A Storyteller in the Making
When you walk by the University of Kansas TRIO SES & STEM office in Strong Hall, you will likely be greeted by a particularly infectious laugh. That unique and welcoming chuckle belongs to Ariel Heim, whose story is as unique as her laugh.
Raised in Sacramento, California, Ariel recounts a serendipitous tale of how as a high-schooler she decided to come to the University of Kansas (KU) when someone on a bus she was riding commented that her sweatshirt was “a dream school”. Having never given a second thought to her KU sweatshirt she had borrowed from a friend, Ariel nevertheless made up her mind to become a Jayhawk.
Now after four years of studying at KU, Ariel has cultivated and refined her flair for storytelling through her English and Creative Writing major. Beginning this fall, she will continue to fine-tune her craft in a dual master’s program in Children’s Literature and Writing for Children at Simmons University in Boston, after which she hopes to write, animate, and publish children’s stories.
Ariel credits her TRIO advisors in helping her become the confident storyteller she is today. When she came to Kansas from California, Ariel worried about leaving friends and family half a country away.
Ariel’s first experience on The Hill was the KU OPTIONS program. At OPTIONS, a week-long summer bridge program for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students, Ariel was surprised to find a dedicated yet “hilarious” staff of advisors willing to help her adjust to college life. Those experiences have been particularly profound to Ariel because her mother — who is right now completing her own college degree online — has on the one hand been able to experience a warm and engaging on-campus culture through Ariel and her TRIO experiences and, on the other hand, feel secure that Ariel has a support system away from home on which to rely when she faces challenges.
When asked about challenges she’s faced, Ariel can think of more than a few instances where the TRIO has helped her out. For example, when she switched majors from political science to English, Ariel worried about lack of jobs in the field. Turning to advisors in the TRIO office for advice, they helped Ariel look at job skills she might acquire as an English major, and connected her with professors to learn more about the field. These connections with professors have been pivotal in cultivating her passion, which is described by one of her KU faculty advisors as, “being marked with constant invention, discovery, challenge, and experimentation.” As for the support she has received through the TRIO office, she said it takes a village: Ariel has gotten advice from all the office’s advisers. “I go to them for their strengths, and that usually works to my benefit,” Ariel reflected.
Citing her roles as both a beneficiary of the TRIO program and as the front desk attendant over the last four years, Ariel has leveraged her experiences in the programs to become a contributor to the village mentality. Ariel helped to recruit students for TRIO SES & STEM by spreading the word about the benefits of the program. She helped plan and decorate for the always-highly-attended Annual Mug Giveaway that the TRIO office puts on each fall semester for KU’s Homecoming. She has even lent a shoulder to cry on when other students have come to the office in need and no advisors are readily available. For Ariel, she takes pleasure in being able to pay forward what TRIO has done for her. “It’s a place where you learn to be a well-rounded person. You get experiences in almost everything and get different opportunities through the program. You’re not just a student.”
Ariel’s experiences with TRIO SES & STEM ultimately paved the way for her successful admittance to graduate school. TRIO advisors helped explain what the graduate school experience might look like and how the additional skills and specialization Ariel would gain could benefit her career path. When asked what kind of role her advisors played, Ariel confides, “They’re the shoulder to cry on; the backup to the backup plan; the this isn’t working, so what do I do now? people.” For Ariel, her time with KU TRIO SES & STEM is coming to a happy end but her advisors know there are many more stories — and laughs — in store.
