RA Interview: Natalie

Interviewers: Jerry Liang & Benjamin Woo

Interviewee: Natalie 

Briefly tell us about yourself!

My name is Natalie Yoo. I'm going into my second year. My major is education sciences and psychological science. And I'm really excited to be a COSMOS RA this year.

What motivated you to become an RA?

So I actually have a sister here, and she’s been an RA for two years and she told me about the program. And every year she has good experiences and comes out of it really happy and has many stories. So coming into UCI, I was like, I definitely want to do COSMOS, and it actually aligns with my field and field hours.

What is your favorite part of being RA and will you be an RA for COSMOS next year?

My favorite part about being an RA is that I really like seeing all the students and residents get along with each other. Especially on my floor, they got along within like 30 seconds. When I was there, they all talked with each other and they all were really inclusive and it's really good to see high schoolers being able to explore their own pathways and experience the dorm life and be really excited about that. So far I'm having a really good experience being RA, so I definitely would consider it next year.

What is something you like about UCI and what is one thing you would change about it?

I think UCI has a lot of good opportunities, and they allow you to explore different fields. Maybe if you're not sure that you want to go into this specific pathway, you're allowed to try out different classes and see if that specific course is what aligns with you. They also have a lot of clubs, which it makes it easy for you to make friends and get to know a lot of people. One thing I would switch about UCI is maybe parking. I think paying for parking is a pain and it's expensive. I heard they have no free parking here and even if you want to park here for a short temporary time you still have to pay or they'll ticket you.

Tell me about your hobbies.

In high school, I played golf and I was on the varsity team. But I play a little bit now. Not as much as before, I just play for fun. I do love shopping. I don't know if that is considered a hobby but I love shopping, online shopping. I also like going on random trips with my friends and I just randomly go to San Diego or LA. It's really fun.

What are your strengths and how do they help you as an RA?

I think some of my strengths are that I try to be as inclusive as possible. Especially when seeing students feeling left out. I tried to include them. I just want everyone to have a good time. And at the end of the day that's all that matters for the students to have a good time as well as the other RAs just with teamwork and everyone being bonded together so the program runs smoothly.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone in COSMOS?

I think I'll go with the thing about having fun. Some students can find this program a little stressful especially having classes on top of all the events and like mandatory events. But all the RAs here and this program hope that you guys have fun. And that's why all these events are planned. So it's not just classes so don't be stressed out and live your life to the fullest because your life is short, so be spontaneous and have fun with each other.

And lastly, a random question: What’s the most unusual food you’ve eaten and did you enjoy it?

I’ve tried an ant before in an ant candy. I ate it because I think I just wanted to try a bug. It was in a candy so I was like maybe I want to buy that. It was not good ; it just tasted like a poppy seed. But the idea of having an ant in your mouth is so gross.