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Post by nathanklassen on May 10, 2021 3:08:32 GMT
05/08 Interview with Ria: I am so glad to have gotten the opportunity to meet with Ria outside of our Mock Trial meetings. This was a joint interview with Elaine, making us a good trio to keep a conversation going and we were similar enough to find common ground on topics, but our different experiences allowed us to have some profound discussions. Although this was a space to not talk about Mock Trial, I explained my grievances with the process and how quickly it is coming, and how nervous I am about it. Ria assured us that our class is making good progress for where we are at, but our test run on Monday will definitely be a testament to how worried I should be for Friday. She also gave me some tips about how to write better emails, especially after becoming fairly exhausted with the process after four weeks of sending emails. Outside of pledging talk, we discussed some problems with the education system and how racially insensitive it can be. This included the lack of readings by people of color or women, and how some publications revered to be classics, especially Shakespeare, can be woefully underwhelming. This progressed into some of our favorite books that we have read in our free time, such as young adult dystopian novels. Ria and I are currently reading the same series of Shadow and Bone, which is a part of the Grishaverse that just got adapted to a Netflix show.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 10, 2021 4:41:54 GMT
05/08 Interview with Journey: I was a little nervous for my interview with Journey as I had just completed my joint interview with Ria and Elaine before. I was apprehensive as I did not know if I could carry a whole conversation for another hour, even though I have done it countless times before. This conversation went quite smoothly and did not need any questions to prevent any awkward silence. We talked about where we are from and how her living off campus compares to me still living at home. This then traversed to a monetary discussion and how expensive living in the Westwood area can be, further the wealth disparity in America. We discussed public schools and their funding based on their area and how it affects the resources they can obtain. Our conversation also got into different Netflix shows we watch in our free time, and Journey recommended I watch Seaspiracy, despite it having some problematic aspects. I watched it and have the same view, I think the overall point is really important, but I think there were better ways to go about it.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 10, 2021 5:00:14 GMT
05/09 Interview with Max: I finally got an interview with Max, my big, as this past week has been pretty difficult and she realized I needed a pick-me-up. Max has honestly been such a great big, and I contribute a majority of the success I have had in the pledging process to having her as my aid. She is the reinforcement that completing all these tasks is worth it to cross into Kappa Alpha Pi. We discussed the potential for her coming to the Bay Area as both myself and my adopted big and her pledge brother, Megan, are in the same area. She also revealed one of my big/little gifts to be a hydroflask with the Percy Jackson cover painted on it and it brought me to tears because of how much effort she is putting into making me feel better. It is hard dancing the line of getting support, but not too much support or insight about the pledging process from my big, but I think Max does a very good job of being transparent that she cannot tell me certain things. Instead of being invasive and prying about the items I want to know, I opt to live in oblivion and roll with any punches that are thrown at me, but at least I know Max will be there to help me.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 11, 2021 7:05:31 GMT
05/10 Interview with Loren: Loren is very amiable and made it very easy for me to talk to her. My adopted big, Megan, told me that Loren is into skincare, so I was very grateful for the free advice that she was able to give me about my routine. (It is a bit humorous how easy I am to trust someone’s advice about my skin despite not really knowing each other.) Even though I am not that into astrology, Loren made a comment about being a Sagitarrius and not like being confined in different activities, and branching out, and it is convenient that my best friend is also a Sagitarrius, so through that reasoning, it makes sense that we had a good connection. Some of our hobbies include driving and listening to music, and with easy access to the PCH, Loren gets a bit of a better view, but I related that the vineyards and backgrounds from where I am from are also nice. We related over both listening to Lorde, who is definitely an artist with a discography that allows for prime main character vibes, especially while driving. Sadly, our conversation was cut off at the start due to connection issues, and then at the end when I started giving recommendations about where to visit in Vancouver, but I hope to speak to her again as it seems like we have a lot in common!
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Post by nathanklassen on May 11, 2021 7:06:04 GMT
05/10 Interview with Lillan: Lillan and I discussed how pledging can be a lot of work, but that has the potential to motivate us to do our other responsibilities. It was also reassuring to know that it is worth it and that being an active member is not as work. Lillan is from the same area that my sister currently lives, which is Lake Forest/Mission Viejo, or basically Irvine. Currently, Lillan is living off-campus, and we discussed how it will be a bit awkward that half of the students at UCLA next year will have never experienced on-campus life. We conversed about our favorite artists and discovered that we are both Swifties. The diversity of Taylor Swift is something that allows for a wide audience to enjoy her music. For some reason, my height gets brought up in a vast majority of my interviews, and I tried guessing Lillan’s height. It is a bit difficult as we have only seen each other on Zoom, but I was pleasantly surprised when she was 5’7, but at least I was not that far off. We ended the interview with both of us saying that we still need to work out, so I hope that she was able to accomplish a workout as I cannot say that mine was all that successful.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 11, 2021 7:18:25 GMT
05/10 Interview with Taylor: I had become somewhat acquainted with Taylor through different Kappa Alpha Pi events, but I was glad to meet with her one-on-one. Taylor and I are both a part of the Empire family, and I recall her being notorious for having an abundance of Spotify playlists. It almost seems like a staple, that you need to talk about music with Taylor. I was glad to hear how she discovers new music as my approach is usually just to listen to what is in my “Discover Weekly” or binge listen to an artist’s discography. I recently got offered a position as a RA for the 2021-22 school year, and I was really excited to hear her insight about what living on campus entails, as it will be my first time. I am especially thrilled about getting to know the dining halls, as they are a highlight of being a student at UCLA, so I will definitely be taking advantage of that.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 11, 2021 21:08:49 GMT
05/11 Interview with Connie: I liked getting to know Connie as her name is often mentioned with my pledge brothers and active (as she is normally in their friend group), but we have never met. We also mentioned how we have a mutual friend, who was her roommate in Hawaii. She discussed how the pledge process was for her in Hawaii and how she was in the midst of moving and we shared the lack of knowledge about the process really entails. With Connie living in a different place each quarter this year, I asked if there were any moving tips or essential items I should be bringing when I move down in the fall. She said that there is nothing in particular and that if there was anything I could buy it at the local Target or nearby. We also had a pretty personal conversation about our relationship with our parents and the effect of having online school has impacted it, especially with Connie moving away.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 11, 2021 21:11:07 GMT
05/11 Interview with Hannah: I had briefly met Hannah during rush week and was grateful for the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with just her. Hannah is interested in environmental law, and I took an Environmental Systems and Societies course in high school and found a passion for environmental issues. It was interesting to compare notes about this field and what intrigues us about this field. I also discussed the Netflix documentary “Seaspiracy”, which I had watched as a recommendation from another active. Even though my primary interest includes international affairs, I am open to intertwining the two topics and going into research about how different countries approach environmental issues. Hannah is from San Diego, and from the times I have visited, I really like the city! Enough that I almost went to UCSD. She gave me insight into what LA life is like and what to expect when I am hopefully on campus in the fall and become immersed in the environment. We both have experience working jobs during COVID and the school year, so we were able to share stories about that as well.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 12, 2021 0:36:39 GMT
05/11 Interview with Peter: It was great to meet Peter outside of our Mock Trial meetings. We covered a wide variety of topics in our interview. One subject I mentioned in my email that I wanted to talk to him about was his involvement in the Armenian church. I had not heard of this denomination, but I was able to relate it to my grandparents being Mennonite. This group has both a religious affiliation, but also serves as an ethnic community. We then talked about traveling and where we want to live in the future. We also agreed that law school has a vibe that matches the East Coast. Peter expressed his disdain for Santa Monica, which included some good stories about why he feels so strongly about the city. He described his title of Baron of Brunch and his favorite brunch spots in the area and his feelings about waffles, french toast, and pancakes. All with very justified reasoning. We then talked about his film minor and his interest in movies. He said that although he likes animation and screenwriting that he would rather go into areas of law outside entertainment, like corporate or business law. I am glad that I got the opportunity to talk with Peter about his personal and professional interests, as opposed to how to make a good Mock Trial case.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 14, 2021 20:29:12 GMT
05/13 Interview with Iris: I am glad for the opportunity to meet with Iris as we had only briefly met during rush week. We started out talking about where we are from and traveling. I let her in on the debacle surrounding whether or not I can be considered a Canadian and how I was born and raised in California. She told me that she has wanted to visit Napa and I offered that I know the place somewhat well, as I live only 20 minutes away. Iris discussed all of the places that she has visited, which was quite an expansive list, and how she had planned on studying abroad this past summer. We both talked about our aspirations to travel, but do it while we are a bit older to really appreciate visiting these places (as we do not recall half the places we visited as children). One genuine conversation that I enjoyed was about not wanting to feel stuck in our career. We acknowledge that law is a lot of work and a hard field, but that we do not want to purely do something for a paycheck. She told me that she wants to go into immigration law and that being born in Korea and moving when she was young has helped her develop that story. We lastly shared how our in-person social abilities have not been as good as they used to be and hope it will not be a problem in the fall.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 15, 2021 20:06:58 GMT
05/14 Interview with Chloe: I was thrilled to talk with Chloe. Not only is she an amazing big to two of my pledge brothers (one of which is my twin <3), but we also have a mutual friend from her sorority and Sexperts! We started talking about what we are studying and I told her that I was hesitant about continuing majoring in Political Science. This spurred her former NSA skills and she started to tell me to go into a field I was passionate about and the content should be something I enjoy learning. I needed this encouragement and will look into changing my major more seriously. Chloe talked about going to a private school in LA for middle and high school and I inquired if she feels almost stuck or boxed in the LA area. She said that she likes the insight of knowing all the cool spots and acting as a tour guide to all of her friends. This is a bit humorous as we got into talking about museums as we both have taken Art History 25– Museum Studies. We talked about how much we liked the content matter and the new perspective it brought us when going to a museum, even though I have not been to one as we are in a pandemic while I took the class. I was grateful for the opportunity to finally meet with Chloe one on one.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 17, 2021 21:27:23 GMT
05/17 Interview with Naomi: Naomi and I have already shared a bit of an inside joke about someone from Maryland claiming that they are from the Bay Area, so I was glad that I was finally able to have a conversation with her one-on-one. I had vaguely planned some things to talk about with her, but the conversation flowed quite naturally. Somehow, we landed on the topic of being enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at our high school. Most people do not care too much about if they share the same experience with AP classes, but being in IB bonds people as the program was very difficult. The requirements necessary to complete the diploma were very extra as we shared what our CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) Projects were, how confusing TOK (Theory of Knowledge) was, and particularly how French teachers are all a bit similar in one way or another. We shared our favorite stories from being in French class and it definitely gave me a good laugh. Naomi also told me that she is Indonesian and gave me an overview of how her parents met and where they are from which was very endearing. I really hope to speak with Naomi more in the future.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 18, 2021 18:04:05 GMT
05/17 Interview with Lefter: Lefter and I met up at 10 PM for our interview, and it was alright as I am normally awake at that time already. One thing that almost always occurs when you have a late-night conversation, is that things can get philosophical, which definitely was the case in our interview. We discussed some things about where we grew up and other random things such as Pokémon, what car we want to drive in the future, and which historical figure we would like to talk to. Lefter and I have a similar interest in going into the military and we also talked about that. He wants to go into the Marines and I let him know that my brother is currently serving as a Marine Corps infantryman. One of the last questions I had asked Lefter was about what was his journey up to UCLA, as he had subtly mentioned having a difficult childhood and I am really glad that he was comfortable with sharing his experiences with me. He talked about how he was kicked out of primary school, his parents made him live in Ecuador, and what path he took from community college to now. This was a very inspirational story as he discussed utilizing the opportunities he was provided to show other kids from his community that they can make a difference.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 18, 2021 20:32:29 GMT
05/18 Interview with Jennifer: I was excited to meet with Jennifer as I noticed we had a lot in common when I was writing my email to her. We talked a lot about her plans to visit France during the fall and study abroad. This was really intriguing for me as I hope to eventually study abroad or at least visit France. She also shared that we should keep in touch and that she would relay anything that she learns from this experience to me, which is greatly appreciated. One thing we both mentioned was that we were in the IB program in high school. We compared our stories with what classes were offered at our school and how I was extremely lucky to not actually have to take the exams. She also asked me about what else I wanted to get involved with at UCLA and she shared that she is a part of the Honors college and that I could ask for advice about that as well. We discovered that we have the same approach to work, such as cramming for exams. I really hope to cross so I can talk with Jennifer more.
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Post by nathanklassen on May 18, 2021 20:42:29 GMT
05/18 Interview with Ishan: Ishan and I were able to talk about a lot that I would not know we had in common. Being from Florida, I asked about what kind of teams he supported and we started to discuss different sports teams. Even though I do not follow sports that religiously, we found out that we both support the Seattle Seahawks since he had drafted Marshawn Lynch to his fantasy football league. A different type of football, or what we Americans call soccer, we both follow the British Premier League. We both expressed how disappointed we were in Emmy (Emmy I hope you are reading this) as she does not have a team she particularly favors. Ishan likes Chelsea and after taking a random quiz like 5 years ago, I like West Ham. I will be looking into the Champion’s League of Chelsea vs Man City. We then talked about the World Cup and how we were adversaries there as well because my family supports Germany as Ishan likes Brazil. Aside from sports, we also were able to talk about the dynamics of friendships at UCLA and how groups change to find your niche. One thing we did agree upon was that going into law school is a big commitment and that you should try to mitigate how much debt you get into.
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