My Transfer Story
The transfer community has been there for me through life’s highest and lowest points. I’ve experienced the greatest amount of support and community through being a transfer, more so than I could have ever imagined. Upon arriving at UCLA, I was immediately taken aback by all the transfer pride. How could a route that others so often judged be so wildly optimistic and proud? I loved it. It was everything that I hoped for and more. Meeting people with such amazing perspectives on life and diverse backgrounds made me so proud to be a transfer, and inspired me to help others taking a similar path. So, I set out to offer UCLA and transfer-specific advice through a YouTube channel. I would get my friends to join so that we could share our different perspectives, just in the hopes of helping even one student. It was one of the most fulfilling feelings I had to be able to make content that could help others, and perhaps make their journeys a little bit easier.
However, my own journey decided to take its own turn. In April of 2018, my first year at UCLA, I was diagnosed with Lymphoma. And all came to a screeching halt — or did it? There’s a lot of things that I could say about how I felt throughout that entire experience, but the one I continue to focus on is gratitude. Some people think I’m crazy for only seeing the positive side of what’s often seen as the darkest situation. But I refused to let my circumstances control what I made out of them. I knew that this experience was only going to push me to pursue my passions more — I was going to motivate people, inspire them, help them out in any way possible — and all roads led back to my YouTube channel. So, when I’d get my energy back up in between rounds of chemo, I would film videos giving advice from what I learned during my two quarters at UCLA. And when I was back in the hospital, I’d pass time by editing my little videos together. It was also during this time that I truly felt the love of the transfer community I had connected myself with. All of the friends I’ve made at UCLA are transfers, and to see this network of transfers coming together to support me during this time, truly showed me the impact that this community had on my life, and the impact that I wanted to make by giving back.
So, I set out to get more involved as soon as I returned to school. I wanted to make my impact in any way possible, and to reach those that my videos could not, to show my transfer pride, and to just further immerse myself in such an enriching community. So, I became a transfer volunteer so that I could have a more direct impact with the Transfer Center. I help with social media, graphic design, and anything that I can get my hands in. Directly helping out my fellow transfers has been extremely rewarding. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of this community and to have a role in spreading transfer pride while easing the transition to UCLA for transfers. And when new transfers tell me that they have watched my videos, I instantly light up inside. It’s one of the most fulfilling feelings to know that I’ve been able to reach and help out my fellow peers — my fellow transfers.
Overall, I feel that I’ve made my impact on the transfer community by trying to spread as much knowledge that I can. I hope that I can be an inspiration to my fellow transfers that no matter your circumstances, perseverance and gratitude will help guide you. And that our diverse experiences are what bring us together and build the foundations for our tightly-knit community.
So, I set out to get more involved as soon as I returned to school. I wanted to make my impact in any way possible, and to reach those that my videos could not, to show my transfer pride, and to just further immerse myself in such an enriching community. So, I became a transfer volunteer so that I could have a more direct impact with the Transfer Center. I help with social media, graphic design, and anything that I can get my hands in. Directly helping out my fellow transfers has been extremely rewarding. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of this community and to have a role in spreading transfer pride while easing the transition to UCLA for transfers. And when new transfers tell me that they have watched my videos, I instantly light up inside. It’s one of the most fulfilling feelings to know that I’ve been able to reach and help out my fellow peers — my fellow transfers.
Overall, I feel that I’ve made my impact on the transfer community by trying to spread as much knowledge that I can. I hope that I can be an inspiration to my fellow transfers that no matter your circumstances, perseverance and gratitude will help guide you. And that our diverse experiences are what bring us together and build the foundations for our tightly-knit community.
