’s first annual Involvement Fair with the Honors College. We were able to connect 100+ students with 10+ student organizations in different fields. I never thought planning and executing an event of such scale was something I would ever do and I’m grateful for our team to help pull it off!
Considering my affinity for FIU and my passion for student involvement, I ran for Homecoming Court and became the Homecoming Prince in the most unexpected turn of events about which I write here. I am grateful to have been selected as a representative of the current juniors at FIU.
In Winter 2019, I went to St. Paul, Indiana to participate in an Alternative Breaks service trip focusing on the environment and youth development at the YMCA Camps by the Flatrock River. Unlike my previous trips, I had a bigger purpose and an even more amazing group of like-minded people who became lifelong friends. Our group of 8 FIU students stayed on the camp in cabins for 7 days. Our community partners made our schedule a mix of service tasks and fun activities. We helped paint the cabins, restrooms and other parts of the camp. We also learned how to do corrosion control by putting limestones on the boundary of paths in the forest. We interacted with different animals on the camp and even found a deer skull on one of our treks. We learned how to drive a tractor and spent our nights doing campfires, movie nights and stargazing. We also went tubing down the hill after it snowed, did archery and helped with other chores around the camp.
In order to raise funds for the trip, I volunteered at the Hardrock Stadium during football and soccer games. It was an interesting experience working as a food runner and a cashier. I accepted a challenge to be a head cashier in the VIP section managing a gourmet food stand. It was a learning oppourtunity in itself, managing the dissatisifed customers, restocking the stand and preparing for half-time. I thoroughly enjoyed working in a student-driven team.
In Spring 2020, I started working at the Cognition, Narrative and Culture Lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. I have been learning research methods in Natural Language Processing (a sub-field of Aritificial Intelligence) focused on narrative understanding. I am fortunate to have this experience which assures me of my interest in pursuing a doctoral program in AI after I graduate. I continued working as a tutor at the Academic Success Initiative, taking over as the interim President for Spring 2020 to maintain our necessary services to FIU students. I also had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C with the FIU Honors College to learn about national defense technology. With FIU @ DC, we visited local representatives in Congress and lobbied for FIU’s capability for advanced research. We were also visited by various government contractors who showed us how public policy making plays a big role in the funding of research universities and other institutions. I also participated in the Academy of Leaders program where I formally learned different theories of leadership and realized how I had learned some of those with experience.
As I kept running across campus, making connections, and chasing my dreams, I felt that I lost touch with deep and meaningful friendships. My best friends always reminded me to slow down and take a breath. I am sad to have lost one of my closest friends who kept me sane, but I profoundly remember his last words to me, “We know you are an achiever, but whenever you want to slow down and hang out, know we are here for you.” The ongoing pandemic and the loss of my closest friend has made me realize how frail human life is. I’m grateful to be alive and hope to help others accomplish their dreams as I continue on this journey.
This upcoming Summer, I will continue working with the Cognac Lab and start preparing to apply for graduate school. For my senior year, I have decided to focus on research and academics, taking a pause from traditional leadership involvements on campus. I am grateful for all the people I met this year, especially the ones who mentored me and the ones who inspired me to keep going. As the current situation makes the future ever so more uncertain, I ask myself, “I am a Junior, what’s next?”
