#wheatonscope

“My interests are pretty broad...but most of them revolve around being with people. It's taken awhile for Wheaton to be home to me, and even now it's only certain parts of Wheaton that feel like home. Because Wheaton as a whole is of a culture so unlike mine (as it is largely a white, middle to upper class, evangelical institution), it has catalyzed my own personal identity development. It's forced me to think about what it means to be a biracial, female, and tri-cultural individual. So while it's been hard to go through this process, it's been incredibly rewarding, and I am thankful for the people who have walked with me through my time here. I've especially found a place of home within my Koinonia family and within the Education and Sociology departments.”

“I like to develop relationships with people. I like to stand alongside them. I like to develop in people qualities that I see potential. Try to bring those to fruition. I mean… I guess I’m involved at church and I do res-life here at Wheaton.

At Wheaton, I feel at home where I can genuinely feel that the other person cares for me, that I don’t have to put up a wall or any sort of mask or front, but the place I can know that the other person is in my best interest in disciplining me, telling me that what I’m doing is wrong; not always being a yes-man, but calling me out. I feel at home where the common interest is to worship the Creator. I feel at home among the people whose desire is to magnify Christ. I feel at home amongst people who love who seek to understand who seek to comfort and who seek to stand along. I feel at home among those who are self-sacrificial, among those who know longer live for themselves.” 

“I’m really interested in people, getting to learn what makes people them. I like hearing their stories and learning from them, learning what they can teach me from their life experiences that are different from my own. I’m interested in networking, seeing friends in line connect with other friends in line and just building my social circle. But I’m really interested in families and relationships. Hence, I’ll be going into MFT where I get to explore the different dynamics of the family system that affect pretty much every aspect of a person’s life.

One of the best parts about Wheaton is that I’m able to connect with professors and staff on a very personal level where they’re able to mentor me one on one outside of the classroom. That’s primarily where I learn from them is outside the classroom, getting to hear their struggles and how, like how they dealt with them. It kinda gives me some mechanisms or tools to use when I’m in hard times or just how to go through college finding a good group of people that are able to build me up and invest into me. The fact that we have small groups on campus where I’m able to just be vulnerable with a couple guys my age and there be no judgment of any sorts and no pressure to perform."

“I like hanging out with friends a lot. Most of the time we’re usually playing volleyball or watching movies and just talking about life, probably more intimate conversations.

YHM and HP have been a big part of my life here at Wheaton. Just the small groups and being able to be vulnerable with a group of people that I never thought I would be friends with before this. This makes it easier to see Wheaton home away from home."

“I'm interested in music, I love going to concerts. But my number one interest is soccer. I'm on the wheaton club team, and I never stop thinking about the beautiful game.

Wheaton has been a home to me. I've simply adjusted to the environment, I feel like Wheaton has rubbed off on me in both good and bad ways.”

“I really admire art. A couple of things come to mind when I think of art: photography, watercoloring, creating music, playing the piano, writing stories, and any other form of expressing thoughts and emotions. The thing I love about art is it sometimes speaks to our hearts before our minds can filter what we want to accept or reject. Whenever a song or an art piece leaves me breathless, I’m so humbled by its glory, and it always leaves me feeling humbled and grateful for creation. It’s a wonderful feeling.

My time here at Wheaton has been a journey in discovering what home means to me. I feel like home means something so different for everyone, but for me, ‘home’ is a place where we create space for rest and vulnerability with the people we live with. To me, home is where I know I’m the Beloved. It is where I’m fully known, and where I try to love the people around me as well as I can It’s not always easy being vulnerable, so home can be difficult sometimes. But, home is where we grow to be more like ourselves, where we come alive together with the people we live with.”

"Running has always been a big part of my life. I have been running cross country and track since junior high, so that has been a huge source of joy for me throughout the years. Recently I have been understanding the importance of relationships and so spending time with those closest to me has been something that has become really important to me. Some other things I love are mentorship— I have been mentored and am now a mentor for high school girls and it has been an incredible blessing— but I also love coffee, chocolate and honestly all sweets, both the city and the suburbs, and traveling.  

Coming in as a transfer, it was difficult at first for Wheaton to feel like home, so it definitely took a little bit of time and it was certainly lonely at times. But a huge reason why Wheaton has become more like home is because of the track team. It’s been a huge source of community and support for me. Some of my closest friends are on the track team and it has helped a great deal with feeling a part of something. I think relationships for anyone are a huge factor in whether a place feels like home or not."

“Art is a way of expressing my view on the world; I think is easier for me to express this through my artwork than through my words or other means. That’s why I love art. Things like art homework to me are fun, it’s not a burden. I get to be creative, try and fail, and try and fail again. Finally when I’m done with a piece I’m so proud of it. That feeling of success makes it so worth it.

The people, the friends that I have made are home for me. Some of the profs that have helped during my freshmen year, made me feel welcome and made this home for me. For the most part, home means people instead of a place, so friends and profs make that community.”