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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 22, 2021 4:15:07 GMT
Posts about key takeaways or highlights from interviews with the active members of Kappa Alpha Pi by Nathan Klassen.
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 22, 2021 4:23:12 GMT
4/21 Interview with Megan: I was very pleased to speak with Megan today. This came at a great time as she has experience on being the Alpha Nu Pledge Class Professional Chair and I needed some advice. The Pledge Professional Event is just less than two weeks away at this point and I was glad to hear about her feedback regarding what I have and how to approach the dilemmas I will encounter. She counseled me on trying to differentiate the panelists regarding what fields of law they practice, but if I am not able to, then focus on angling them on their particularities. This comes into play as the three people I have already contacted have fairly similar studies in law, but if I “exploit” their differences, then it should not be a problem, as a key is to at least have some panelists. Not everything was Kappa Alpha Pi related, as we discussed having commonalities in serving on our high school’s Associated Student Body Panel and competing in high school track and field. It was really nice to hear someone have hobbies and experiences that were close to mine. The one thing I think I could have done better is not talking as much about myself, I feel like I gave her very little time to speak about herself. Despite this, I hope she enjoyed our conversation because I know I sure did!
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 23, 2021 0:28:40 GMT
4/22 Interview with Michael Keily: Having a conversation with Michael Keily was very nice. We both discussed how zoom has made us regress in our social abilities, which would have been apparent in the interview as there were a couple of awkward pauses at the start. That was my bad though, as once I had become more active in trying to keep the conversation going and asking questions the interview went really smoothly! We talked about how he is still relatively undecided with what path he wants to take for his future, he mentioned non-profit work and traveling so I recommended the Peace Corps. He let me know that during some of his courses about geography that the process of having people come “save” a less economically developed country further perpetuates the “White Savior” Complex and maybe is not the best program. This got us into a discussion about both having fascination with people’s varying approaches to lifebased on their culture, religion, and sexuality. It was a pretty profound talk and I was glad we could discuss it so openly. We finished by sharing our experience traveling and doing nature-related excursions, as we will both be attending UniCamp this summer. Due to our breadth of topics we covered, this interview actually exceeded an hour and 15 minutes, thankfully he did not mind as he did not have another activity to attend, so it ended on a good note.
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 24, 2021 21:06:19 GMT
4/23 Interview with Adrian: I knew I would love to talk to Adrian after seeing his energy during the brotherhood events. We talked about a good range of sports and pop culture. I am not that knowledgeable about all things sports, such as rules and players, but I could sit through a game and know what is happening. From the bay area, I talked about how I am a Warriors fan and had to reassert that I have more affiliation with the bay than Sacramento. Adrian talked about how he would attempt to teach me how to play basketball and utilize my height, which may be something good to add to my repertoire. We also discussed our opinions on Ariana Grande’s most recent albums and agreed that Sweetener was underrated. Another topic in the music industry was the relationship between Taylor Swift and John Mayer, and how it inspired Taylor Swift's song “Dear John”. He was not that aware of what had transpired, but we both agree that “New Light” is a good song, despite what may have happened.
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 24, 2021 21:13:55 GMT
4/24 Interview with Aneri: My interview with Aneri was very nice and it was relaxing to have this Saturday morning. She discussed her future aspirations about wanting to go into corporate law, then going into real estate, and finally opening her own store and being the owner and cashier. Although the end goal seems a bit arbitrary, I was glad to hear about why she thinks this way and get clarification on that decision. I let her know that I have been diligently working on the Pledge Professional Event and she reassured me by talking about how when things were in person her event was definitely a difficult experience and that I am already on a good trajectory. We ended up sharing an interest in foreign countries, but she had more appeal between the borders between countries which is something I will definitely look into (I prefer foreign relations and the political aspect of it). I let her know how I am doing by still being in the bay area and how the culture is in my surrounding town and the ease of being right between Sacramento and San Francisco, plus being right by Napa. She gave me some insight into what living in Westwood is like, especially being close to most of her brothers in the fraternity. It gave me some excitement for hopefully what is to come in the fall quarter!
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 27, 2021 5:40:15 GMT
4/26 Interview with Amy: Today I got the opportunity to meet with Amy. Unfortunately, it came with internet difficulties on my end. I believe it was due to it being windy where I was in conjunction with me Zooming from my “Study Shack”. Thankfully, it was a joint interview with Eric, so he was able to keep Amy company while I could not respond or was delayed. Amy was able to give feedback about what her experience has been like as a part of Kappa Alpha Pi and the family of “the Bitches”. This has affirmed the testimonies of other active members about what the brotherhood of the fraternity provides. This is made clear by Amy not wanting to continue on the law school track, instead, she aspires to become a teacher. She additionally provided information about what the political science major is like and that it is feasible to add on minors in addition to the degree. We also had a conversation where she expressed her love for boba and experience by working in a boba shop; however, she then told a story about how these skills are not transferable to being a regular coffee barista. It was a very good interview and I learned a lot from it, despite the poor internet connection.
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 27, 2021 22:09:20 GMT
4/27 Interview with Anita: I knew Anita was an enjoyable person to talk to as we had met each other a couple of times during the rush process. She scolded me for still drinking whole milk, but I promised her that I would at least attempt to branch out and drink a different type of milk, at least when I get on campus. She gave me an update on her dog Buddy, as he was one of our proposed mascots during the brotherhood event that Adrian and Carter hosted our first week of pledging. I mentioned the Instagram page she has dedicated to art and she went into detail about being an artist and how in addition to golf, she learned these skills through YouTube. Anita is another example of why I hope to cross into the fraternity and meet all of the brothers more.
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Post by nathanklassen on Apr 27, 2021 22:28:37 GMT
4/27 Interview with Michael Nazar: I have now officially met with both Michael’s in the Kappa Alpha Pi fraternity. Although I feel obligated to say Michael Keily is the better Michael, due to him being my grand-big, I believe both to be very affable people. Michael Nazar let me know about what his future career plans are, since he graduated this past winter quarter. He told me that he was still debating whether or not to go to graduate school or law school, and his dream career (if salary was not a factor) would be an AP US History teacher. This was a good conversation as I too have thought about being a teacher and maybe becoming a professor after exhausting my time as a lawyer. We also had a good conversation about our hobbies, including sports and video games. We shared our frustrations with the ending of UCLA’s season at the Final Four and being middle blockers on our volleyball teams’. Even though he graduated, if I cross, I hope he will still make an appearance at a hang out as Michael is a very friendly person.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 1, 2021 3:43:55 GMT
4/29 Interview with Suzy: I had a great time meeting with Suzy. She and my big are really close, so I knew that we would get along and I was glad for the conversation we had. I taught her some things she should know when visiting her sister who is moving to the bay area, and in turn, she gave me tips about which beaches to visit in the LA area. She mentioned only visit Santa Monica for the tourist attractions, such as the pier, but other than that, go to Will Rogers. She also gave me insight into what to expect from on-campus life and shared that she worked at Cafe 1919 and we both applied to be RAs for the fall. I was also glad Suzy and I could relate to not being as concerned about earthquakes, as they are fairly common and besides the “Big One” coming, they have not caused much destruction. We agreed that sunny California weather and the occasional earthquake are better than dealing with tornados and hurricanes.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 1, 2021 4:35:45 GMT
4/30 Interview with Ben: It is quite humorous that I was intimidated to speak with Ben for our interview, but one of the first things he told me was not to be intimidated by any of the actives. Ben and I had a very honest conversation about the pledging process and how it has been for me and it was so beneficial to hear his advice, especially with his experience as a former VPR/AVPR. He let me know that I should not be worried about meeting with actives, instead view them as my boss. In this sense, stay professional with them and put my best foot forward, but still know that they care about my success and want me to cross into the fraternity. Ben also graduated this past winter quarter and was able to give me some advice about his experience in the professional field. This ties in well as our pledge class just started learning about interview etiquette in our Membership Education meetings. He gave me advice about how to develop my elevator pitch, especially as I do not have any professional experience. Honestly, I learned a lot from this interview and am so grateful to have met with Ben.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 3, 2021 1:49:52 GMT
05/02 Interview with Matthew: Matthew shared with me that he was putting off doing his midterm to meet with me as well as a couple of other of my pledge brothers today, so I was very grateful for his time. He told me a bit about the class he was taking and it is about the government and politics of China, which is actually a topic I am interested in. This got us talking about the political science major and how neither of us are necessarily big fans of some of the coursework needed for the major. He told me about public affairs and IDS, so I may be looking into switching my major, hopefully before it is too late. We also had a fairly lengthy discussion on education in the US, how teachers are treated and that there is little incentive to be helping communities that need their help the most and expressed our irritation about standardized testing. Matthew is my adopted big’s adopted big, so it is a nice connection being in the same adopted line and that we are relatively close to each other (compared to those in LA).
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Post by nathanklassen on May 4, 2021 21:39:29 GMT
05/03 Interview with Ranhita: Ranhita is a high-spirited person that compels you to speak with her. As I really fancy the idea of traveling and exploring different parts of the world, I wanted to hear what it was like living in so many places. The one that stuck out to me the most was her experience living on the island country Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean. She also discussed some of the difficulties one has to deal with when being a UCLA cheerleader. She let us know that most athletes get a special gym, except cheerleaders are not considered under that list. The cheer squad needs to be at the Rose Bowl 6 hours before the football game starts and they have to cheer for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which can all become very tiring. They also do not receive scholarships through the school, the scholarships available are only private. I am glad that she enjoys it, as I know I do not think I could handle that much work. She let me know that I should also listen to the Rodeo album by Travis Scott, despite harboring a bit of resentment towards Astroworld (which, to be fair, is not even his fault).
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Post by nathanklassen on May 4, 2021 21:39:55 GMT
05/03 Interview with Sophie: I was really looking forward to meeting with Sophie, as I knew she would offer a lot of insight into some different departments I am interested in at UCLA. I told her about my current hesitations with continuing a major in political science and I wanted to hear about what she had to say about her International Development Studies major. The way she spoke about her major with such passion was really inspiring, as I realized if I am not that excited to be studying whichever field I am majoring in, I should switch majors. We also got into a lengthy discussion about language, as she knows both French and German (and is learning Spanish), which are all languages I hope to learn as well. She gave me a good recommendation for a French show called Lupin, and I hope to watch it and give her my thoughts about the show, as she guarantees I will enjoy it. Even though neither of our majors deals extensively with math, we discussed how we liked it in high school and somewhat miss it now. In addition to many of the actives I have met, I would love to speak with Sophie more and hear about her experiences that resemble my own interests.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 4, 2021 21:40:19 GMT
05/04 Interview with Mihir: My interview with Mihir occurred right after his weekend vacation to Portland and Seattle. He talked about how he has never visited the Pacific Northwest or really experienced public transportation before. He explained his favorite parts from this excursion and the view from the Space Needle and watching the sunset. Mihir also talked about the beautiful scenery from taking the Amtrak from Portland to Seattle, joining the club of people who like trains (as of right now I believe it consists of Akunnia, Aya, and myself). We also have a shared interest in video games, some of our favorite franchises being Pokémon and Mario. We discussed our hopes for the generation 4 remakes of the games and some features we hope to see in the game again. I am looking into buying a Nintendo Switch, so he also gave me some advice on which version and when to buy it. We ended our interview battling against each other in Pokémon Showdown, so needless to say, it was a good time.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 4, 2021 21:40:33 GMT
05/04 Interview with Ricky: Ricky and Max are close friends, so I knew I would enjoy my conversation with Ricky. Without discussing it directly, I believe that there was an added layer of authenticity by both being first years. He talked about how he had a lot on his plate last quarter by rushing both Kappa Alpha Pi and a social fraternity of Lambda Chi Alpha, in addition to the responsibilities of being a student. He let me know that although his social fraternity taught him character-building skills, the process of pledging for Kappa Alpha Pi will teach me a lot of skills necessary for succeeding in the professional world. We also conversed about sports, his experience with playing football in high school and our interest in participating in intramural sports at UCLA. He also gave me the breakdown of all of the places that he has lived in and the languages that he can speak. This lead us into talking about what language he dreams and thinks and how it correlates to who he is surrounded by.
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